True Beauty (Jovia <3)

Auryuu had been staring at the stars all night, he had nothing to do but relax and look at the midnight sky, that had painted his dreams constantly, he was just outside his little house on the outskirts of the Rukon district. The sky is beautiful tonight, I still can't identify these constellations though, damn. The trees by his house were waving in the wind, it was a very windy night, he wished it could be like this forever but he knew he had to continue to get stronger, and he would, he was gaining a insight into his zanpaktou, it was rough but he knew the existence of it and he could feel it's presence.

I will make you reveal yourself.

Without any concern for whomever might be around, or really caring if anyone was around, the weak hollow was as always exploring around. It was a nice night, with a nice moon and all but... She just grinned to herself as she raised her head up to the sky and breathed out after she softly chanted some garbled words. It was a hard one to do, and it only effectively did it for a little ways now... Rain without clouds and a very light pitter patter at that. But at least she had her rain so now her comfort level was much higher now.

She didn't even notice someone who was nearby, and even if she did as long as he didn't chase her down and try to make her go somewhere that was good enough for her. She just slithered along the ground as she sort of.... frolicked is the correct term for it, in the rain.

Auryuu suddenly felt a disturbance of reiatsu, weak, faint, barely noticable but still he had placed himself on guard, his careful nature had always gotten the better off him, the air was damp moist to his skin, which creeped him out he had always hated how the rain obstructed the airs freedom.

Auryuu silently crouched towards nearby bushes waiting for a fluctuation or a glimpse of his hollow.

Nanmei didn't even bother trying to see if anything else was around. Or any real care if her little rainstorm with no clouds attracted anyone. She could just run away again right? Right and then Mr. Moon would come down and help her escape!! So the little water serpent type hollow was just having the time of her life dancing in the rain and hopping into the different puddles they were making. She couldn't really talk all that well, well she didn't speak much anyways. But her trilling sounds of odd laughter were coming out at least as she smacked her paws at the water to make it splash.

Auryuu caught the tranquil looking hollow, is she friendly or is she dangerous, he had killed many hollows of those, that Ren, was somewhat different, refreshing to his eyes and to his heart, he had fallen deeply in love with her, she was now one of his main focuses, and one of the only reasons for his existence, maybe he should give this hollow a chance.

Auryuu waited watching the hollow.

There wasn't enough rain in the air, so the serpent merely lifted her head up to shoot a small water spout up in the air and let it rain down. Squealing a little bit as she slithered around in it. Though a mere glance at her surroundings and she saw something she really didn't need to see... Someone was watching her, were they good? were they bad? she had no idea and frankly she didn't know if she wanted to find out. No wait if they wanted to attack her would it already attack her? Slowly as she slithered about in the rain she tried to cautiously edge away, maybe if she was discreet about it enough she could get away yep yep?

Auryuu saw her spot him and quickly followed her trail, "Stop, your not like the others I just want to talk", he said to the hollow as it slithered away from his grasp, the soul society would hate this, he knew.

The words came quickly to her ears as the shinigami called out and tried to tell her to stop. Want to talk? She frowned as she stopped and slithered up a lamp post to partially hide behind and look down at him. Hopefully the height and the lamp post would help her in case this shinigami wanted to catch her like the others. While she waited for him to speak up though she constantly started to look around, if there was one of him just here there might be more waiting to strike. She wasn't going to be caught again, she wasn't going to let them put her on display again!!!

If she had any hair it would probably be bristled in agitation as she started to sway her head back and forth a bit. No she would wait and see what would happen, but in the meantime the rain would help her in case she could escape if they just ran along the ground and slip? Slowly she breathed out a bit to let a little bit of rain start to sprinkle around the small area. Wait she just did this in front of him? Would he realize she made the rain? Slowly she slunk back to peer out from behind the lamp post.

"I'm not a enemy, I just want to talk to you, I see that you can create rain", Auryuu slowly approached the beautiful creature, he had been pretty close to the hollow, this was the second most seemingly friendly hollow, he took a few more steps closer to the hollow, "Your beautiful, don't be scared", after the incident with that first hollow he wasn't so scared of the creatures anymore, soul society made it seem like they were evil, had no soul, and made them seem diabolic in nature.

Auryuu knelt down to the creature and situated himself he then put out his hand to pet her, "I'm sorry if I scared you", he said with the most kindest smile he'd ever flashed in his whole life.

"Your not bad like they say you are".

Beauty? HA He did want to cage her up just like that other person... but where was the cage? She could break it now she wasn't as weak as before right? Maybe it wasn't there to fool her? Yes, yes that was it this was all just a fooling act, maybe she should play along though in order to break the cage? Yes yes sounded like a plan. Slowly she slithered down the lamp post and stood beside it, not going a step further. Almost like a ferret she stood up on her back claws and looked quickly around once more time before she sat down to stare at the shinigami.

Softly she started to make some chitter like noises as she tilted her head to the side. Then frowned, wait no that wasn't the right language, a few mewls came out of her mouth then too. No wait that wasn't the right language either oh what was it.... "Where... is cage...." She managed to mutter out as she glanced around again frowning. "Must be one... want to capture again... Acting nice..."

Auryuu watched the hollow sit up, it made him a little nervous, but he stayed still, her words hit him they were mangled and messy but he knew she must've not been much of a talking hollow, he heard her talk about a cage, and being nice, he could only piece it together partially he knew the hollow had been troubled before he slowly moved in and wrapped his arms around the hollow.

He had hugged the hollow and the rain now completly covered his body, he forgot all about being careful and showed the hollow his back, he gently rubbed her smooth backside, "Your alright, I'm not like the others", his own words had hurt him emotionally, he would be exiled if anyone knew about this, so he would keep it bottled up like most of his problems.

"This is a sign of our friendship, they teach us all these things in soul society, one is never leave yourself exposed to a hollow, and now I am leaving myself completely defenseless, emotionally, and physically, I trust you, your not a dangerous hollow are you?.

The water had left his body cold, the hollow was cold too, she had been alone for quite some time.

"What's your name?"

Nanmei just watched him the entire time as he listened, he didn't make any move to try to capture her it seemed..... Until he reached over and hugged her, Instantly she tensed up and looked down about to open her mouth to send out some ice to attack with. HE WASN'T GOING TO TAKE HER ALIVE- wait what? She closed her mouth as he started to speak, now she was very very confused.... She was alright? She was caught, no she wasn't no... wait there was no cage around yet so maybe....

A frown went across her face though, but wasn't he that shinigami that had chased her? maybe... maybe that Shinigami only chased her because it was trying to... talk? No that wasn't right was it? Or what was this thing, she saw humans do this to each other... and it made people stop crying... so what was it... Maybe... no.. yes? Her brain was on the verge of literally dying as she tried to understand.

"Not... other... but... was chased.... was hunted.... caged... used... hurt...." She managed to speak out, it looked like that last thing she said in this language kind of got heard? So maybe this is the one she should use instead of chitters or stuff like that. Name? she had a name? yes she did once but what was it? The hollow just slumped as she thought about it, what was her name? "...... Nanmei?" That word sounded familiar, maybe it was her name... or something she could use as a name for now anyways. "Don't.... remember.... long ago.... Nanmei familiar... so guess... Nanmei?"

"Nanmei huh?, would you like to come with me", Auryuu still grasped her in his embrace making sure she knew that she wasn't alone, "It's your choice, but I would love to have you stay with me at my human world house, it's far from Karukara, and is very out of the way, it also has a nice underground well for you, if you would like to swim there", Auryuu let a tear slipped out of his eye, he understood her, he knew that she had been betrayed in the past and wanted to be there for her his sympathy was on a level, of love for any being, he was no a hollow bigot like the rest of soul society.

"I'll protect you, don't worry, I'll put my life on the line to protect you, he brushed the back of her head and he wondered if hollows could cry, he had never seen a hollow cry, he wondered if Ren had cried when she had saw him take the kido, but he didn't know because he passed out almost immediately.

"Do hollows cry, like we do".

Nanmei just sat there as still as a rock while this... this... shinigami hugged her and kept on speaking. Going with him? Her choice? Ha that cage was where he wanted to take her then!!! She tried to squirm and wiggle out from his hold, even so far as grabbing the lamp post to try to get her away. But she didn't run too far, she just held onto the lamp post and looked at him. "... no cage... no cage... no cage... no cage..." She murmured, all that she could focus on was freedom and not being caught. And this was... male right just like the males who wanted to catch her?

Her wings started to open up from behind her and flap to shake the water off of them before spreading out. She could fly away yes, she could escape there was nothing to stop her!! Then wait, that wouldn't be for someone trying to put her in a cage though right? She just frowned and watched the shinigami hesitantly. He wasn't like the ones she had for dinner though, they were mean and never nice and always had plans to stop things which he didn't it seemed.

Wait... maybe he knew about her making rain? And needed rain? Some sort of memory of her helping people going to a shrine for rain came to mind as she swirled her body to make her head look at him upside down. "Need rainmaker again? Need rainmaker at shrine?" No wait... that was someone else right? She shook her head "Make rain lots.... Travel... keep running nobody capture.... underground well?" The well however sparked her interest, was that another name for shiny shrine or something? She did like shrines they were nice and peaceful and it took awhile before things made her run away or didn't need her anymore.

The dragon hollow squirmed away from him and began to fly and said some things he couldn't understand, "Come with me I'll provide you with the things you need, those shinigami will leave you alone, if you live with me, I'll stop them from hurting them", Auryuu persuaded her to come with him, he also even held out his hand to her, "Please come and live with me Nanmei".

Auryuu walked closer to her, you like water, I have tons of it, underground, secluded, peacefull, hidden, protected, comfortable", he started saying things like Nanmei did so she could better understand.

Nanmei frowned as she listened a bit more, this guy did not seem to be harmful at all. In fact he was probably spineless harmless from what she had seen... but he looked like a shinigami so he killed Hollows... Maybe they finally realized she wasn't one of those bad ones and ate the bad men? Aha maybe he wouldn't want her around if she said what she ate and that would snap the trap shut before she got in it. Slowly she started to crawl down off the lamp post and sat down on the ground again, but her wings still open in case she had to get away.

"But food.... souls.... still want around?....well... eat bad men though.... bad men who hurt females... who cage them up..." She managed to speak out, the speech was actually getting a little easier as memories of talking started to flit across her mind, but they never stayed long. She just sort of recoiled though as he started to talk about the underground water. Underground, no way out but one way? "undergound... cage? only... one way?" See there was the cage, maybe she could flood it or make it go boom so no more cage... Yes yes good idea, then no more cage for others either!!

"Um, you can't destroy the well but it is big enough that you could carve the inside of it to make more space for yourself, a cave could be made", Auryuu came closer to Nanmei and pet the top of her head, "Come on Nanmei, =)", Auryuu followed the lights to his nearby home, hoping Nanmei would follow.

"Lets, rebuild this world Nanmei".

Auryuu continued to walk in the rain, soaking wet, he didn't care though, he had made a new friend.

Nanmei just frowned a bit, he was seriously telling her no? Well only if she had to would she do it. It wouldn't be fair to the shrine after all!! She tucked in her claws to her body and started to slither to catch up to Auryuu before she got up on all four of her claws then started to walk on them. But the walk with her claws was more of a waddle with her serpentine body going up and down on either side of her claws. Well who knew, maybe if he was a bad person he could eat his soul then take this protected spot as well.

"Maybe.... just no cage.... no locking up.... no using..."

Auryuu heard her slither up to him, "Welcome home Nanmei", Auryuu then turned around and gave a smile to her and continued to walk down the paved road. Auryuu then turned around when she caught up and continued to walk side by side, Hollow by Shini, it was like a dream, and it made him understand hollows even more. The water had followed him, but he didn't care he could accept it if it meant having Nanmei by his side.

They continued to walk down the paved road, and dissapered in the horizon.