Under the cresent moon(Ask permission before entering)

The halls of Las Noches were never very well-lit. In fact, the place probably would’ve been rather dank and dark if not for the many large windows scattered throughout. Each was tall and wide enough to let in a satisfactory blade of silvery moonlight enter the outer passages of the massive fortress. A Beautiful setting for the artistic types and for those who could ignore the nightmarish creatures the wandered the desert expanse beyond the walls.

It was in a deserted corridor of Las Noches’ main wing that Halibel had decided to settle for the evening. She’d practically sprawled herself out along the length of a lounge chair, her long legs crossed and resting casually over one curved arm of the seat, her upper back propped up against the other arm of the chair and supported by a pair of onyx pillows.

She’d drawn her zanpakuto, the entire metallic length of it, and now with the hilt in one hand and a soft square of cloth in the other she was polishing it. As with every arrancar, her zanpakutou was the most precious possession she owned, and Halibel cared for it with more tenderness and affection than she’d ever bothered bestowing upon an actual person except for a few others, including her fraccion. Normally she’d have done such a task in her own quarters, within her territory, but it was bright there, what with the artificial sun hanging high above for her so-called 'master' to see all within his domain, and frankly she preferred the way the blade of her zanpakuto glinted under the light of the Hueco Mundo moon.

With very little to do until called upon, she was content to sit this way and enjoy what little peace there was in a place like this. Very content indeed.

There was precious little to do these days. Aizen-Sama was being a recluse, cooped up in his throne room and god knows who else with nothing but his own plots for company. No new orders had filtered down through the Espada ranks in quite some time; not like it would have mattered to him. He hardly received any orders. It was quite odd when one took his rank into account. So, he spent most of his days lounging about on a bed of comfortable, puffy pillows while passing the time. The pillows were nice and green, a very soothing color and oh man, were they a treat to sleep on. Passing out on them was arguably, his favorite past time. Whatever chance he got was usually spent sleeping; which, just so happened to be the case today.

Stark was curled up sideways in his sea of pillows. His mouth gaped open now and then with each expulsion of air as he breathed. His Espada robes were twisted this way and that from his random movements as he slept. The dark hair that topped his head was tussled and he periodically shifted positions yet again. All was content…for now.

The screaming child came out of nowhere. Launching herself at Stark, the scantily clad youngster drew her leg back and in one smooth movement, booted him in the butt and straight into the wall where he smacked his face before sliding down like a bug on a windshield. Stark jolted up and leaped to his feet. His face was the color of a ripe tomato as he stared blankly before saying, “That…wasn’t nice, Lilinette.” With an anti-climactic yawn, he crawled back to his pillows and nestled back in, burrowing himself deep into them.

“UP UP UP UP UP!” The yelling came from the young girl. Jumping on top of Stark she straddled him as she flailed at his face.

Eyes blinking open, the number one Espada let his eyes focus just in time to see a female fist fly into his face. Scrunching his face up in pain, Stark managed to stutter, “S-Stop Li-Lilinette, that hurt!”

“Stop sleeping then Stark! UP UP UP!”

His eyes looked off to the side as he sighed internally. Bah…what was the use of getting up? There was nothing to do, no one to see. It was just a waste of time. He’d much rather enjoy his time alone with the pillows. Why was his Fraccion so bothersome? “Ok ok…” Pushing her off of him gently, he got up on his elbows and ran a gloved hand through his hair as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. “I’m up….I’m up. Happy?”

Lilinette frowned. “You’ve been a drag recently, Stark. What’s wrong with you?”

Waving her concern away nonchalantly, Stark rolled off his pillows and stood slowly. Putting his hands in his pockets, he headed towards the halls of Las Noches. “Nothing’s wrong with me, Lilinette. I just need some alone time. I’ll see you later, ok?” Giving her a look that brokered no argument, he exited his quarters and began to weave his way in and out of the myriad of hallways that constituted the odd lay out that resided under the gigantic dome overhead. Seeing as how it was evening time, the number of arrancar roaming the area was greatly reduced. Many of them were already in their own quarters, spending time with their fraccion or doing a number of other activities Stark didn’t really care about. The peacefulness of his surroundings was nice, though.

He stopped at a particularly large window and gazed outside. The artificial moonlight saddened him. It was another reminder that despite his rank and title, he was not really all that free. Aizen still controlled them…all of them, to a degree. It wasn’t a happy thought. Still, he was who he was and who was he to change that at a time like this? Stark sighed thoughtfully before moving on, his padded feet thumping softly on the hard hallway floor.

Half an hour later, he found himself in the main wing of Las Noches and rather than take the chance of meeting another one of his peers, Stark ducked into a seemingly deserted corridor. Walking deeper and deeper into the corridor, his ears suddenly perked up as he heard a distinctive rubbing sound. Intrigued, he moved closer. Suddenly, a small smile made its way onto his lips right before he rounded a corner.

Crossing his arms, he leaned back casually against the cool wall of the corridor and closed his eyes, never having even seen the person that was right around the corner. “Beautiful night, isn’t it…Halibel?”

For a moment, Halibel halted the polishing cloth in her gloved hand as a familiar voice spoke from within the corridor she laid. It would seem she now had unexpected company and even more unexpected was the identity of said company. Her gaze never left the tip of her Zanpakuto as she restarted her administrations to the blade, wondering what could have the fellow lazy Espada up and about during such a slow day(or night if you prefer regarding the outside of Las Noches). Perhaps that child fraccion of his had finally managed to drive him into trying to hide and get away at this point? Or perhaps even he ‘got tired’ of sleeping day in and day out? She doubted it was the latter but it was still quite a surprise to run into him so far from the more common areas of the fortress.

“Beautiful indeed Stark” Halibel spoke curtly as she turned her Zanpakuto over on its other side and applied the cloth to it just the same as the first side, “I’m surprised your wandering around instead of burying yourself in a pile of pillows at the moment.”

“I was buried comfortably in my pillows…until Lilinette decided to assault me with her usual playfulness. Still...” He rubbed his jaw and frowned slightly. “…she punches kind of hard.” There was a moment of silence between the two of them – not an uncomfortable one, mind you. The two Espada had known each other for what could seem like ages and Stark liked to think that the two had an understanding. Oddly enough, they had never conversed alone for extended periods of time. Then again, with his attitude, Stark wasn’t exactly the sociable type and neither was Halibel.

He detached himself smoothly from the corridor wall and rounded the corner, stepping into a shaft of moonlight as he gazed down at the 3rd Espada resting comfortably across the entire length of a lounge chair. The light from the open windows caught the reflection of her blade as Halibel polished it diligently and her strong, green eyes flashed with an intensity that Stark had always found interesting.

Moving so he faced her on the opposite side of the hall from which she was on, the lazy Espada backpedaled until his back touched the wall, then slid down unceremoniously to the floor. His legs were bent with his feet firmly on the ground and he rested his arms easily on his knees while his head rolled back to lean against the wall.

He closed his eyes and bit back a yawn.

Letting the silence stretch out for a bit, Stark finally interrupted the quiet void again. “So, what brings you out here at this time of night. I’m surprised you’re not with your Fraccion.”

A minuscule smirk tugged at Halibel’s lips while hearing about stark’s bit of trouble with his short-tempered fraccion. The little arrancar always seemed to be more like an annoying little sister than a subordinate when it came to her supposed ‘leader’, beating him on occasion for sleeping or berating him for lacking initiative on important matters. A comical relationship indeed, one that Halibel would never have believed possible between an Espada and his or her fraccion if it weren’t for her first hand observations outside the meeting hall.

An easy silence sat between the two as Halibel continued to polish her Zanpakuto, a rare thing when it came to their kind as a whole. While not all arrancar were arrogant, prone to violence, or provoked easily, a great majority of them held these traits, especially those that were similar to Grimmjow, Nnoitra, or Yammy.

As Stark finally rounded the corner he stood behind, Halibel reached the final touchups on the polish job of her blade, finishing it up at the tip as he watched her before tossing the cloth aside on the couch and returning the Zanpakuto to its scabbard. With her little maintenance job finished, she set scabbard down and reclined fully into the chair just as Stark took his own seat against the opposite wall from herself.

At stark’s question, Halibel quietly thought to herself for a moment as she stared blankly out of the window she laid under before she answered. “I suppose even I need to get away every now and then.” She said evenly as she reached a gloved hand upward and ran them through a few a mischievous locks of her hair, redirecting them out of her view, “As for my fraccion, I can only hope they don’t decide to search for me all the way out here…”

Stark snickered softly in his patented unenthusiastic manner. “What a pain. Your fraccion sure can’t get enough of you can they? It’s a wonder they don’t follow you everywhere.” He held a gloved hand to his face as a yawn wiggled its way out of his mouth and into the open. Dark slate eyes regarded the female form lounging on the furniture across from him. For the first time in a long while, Stark caught himself regarding Halibel with more than just a friendly interest. Her extremely revealing Espada uniform accentuated her dark skin, curvy body and her well-endowed assets. It was a wonder that more males didn’t make a move on her. Of course, she was the third Espada…most males probably wouldn’t last a second against her if she grew tired of their flirting. The thought brought an amused glint to Stark’s smile.

“What do you think…of Aizen-sama.” He inquired softly without preamble. “This constant fighting…is it worth it?” There were very few people that Stark would speak so candidly too. Even though he and Halibel had never really gotten to know one another, he saw in her a kindred spirit to a degree. She was an intelligent woman, who knew more than she let on and only spoke when needed. Stark could respect that and he was curious to understand more about her and her views.

For him, this entire business was the Shinigami was troublesome. Some of the tactics that Aizen had employed didn’t sit well with Stark; yet, he’d obeyed without question. It was this point that unsettled him on a daily basis. He had always wondered if any of the other Espada felt the same way but had either been too lazy or tired to ask. This time, however, was a perfect opportunity and he had to admit to himself, that he was actually more interested in Halibel then in her answers.

There was a sense of mystery about her that was bluntly attractive to a fault. Underneath that seemingly cool, rock-solid composure was someone that had more to offer than a few choice words here and there. At least, that was the way Stark looked at it. He could be completely wrong about her. That was always a possibility and Lilinette was ever ready to point that out to him.

Lilinette.

The thought of her brought a frown to his face again as he absentmindedly rubbed the area where she had punched him. For someone so tiny and young, she packed quite a good punch. Blinking a few times, he disposed of the meddling thoughts floating around in his mind and refocused his attention on Halibel, curious as to what she would say or do.

“Aizen-sama?” Halibel repeated as she pulled her gaze away from the window and toward the primera, curiosity and perhaps a bit of apprehension about sharing her thoughts on the subject noticeable in her tone. The question was very much unexpected, especially from someone like stark who seemingly had not a care in the world about the matters presented at the meeting room every time they were called. How exactly ‘did’ she feel about the self-proclaimed ‘future God and King’ and the war itself? And could she trust Stark with that insight on her views and goals?

Interesting enough, Halibel felt that she could indeed trust the man, as strange as it was, even when they had never taken the time to talk this way before or had never gotten to know one another in a real sense. In fact, she very rarely made any effort to speak with anyone else besides her fraccion, let alone make small talk or tolerate another’s presence for too long if it served no purpose to her. Yet here she was, not bothered in the least as she spoke with Stark, perhaps even enjoying the company this late at night, taking note of this as she eyed him closely.

And at that point of thought, the man who sat across from herself, the man who slept day to day seemingly without care for anything, the man who chose to keep to himself just as she had, and the man who hid his unadulterated strength under a lazy exterior…had obtained more than just her interest alone.

“While I don’t believe him to be a fool, perhaps he is a bit over-ambitious.” She spoke after a moment of thought, tilting her head in the slightest as her eyes trailed over stark’s facial features, from his goatee to his collar length untamed mane of hair, before finally settling on those eyes of his. The eyes of someone who was more knowledgeable than they let on. “The fighting itself and the goals of our…’leaders’ are a means to an end and nothing more. It was never my intention to fight until either the war ended or my own death at the hands of another.” Halibel continued at length as she watched stark from across the passageway, slightly confused as to why she’d chosen to share that bit of information.

“We agreed to follow Aizen and his subordinates for power more than anything, and they have kept their word for the most part with our ascension to arrancar status. However, what does he intend to do with us after he has achieved his goals and no longer needs us to fight his battles?”

A means to an end.

The answers to Starks questions came to Halibel much easier than she thought, something over a century of experience and observation made somewhat easier and clearer to her perhaps.

It was obvious to her that they were pawns, pieces on a chess board whose lives held little value to the King in the end and could be tossed aside on a moment’s notice. She had no intention of allowing herself to be used in such a way.

Stark tilted his head and nodded once, slowly. “I see not every Espada has been blinded to the truth.” For the most part, Stark agreed with Halibel. From what he’d observed so far as the Primera Espada, it seemed painfully obvious at times that their positions, supposed base of power and treatment were far too good. While he respected Aizen’s power, there was a hint of healthy skepticism in Stark’s opinion of the man. Halibel had hit the proverbial nail right on the head when she voiced her own opinion regarding their eventual fate.

Of course, Stark thought the fighting was pointless. It mattered little to him whether you were a Shinigami or not. Unlike the majority of his peers, he neither thrived nor sought after bloodshed and violence. He was no mindless drone under Aizen and he would be lying to himself if he said that he would die for his Arrancar brethren. This entire war between his kind and the Soul Reapers held little interest to Stark and surprisingly, he was rather bored each day. For him, life did not hold much of a purpose currently. The only person or object that he had any concern over was Lilinette – the little female fraccion was more of a sister to Stark than a subordinate.

“Such a pain…” He muttered as he stood slowly. “Unfortunately for us, Aizen is quite intelligent. I’m sure he’s planned for any unexpected mishaps. I do agree with you though…” Stark’s gaze tracked onto Halibel’s piercing green orbs with an intense seriousness that was unlike his usual lazy, unenthusiastic manner. “…I don’t intend to fight until this war ends…or my death at the hands of another.”

As his last few words faded away into the silence that surrounded them again, Stark shrugged and yawned again; once again, the stoic Espada with a ‘whatever’ attitude. It wasn’t his place to question Aizen or anyone else for that matter. Thoughts such as those that they were just discussing merely tended to form in his mind every now and then and it was an exercise in futility to ponder them for any extended amount of time. There wasn’t much he could do about any of it at the moment, anyways.

“Well, take care Halibel. It’s been nice.” Stuffing his gloved hands back into the pockets of his robes, Stark began meandering away slowly.

He stopped suddenly. Snapping the fingers of his right hand, he gently bopped himself in the side of the head and sighed loudly.

As if displeased with whatever it was that he had just recalled, Stark turned around to face Halibel again. “It was a good thing I ran into you. I just remembered something rather important.” He leaned his left shoulder against the wall and slouched. “Aizen-sama gave me an order yesterday regarding the capture of an Adjuchas-class Hollow somewhere beneath the deserts of Hueco Mundo by sometime today.” Stark waved his right hand as if dismissing someone of little consequence. “It must have slipped my mind but it concerns you because he wants you to accompany me. Apparently the Hollow he wants can be a handful.”

The order itself was bland but having Halibel join him on the trip would certainly bring some life to the mission. Stark was looking forward to spending the extra time with her and if he could do that while completing the errand Aizen had requested of him; well, then he could kill two birds with one stone and get back to his sea of pillows quicker. Come to think of it, it would be nice if he didn’t go back alone.

So she wasn’t alone in her thoughts. Perhaps she was right to trust the Primera after all seeing as though they shared the same views regarding their futures?

Only time would tell.

Future plans and intentions did not always stay the same or succeed, Halibel’s ‘plans and intentions’ along with Stark’s and even Aizen’s were no exception to this unwritten rule. Who knew what would happen in the coming years of the war? With so many different influences and so many twists and outcomes of important struggles, whether the shinigami or the vizards or the quincy were involved. It was all so chaotic and unpredictable and the stakes involved in each battle could mean the difference between Total victory and Absolute defeat for either side.

Again, only time would tell.

Halibel watched as Stark rose from his seat and was slightly taken aback as his eyes locked with her own, the lazy and uncaring look within them replaced by a much more focused intensity. His words mirrored her own as he spoke, giving her a small sense of relief that she wasn’t the only one who felt the way she did about their situation.

As Stark turned to leave, something within the Tercera pressed the urge to stop him. For what? She didn’t know, but just as she stood and started to call his name, he stopped in his tracks with a sudden snap of his fingers as he turned back towards her with his bored expression back in place. Apparently, they had a mission to carry out.

“Help with an adjuchas-class? You?” Halibel asked incredulously as she place both of her gloved hands upon her hips and strolled towards him with a slightly tilted head. Now why would Aizen send a set of Espada, let alone the 1st and 3rd, to capture a lowly creature such as an adjuchas? “I’m starting to believe ‘Aizen-sama’ might have a low opinion of our abilities...either that or theres more to this hollow than what he shared with you.” Halibel spoke dryly as she came to a stop in front of stark, looking up at him somewhat since he was a bit taller than herself. The top of her head barely a few inches above Starks mask remnant.

“Very well then, shall we get started on the ‘Grunt work’…..Stark?” she finished with a tone laced with sarcasm. The sooner they were done, the better and then she could move onto more important matters. Then again, the trip itself would give her a chance to learn more about her company in the form of a certain dark haired Espada.

Stark couldn’t help but stare as Halibel placed both of her hands on her hips and walked towards him purposefully. The female Espada glided across the floor. The way her hips swung back and forth was mesmerizing and he had to blink a few times before snapping himself back into reality and zoning in on the words she spoke. “As much as we may disagree with Aizen regarding certain issues, he’s no fool. I’m sure there’s a reason he requested both of us to capture this specific Hollow.” Stark shrugged indifferently and got ready to leave.

“Let’s get going.” He stated flatly after hearing her sarcastic tone. With a sound like brief static, Stark sonidoed away rapidly – gone in the literal blink of an eye.

Racing through the hallways of Aizen-sama’s redoubt gave him a few minutes of privacy as his thoughts drifted to Halibel. It did intrigue him as to why Aizen had ordered both of them to go together but he wasn’t going to complain. Tia was good company; not to mention, flat-out sexy and beautiful. Their time alone could be a good thing. Maybe they’d even become ‘friends’. Stark wasn’t going to lie to himself. It was lonely being an Espada and he was willing to bet Halibel felt the same way. With another shrug of his shoulders, he banished the thoughts and turned his attention back to the matters at hand.

Being the Primera Espada and having a knack for using Sonido, Stark possessed an almost teleportation-like ability with his sonido. Such was his speed that he was able to traverse the ridiculously large areas of Las Noches quite rapidly and it didn’t take him long to reach one of the very few exits leading to the deserts of Hueco Mundo. Appearing out of thin air next to the door, he looked around for Halibel quietly before opening the door and keeping it open for her when she arrived.

His soot-colored eyes scanned the foreboding landscape beyond the walls of Las Noches. A few lingering trees struggled for survival in the harsh environment. He spotted the occasional small Hollow worming its way through the sand to suck in its daily intake of the reishi that filled the atmosphere. A few boulders stood tall and proud across the Sahara-like desert, the pitiful shade they provided being enough for a few creatures here and there. It was a worthless existence for these Hollow…that clung to life so tenaciously in this hell hole.

“How pathetic.” Stark mumbled quietly, his eyes never leaving the desolate scene.

"I’d forgotten how fast you were. At least you waited." Halibel spoke in her usual deadpan tone as she finally caught up to the speedy Espada a few moments after he arrived outside. Her own arrival was signaled by the usual tell tale static like sound of sonido as she stepped out into the permanently shadowed desert of Hueco Mundo to join her assigned partner. As she came to a halt next to Stark, Her arms folded under her chest as per usual while her emerald eyes scanned across the horizon and took in the view for a silent moment as memories of past struggles and battles flooded her mind. The time before Aizen and her transformation returned in force to her memories, flashing her thoughts back to her past as a newly evolved adjuchas to her more recent history as a Vasto Lorde.

A vicious and predatory creature she was once, coldly tearing apart almost any other creature she came across in a savage way, whether it fought back or tried to escape, in her hunger for spirit energy. She had always been that way, ever since the shinigami had failed to save her from her fall into darkness after her death in the human world so long ago. Her evolution to the state of adjuchas did much more than give her the expected considerable increase in her power, also giving her a cruel intelligence apart from the savage instinct of lower hollows and the capacity for taking pleasure in consuming and ravaging the others of her kind as she grew in strength.

All of these things were still very much a part of her being. No matter how far she pushed and locked them off to the recesses of her new persona. They would always be there, gnawing at her whenever her patience was tested, clawing to the surface of her cold façade every time she was sent into battle.

Bringing herself back to the present, Halibel turned her gaze upward towards the ever present crescent moon that hung above the darkness of this realm, its calm yet eerie glow was welcome replacement to the bright sun that brightened everything within Las Noches. The desert outside might not have been much more than a wasteland but it made Halibel feel more at peace to be back within her old natural home, not to mention the bubbling excitement that was beginning to build up within her.

“Feels like…home…” Halibel murmured softly as she stared at the never ending moon, her voice carrying more than just a bit of feeling in them as she spoke mostly to herself.

Closing her eyes while still facing the moon as a cool breeze blew across both she and stark, swaying her hair and soothing her a bit as it passed over them both, she breathed deeply to calm herself a bit as well as to keep herself composed for the mission at hand. It simply wouldn’t do to lose herself now, not with orders taking precedence and a certain Espada standing nearby. Shutting away her surfacing feelings and thoughts, she opened her eyes once more and turned to stark with a newly born vigor about herself, struggling to hide her new enthusiasm.

“I’m ready when you are Stark…”

He had turned to look at her when she’d murmured something quietly under her breath. Stark was surprised to see his companion showing any sort of emotion other than her usual quiet, cool demeanor. It was wholly unlike Halibel to be caught up in her emotions. She was usually the most level-headed one out of the entire group of Espada and always kept her thoughts hidden behind those brilliantly green-hued eyes of hers. To say it was a nice experience to see her slightly vulnerable like this would be an understatement. Stark was pleased to see that there was depth to her character, rather than just a set of great breasts and curvy figure. Their upcoming trip was looking to be rather promising.

“Yeah…yeah…we might as well get going. Damn it to hell with these orders…I’d rather be sleeping.” Stark muttered unenthusiastically while shoving his hands into his pockets. Without a second look at the vast edifice of Las Noches, he strode off into the desert, his soft-soled shoes sinking slightly into the sand with each step. The fact that he didn’t use sonido was odd but he doubted Halibel would object too much; she seemed to be enjoying herself out here, in their natural environment from whence they all once came.

For the Primera Espada, dwelling on the past was akin to listening to nails on a chalkboard. What was done was done. What had happened had happened. As lazy as he might appear, Stark was one to always look to the future and at the current moment, his future wasn’t looking too bright. Fight after fight against opponents whom he didn’t even really despise waited for him while he was technically at Aizen’s beck and call. Needless to say, it wasn’t a future that seemed all that cheerful and Stark – like anyone else – wanted things to go his way.

He stole a quick glance over at Halibel and smiled slightly. “You know, it’s nice to spend time with a fellow Espada and not have the urge to…hurt them. I think this is the longest we’ve been around each other, Halibel.”

As Stark waited and listened to her reply, his thoughts turned toward the task at hand and mentally, he was slightly troubled. He doubted Aizen was foolish enough to send two of his top Espada to retrieve a mere Adjuchas. Perhaps their mark wasn’t only an Adjuchas…but that could only mean that he or she was a Vasto Lorde. Stark dwelled on that possibility momentarily and a shadow of consternation crossed his normally deadpan expression. He didn’t trust Aizen as far as he could throw the man and it would be just like their self-proclaimed Lord to throw something like this their way.

In any case, there was nothing he could do now save to learn more regarding Halibel and hope for the best. Besides, they were the first and third Espada…what creature out there could possibly have a chance at defeating them?