[A/N: Yes, I just HAD to make a sequel . This takes place AFTER the war or after all the Espada dies or when ever you want. Nikoto's POV this time.]

Everyone. Everyone, dead. How had this happened?

I walked through the rubble of torn down buildings and the bodies of my comrades. Tears stung my eyes. I clutched my aching sides and fell to my knees, sobbing.

"Damn you, Aizen! T-This is all your fault!" I sobbed burying my face in my hands.

I kept crying for some time, my friends' cocky faces flashing in my head one after the other, all of their expressions so confident… So many. We were so many!!! How could I be the only one left?!

A sharp cry escaped my trembling lips.

"Getting sentimental, Arrancar?" A rough male voice snapped me out of my trauma.

My head snapped up to meet a Shinigami with icy, grey eyes and long, blue hair tied into a low ponytail.

Oh god. Not another one. Hadn't I killed enough of these guys?

"Leave, I have no wish to kill you. I'm not in the mood for fighting anymore." I spoke, my voice hoarse and dry.

The Shinigami glared at me viciously. "Then this will be easy!!!" He charged at me so fast I barley had time to whip out my zanpakutou and block his attack.

Our reiatsus flared.

"This reiatsu… Vice-Captain?" I was unamused. I had beheaded a Captain not so long ago after she'd killed my fraccion. My Gaby.

"You're not mistaken. Vice-Captain of the 14th division, Hideki Riozuki." He spat.

"Oh, I get it now." I whispered before using sonido to get some distance between us.

He bared his teeth at me, clearly furious.

"I see…" I mused. "You're angry that I killed off your squad. I'd say that I understand. But right now I couldn't be less concerned about your pain, I'm too overwhelmed by my own."

"Good! You disserve that pain and more after what you did to Tora-Taicho!!!" He yelled.

I snapped. "The bitch started it! She killed my fraccion!!!" Tears welled in my eyes at the memory. "I was her opponent! She didn't have to kill him!!! That whore!" I screamed.

"Don't insult my Captain!!!" Hideki charged at me once more.

Our swords clashed. I used Sonido and appeared behind him, throwing a Bala at him.

He dodged and slashed my already- wounded arm.

"Shit!"

I was getting slower and weaker by the second. I had been critically injured so many times in so many fights. I had fought many strong opponents, there was no way I could win another fight. I was going to die by this Vice-Captain's sword.

I jumped high in the air, attempting to get away from the hostile shinigami. But he was right behind me, clashing his katana against mine violently. I couldn't keep up with his movements, I was too tired. In a too-quick swipe of his sword my foot was caught. The shinigami's katana sliced through my ankle like a knife through hot-butter. The mangled limb fell to the ground with a subtle thud.

The burning pain was too much to bare, a sharp scream of pain escaped my lips. Automatically, I moved to hold my injury. At that moment the Vice-Captain ran his sword through my torso and, with the same motion, flung me to the ground.

I hit the pavement with a deafening crack. Wheezing and choking on my own blood, I moved my hand to my bleeding side. It was incredibly difficult to breathe, he had to have severely injured one of my lungs.

I couldn't move. This was it. I was going to die then and there.

'I'm sorry, Nova… I broke my promise, we wont meet again.' I thought to myself as I lay bleeding on the ground. I had promised my fraccion that I'd come back alive, that he'd see me again. Right after I ordered him not to follow me here which he, to his credit, hadn't, as opposed to Gaby.

'Where are you now, Nova? Are you dead? Are you thinking about me? When will you realize that I've died?' I wished I could've asked him all those questions. I wished I could've seen him again. I wished I could've told him how much he meant to me.

The Vice-Captain descended and stood by my side, pointing his katana at me.

"Are you afraid, Espada?" He asked.

I glared at him.

"Tell me, do you have any other servants? Will they try to avenge you, just like I'm avenging Tora-Taicho?" He went on lifting his zanpakutou, ready to plunge it into my chest.

I was just about to spit at him when out of nowhere, a blur of black and white jumped over me and charged at my opponent at the speed of light. Hideki staggered on his feet before a spurt of blood shot out of his upper-arm. He jumped back about twenty yards getting distance between him and whatever attacked him.

"Get the fuck away from her!!!" Came a new voice. The voice was familiar but the sentence it used was not, I had never heard this voice use those words, nor that tone.

The Vice-Captain laughed, "Speak of the devil!" He snickered. "Who're you, her other Fraccion?"

I sat up to meet the situation. Indeed, there he was, my fraccion. He was crouching in front of me protectively with his zanpakutou unsheathed, his expression in a fierce snarl.

"N-Nova!!!" My tone was a mix of surprise, relief, and anger.

"I'm sorry Nikoto-sama. I had no choice but to disobey your orders." He spoke monotonously. "I had to come."

I laughed bitterly, "Well, you're timing was perfect."

"My brother is dead." He stiffened at the statement.

No. No way. Ulquiorra dead? No. That didn't make sense. The word 'Ulquiorra' and the phrase 'is dead' could never go in the same sentence. How could The Cuarta Espada be dead? Then again, it wasn't that surprising. After all, All of our army was dead.

I was about to respond, but then something in his brain seemed to click into place. His tone changed to from harshness and anger to worry and innocence.

"Nikoto-sama…" He looked around frantically. "Where's… Where's Gaby?" His voice broke. "H-He came to help you, didn't he?"

I took a deep breath. "He's dead, Nova." My voice trembled.

My Fraccion threw me a haunted look. "W-What..? No. That's not possible." His voice was shaking.

"He's dead, Nova!!! For fuck's sake! The most powerful Espada have fallen, and you cant believe a lesser Arrancar has been killed?!" I snapped.

"That's not possible!!!" He repeated frantically, I could see tears rounding up in the corner of his visible eye.

He spun around abruptly to meet my eyes, forgetting about the our enemy, who seemed amused by our exchange.

"He cant be dead, Nikoto-sama… Gaby… He was too arrogant to die!!!" The tears he'd been holding back ran down his cheeks. "Damn it!" He cursed his weakness, wiping away the emotional moisture quickly.

"Nova…" I didn't know what to say.

As far I knew, Nova and Gaby were always arguing. Gaby picked on Nova constantly, calling him names like 'Noob' or 'Rookie', rarely calling him by his real name, and making him do all his chores for him. The only reason Nova hadn't ripped his head off was because Gaby was a lot stronger than him. Or so I thought. Apparently, they had developed some sort of bond which I hadn't noticed was there until now.

"That lying bastard! He said he could handle it!!!" He yelled. "And… I believed him… I'm such an idiot." He covered his eye and the eye-hole on his half hollow mask with his palm.

Hideki Riozuki cleared his throat arrogantly.

Nova's expression hardened as he turned to glare at the shinigami. "Is he the one who killed him?" He accused.

"No, I took her life quickly." I responded.

The Vice-Captain snorted. "Please. If it weren't for your pawns you'd be long dead. You are so weak, it's shameful-" Nova's blade's whistling silenced him.

"Shut your mouth, Shinigami. I believe my master is the stronger than any of you." Nova stated and Hideki rolled his eyes. "At any case, I am your opponent now." He continued, his tone harsher than I could've ever imagined.

The Shinigami smirked. "Then state your name."

"Fraccion of Dua-Decima Espada, younger brother of the Fallen Cuarta, Nova Schiffer!!!" Nova stated, his voice ascending with a burst of pride.

Pride. Yes, that was it. Finally, Nova was proud to be himself. This was a first, he was always moping about how he was a weak and useless piece of trash, ideas planted in his head by his cruel sibling and stronger Arrancar who constantly harassed and taunted him. Nova had always thought of himself as nothing more than my lapdog. But that had changed, the events of this war had changed him. I understood. They had changed me too.

"Vice-Captain of the 14th division, Hideki Riozuki." The Blue-haired Shinigami answered monotonously.

"Well, then," Nova gripped his zanpakutou with both hands. "Lets dance!" He lunged forward and clashed his katana against the Vice-Captain's.

Hideki reacted automatically, and blocked all of his strikes. In mere seconds, they were in an all-out swordfight.

I gaped at my fraccion's quick, expert movements. He trained everyday, that I knew. He always wanted to be stronger. He had succeeded. All those training injuries, all those morning-afters at the infirmary had not been in vain. I could feel his reiatsu flaring, Nova had gotten unbelievable stronger. His reiatsu matched the Vice-Captain's.

Nova managed to injure his opponent a few times, remaining unscratched thanks to his Hierro. But Hideki Riozuki was no push over, my Fraccion was forced to pull back.

"You're… pretty good." He panted.

"You're… not half bad yourself… Definitely better than that piece of crap." The Shinigami huffed pointing at me.

Nova used sonido to appear behind him. "Don't insult my master!!!" He yelled angrily as he connected his fist with Hideki's cheek, sending him flying about thirty yards and making him crash into a crumbling building.

The Shinigami hit the wall and let out a shrill of laughter.

"What's so funny?" The pale Arrancar asked darkly.

"Those were the exact same words I said to the weak Espada before I sliced her foot off. Tell me, are you about to slice my foot off?" He snickered.

Nova's pale features reddened in anger as his gaze darted between his opponent and the bloody stump on my right ankle. I thought he was about to run to my aid, calling "Nikoto-sama!!!" like he always did, but he stood his ground.

He then spoke low and deep, "No, I'm about to slice your head off!!!" He yelled at the blue-haired man.

"Bring it, then!" Hideki yelled as the both charged at each other, katanas raised high. They clashed, then Hideki landed a hard kick on Nova's ribs, flinging him back with a cracking noise and knocking his breath out of him.

My Fraccion held his injured side, panting to regain lost oxygen. The Shinigami charged at him amazingly fast.

"Nova!" I tried to warn him, but to no avail. He didn't have time to react, Hideki had already connected his fist with his face.

Caught of guard, he stood there dumbfounded as the Shinigami grabbed his arm and flung him into half a building. The Arrancar hit the wall and dented into the concrete, coughing up some blood as the Vice Captain prepared to strike again.

I had enough. I didn't care if I was incapacitated, I didn't care if I would surely die. I couldn't stand seeing my loved one get thrown around like a rag doll. I rose to my knees and gripped my zanpakutou.

"No, Nikoto-sama!" Nova yelled at me, I froze. "Stay out of this, you cant fight anymore! I can handle this." He pried himself from the building's concrete and leaped forward again, landing about ten yards in front of the Shinigami.

He then spoke directly to his opponent. "I wont hold back anymore, Shinigami."

Hideki raised an incredulous eyebrow. "You were holding back?"

Nova rolled up his right sleeve, revealing his pale, slightly-scarred skin. He then ran his zanpakutou on his inner arm, from his elbow to his wrist, slicing his delicate skin open.

Hideki was getting cautious. "What… are you doing?"

The Arrancar ran his hand across his wound, drenching his palm in his own blood and smearing it all over his katana.

My eyes widened. It couldn't be. Was he going to…?

He held out his sword with both hands. "Forsake. Arcángel!!!" He yelled as his zanpakutou started glowing and his reiatsu flared.

Light blinded both the Vice-Captain and I. We shielded our eyes, automatically. When the flood of bright luminescence was over we looked up to meet the scene.

My mouth fell open in awe as my eyes fell upon a man I barely recognized.

His shirt was no longer there, an armor of bone was framing his built torso. He had matching arm guards with curved blades attached. His mask was covering both of his emerald eyes now but I could see them through the eye-holes, unlike before. I absently noted that I had never seen Nova's left eye before. His wild black hair was a bit longer, and his ever-dark nails had grown a good two inches. He looked outstandingly different.

Though his change in appearance wasn't what surprised me the most. What really made my jaw drop was the large, white angel-like wings coming from his back and the massive bone-ish bow he held.

"Nova… You look amazing." I whispered in awe. He didn't hear me, of course.

"I have been forsaken by my heart. I will fight until death overcomes me if it means protecting my master. I will spill every drop of my cursed blood in her name. I will defend her until my heart draws out it's last beat." Nova spoke low and dark.

I couldn't help but smile. That was my Nova, loyal to the end.

Hideki spoke up. "Pretty words, you should be a poet." My Fraccion's eyes narrowed. "Anyway, so this is what an Arrancar's Resurreccion is like. Nice reiatsu." The Shinigami went on.

"I have just released my sword, and I'd like this fight to be a fair one. I'm giving you a chance to release your Bankai." Nova replied.

The Shinigami laughed out loud. "Don't flatter yourself! Don't get me wrong, you look cool and all, but I'm still gonna mop the floor with your sorry ass!"

My Fraccion was unfazed. "Then this will be over quickly." He stated charging a glowing arrow on his large bow.

I could barely concentrate on their exchange since I was so busy pondering Nova's new weapon.

The Shinigami visibly discarded the arrow as a threat, probably thinking that he could dodge it easily. But wrong he was.

As Nova released the arrow, it flew at the speed of light towards his opponent, unbelievably, shooting a massive green Cero at him.

Hideki's eyes widened as he moved to dodge it, but the green beams still engulfed him.

I couldn't tare my gaze away from Nova's fierce expression, he looked so cold. Was this really my Nova? My affectionate, confused, insecure, depressed Nova?

The smoke and dust cleared revealing a very burned and tattered Vice-Captain.

Nova's eyes narrowed to slits. "How did you deflect it?" He asked.

His opponent didn't answer, he was too busy recovering from his coughing fit.

"All right. Let see you stop this." Nova said, charging three arrows at the same time.

Hideki reacted almost immediately, he used Shunpo and appeared behind Nova in a flash, ready to stab him from behind. Nova had always been quick, so I expected him to get out of the way before the blade could even scratch him. But he remained rooted to the spot and the Shinigami's zanpakutou dove into his mid-back and exited through his stomach. I almost screamed.

"What the hell?!" Hideki exclaimed trying to yank out his katana again.

Nova hadn't even flinched. He grabbed the blade sticking out of his stomach absently.

"This is Arcángel's special ability, useful, only requiring a small blood sacrifice. Listen well, Hideki Riozuki; you will not to be able to kill me with a mere stab." He jerked the blade forward and slowly pulled it out of his flesh, perfectly clean.

Hideki gasped and released his hold on the hilt as Nova's glowing wound swallowed it.

"W-what are you?!" The Vice-Captain stuttered as he leaped away from his opponent.

Nova turned to face him, holding out his katana for him. "I'm just a regular Hollow. We're more powerful than you think."

The Shinigami eyed him uncertainly for a second before taking his sword once more. "Why so noble?" He asked.

"It is but my nature." Replied my Fraccion with a slight smile.

Hideki took an offensive stance. "Then tell me; If a stab wont kill you, what will?"

I glared at the man from where I sat.

Nova laughed out loud. Not tauntingly or bitterly, it sounded genuine. Like he'd heard a good joke.

"Are you serious? I'm noble, not stupid! Why would I tell you how to kill me? You'll have to figure that one out your own." He mocked.

Hideki clucked his tongue. "I knew there was a catch. Anyway, I'm not after you, I'm after her." He nodded towards me.

"You still have to kill me if you want to even touch her." Without warning, Nova charged at his opponent, taking a swing at him with the blades on his arm guards.

Hideki stumbled backwards in an attempted to dodge, but Nova's blade had already sliced his cheek opened. He managed to block the other and throw the Arrancar back a few feet.

The Shinigami then swung his sword at his opponent. Nova used his bow to block his attack and kicked his chest, sending him flying.

I smirked. This was my Fraccion. My unbelievably strong Fraccion. Oh, how I wished Ulquiorra was alive and well, and watching his brother fight at that moment. He wouldn't direct the word 'Trash' at Nova again. I was childishly jealous, though. I was sure My release form wasn't as cool.

They were in a Sonido-Shunpo fight now. Disappearing and appearing, chasing one an other. Probably debating what to do next.

Suddenly something, I'm not sure what, landed next to me and made the rubble besides me explode into tiny shards. I screamed as the debris pierced my vulnerable skin and covered my face with my hands. The force of the attack knocked me several feet further before I was buried in a larger pile of rubble. I gasped and wheezed, struggling desperately to regain the little oxygen my lungs could hold.

"N-Nikoto-sama!!!" Came Nova's signature yell.

I knew he would use Sonido to get to me in mere seconds. Then, just as I predicted, I felt the chunks of debris being lifted off me.

"Nikoto-sama!" I heard again before strong arms wrapped around my small frame and pulled me against an armored chest. "Are you okay?"

I looked up to meet a pair of emerald eyes, partially hidden behind a bone mask. I got lost in his eyes for a moment.

"N-Nova…" My hand found his cheek before I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace.

Again, something near us exploded. My subconscious noted that the Shinigami had begun cutting down concrete and cement to throw them at his opponent.

Nova immediately used Sonido to get us to safety. He set me down behind a large chunk of wall.

"Please stay here, it's safest." He instructed as he ripped a cloth from his hakama and tied it over my severed ankle. "You've lost a lot of blood so it's normal if you feel a bit faint. Just stay covered, and please don't try to help me. I will kill this Vice-Captain." He then said.

"You don't get to tell me what to do, Fraccion." I mocked with a teasing smirk.

"It was not an order, simply a request." He smiled. "Please, Master. You're tired. I can handle him. Don't try to help."

"Be careful, kay?" I breathed before planting a soft kiss on his masked forehead.

"I always am." And with that, he disappeared before me. Not a moment after, I heard blades clashing behind me.

I turned to see the situation. Hideki had taken a swing with his katana and Nova had blocked it with his bow.

The Shinigami looked angry. "You are one annoying son of a bitch!!!"

He kicked Nova in the ribs once more but the Arrancar blocked his kick with his own.

"Wont get me with that again." Nova mocked.

Hideki let out a frustrated scream and grabbed Nova's throat, forgetting about the offensive arm blades that dove into his skin as he did so. He stabbed my Fraccion over and over, ignoring the fact that it could not hurt him.

"Die, die, die, die!!!!" He yelled angrily before throwing his opponent into the ground.

"Hideki Riozuki, I have no wish to kill you. You may still walk away from this fight." Nova stated raising to his feet.

"No. No! You don't understand! I have nothing against you, but I need to kill her!!! If I don't, my Captain will never be at peace!" The Shinigami screamed at him.

"Revenge is but a path towards despair. You seem smarter than most, use your brains and stop this nonsense." Nova replied.

"No, I cant! You don't understand!!! I… I-"

"You loved her." My Fraccion cut him off.

"W-What? How did you?" The formerly-composed Shinigami stammered.

"Did you think that my only tie to my Master was loyalty? You were wrong. Yes, she is my Master and I owe her my eternal loyalty. But I fell in love with her the first time our eyes met. So you see, Shinigami, I do understand."

My heart fluttered and dropped at my Fraccion's words. He didn't sound like the desperate boy who had poured his heart and soul into a confession just hours prior, sobbing and begging me not come to this battle. Did he really feel this way about me? I'd always known he had a crush on me, it was plain as day. But never did I think that it was this serious.

"I've always… Since I first saw you, since you first smiled at me… Nikoto…sama…" His words repeated themselves in my mind.

At that moment I thought he was saying whatever he could to make me stay. I treated him so harshly. When he blurted out that sentence, he meant it. Oh God, he meant it! It wasn't just a dumb crush. Nova… He really loved me!

My eyes watered. I didn't know why, but this realization made my heart ache with guilt of all the pain that I'd put him through.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Hideki's screaming.

"You don't know so many things! You think you're so smart, well I'm smarter!!! You cant fool me with that bullshit! Hollows cant feel those emotions!" He yelled. "You're strong. And you were right, I cant beat you without releasing my zanpakutou."

He held out the sword in mention in front of him. "Bankai!!!"

Another bolt of light blinded me once more. The last thing I saw was Nova shielding his eyes. After the brightness died out, we saw that Hideki's katana had transformed into a linked chain sword, it was twice as long and about two feet wide.

"I ask of you, Nova, was it? To step aside, I have no wish to kill you either." The Vice-Captain asked subtly.

"You ask too much!" Yelled Nova as he threw another arrow at him.

The Shinigami disappeared just before the arrow hit him and appeared behind Nova, wrapping the sword around him in a swing and smashing him against the rocky ground.

"Nova!!!" I wailed as I saw the spurt of blood coming from my his body.

"Ah-ha! So my Bankai does work against your freak talent." The Shinigami smirked before giving his sword, which was tightly wrapped around my Fraccion, a hard jerk.

He swung it into a large hunk of wood and concrete. Nova crashed into the pile, drenching everything in blood.

"Nova!!!" I yelled uselessly. I wanted to help him! I wanted to kill this Shinigami and run to his aid To cradle his head in the crook of my neck, mumbling sweet nothings into his ear, Things like 'You're safe now' or 'Everything is going to be all right' But I was useless. As much as I'd like to convince myself that I could still fight and win, Nova was right. I couldn't help him.

My Fraccion grabbed his opponent's constricting sword with both hands, forcing it to separate from his body with his arm blades, it's sharp spikes biting into his flesh. His pale skin was stained of crimson. He held it away from his torso before using Sonido to escape from it's grasp.

He re-appeared far away from his opponent wrapping his bloody arms around his injured chest, panting heavily.

"Nova!!!" I heaved myself to my remaining foot, supporting my weight of the rock I hid behind, ready to use whatever means necessary to get to his side.

"Stay where you are, god dammit!!!" He snarled at me harshly.

His tone was enough to stop me. I had never seen him like this before. I slowly slid to my knees once more.

Nova charged at his opponent, charging a few arrows at the time and releasing them mere feet away from him. Hideki didn't dodge, he swiped his sword at them, sending an energy wave and deflecting them against Nova.

My Fraccion's eyes widened as he staggered on his feet at the upcoming threat before leaping back from the simultaneous Ceros. He managed to Sonido out of the way in time, but not before he was slightly burned by his own attack. He re-appeared close to where I hid.

"Nikoto-sama… He's gotten too strong, I'm loosing." He said to me. "I don't think I can beat him, and there's no way he'll let us run away." His voice trembled. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to get out of this."

"N-Nova, I-"

"In the end Onee-sama was right, I'm nothing more than a useless piece of trash."

"Shut up!!!" I yelled. "Don't you say that, Nova! You're not useless and you're not trash! I don't think I could survive a day without you. You're not useless!!!"

"Nikoto-sama, you-"

"You just need something keep you motivated." I cut him off. "Nova Schiffer, If you win this fight, I'll let you be my lover!!!" Yes, that was unexpected. I was pulling that promise right out of my ass.

Nova's face blushed about fifty shades of crimson. "N-Nikoto-sama!!! I-I cant-"

"Honesty, falling in love with you wouldn't be that hard. You're sweet, and kind, and loving. And I'm sorry for saying all those things to you. You didn't disserve to be treated so coldly." I cut him off again.

"But… I don't understand. You don't love me..." He mumbled, looking away to hide his growing blush and check on his opponent at the same time.

"Not yet. But, like I said, it wouldn't be that hard, Nova. If we get out of this, we'll be together." I assured.

It was true. Falling in love with Nova was a rather easy thing to do, if I put myself to it. He had looks, brains, and a sweet, compassionate personality. He made me happy and gave me anything I wanted. And if I got out of this war alive, I would really need a shoulder to cry on and a warm body to curl up against at night. It really wouldn't be that bad, and Nova would be happy. I owed him, at least, that much after all the shit I'd put him through.

How awful it must've been to listen to the racket Grimmjow and I made when we got horny, all night long. It had to suck big time to hear the girl you loved moaning another man's name… All night long.

"How heart-warming. Can I kill you now?" Hideki snapped arrogantly.

"You say it like it's so easy." Nova stated before charging at him again.

The Shinigami blocked. "You seem motivated. You really wanna fuck her, huh?" He mocked.

"You're disgusting. Like I said before, I will protect her until my heart stops beating. I am just as motivated as before." Nova replied coolly.

"And what was that just now?" Hideki smirked. "You act so cool around me, yet the next second you're kissing the floor where that bitch walks on."

Nova didn't reply.

"You know, I do relate to you in some way, Nova Schiffer. You say that revenge is the path to despair, but tell me, If I succeeded in killing your master, to what extent would you go to make me pay?" The Vice-Captain went on.

Nova replied with a glare.

Hideki glared back. "An eye for an eye, Nova Schiffer." He spoke, his tone grave and serious once more. He pushed away his opponent and threw a wave of pure energy directly at me with his zanpakutou.

My eyes widened at the sight of impending doom that advanced towards me. There was nothing I could do to get out of it's way. I was dead. I was dead for sure.

"NO!!!" I heard Nova yell as he appeared right in front of me.

"NOVA, DONT-!!!" I couldn't finish, a deafening BOOM silenced me as I unconsciously took cover behind my refuge.

All hell broke loose, the force of the attack was so much it made my ears hurt. I had to shut my eyes, it was impossible to keep them opened. I could feel everything that had been standing falling around me, some of the debris hitting me. I didn't remember the last time I felt so afraid for myself. It seemed to last forever.

Finally, It was over. I looked up from my hands shakily, panting heavily. I looked around to find everything even more tattered than before. I was just starting to regain my breath when the top half of the rock I used for shelter slid out of it's base and hit the floor with a clunk.

My eyes widened as I remembered my Fraccion standing directly in wave's path. I gasped and turned to find him.

What I found surprised me. He was still standing in front of me, but he had reverted to his original form, his zanpakutou was laying on the ground besides him, and there was something off about his position.

"Nova!" I called.

"I-It's o-okay. I-I'm fine. I-I…" He stuttered in a strained voice, staggering on his feet a bit.

I sighed in relief. But suddenly, he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. My relief turned to horror as I saw his torso detach from the lower half of his body as he fell.

I let out a high-pitched scream before putting all my strength into using Sonido to appear by his side.

"Nova!!!" I cried, wrapping my arms around him, going into hysteria.

"Nikoto…sama…" He grunted as he coughed up a stream of blood.

"Shh… Shh. Don't speak, save your strength." I cooed, cradling his head to my chest. "It's okay. You're going to be fine. Just hang on… Hang in there…" I sobbed.

"I… I cant feel my legs…" He lifted his head a bit and caught sight of his severed abdomen. "Oh God…" He gawked at his fatal injury.

"Don't look!!!" I screamed burying his face in my chest.

"I-I'm gonna die…" He squeaked, his voice trembling at the realization.

"No! No, you're not gonna die!!! I wont let you… I wont… I wont…" I sobbed into the crook of his neck.

"I… cant recover from this one."

"I'll go get you some help. That Inoue girl! She can fix this!!! I'll make her heal you!" I yelled desperately.

"That girl is long gone by now, you'll never find her in time."

"Shut up!!! Shut up!!!" I yelled at him.

I wouldn't, couldn't, let him die. My Nova. My Nova! I wasn't going to loose him. I'd lost everything, I couldn't loose him too. Tears rolled down my cheek as a staggered sob escaped my lips.

He put his bloody palm on my cheek. "Don't cry…" He begged. "I hate to see you cry."

Of course, his words only made me sob even more. I buried my face in his hand, crying so hard it made my injured lungs burn.

"Don't die, Nova. Please don't die!"

"I'm sorry, Nikoto-sama… I'm sorry I broke my promise. I am that stupid…" He remarked.

My mind wondered back to your last conversation before all this madness started;

"I don't want you to die! I don't want you to die for me!!! Nova, promise me you wont be that stupid!" I had begged him.

"B-But, Nikoto-sama, I'd do anything for you."

"NO!!! Promise me!" I had begged again.

"But…"

"Promise me!!!"

"I-I promise." He had sighed in defeat.

"Don't die… Don't die…" I sobbed into his palm.

"I cant breathe…It hurts…" He groaned.

"I don't want you to die!!!"

"I don't wanna die, either!" He snapped. "Oh, god it hurts! It hurts so much! Please, make it stop…" He begged.

My eyes watered even more. "I wish I could…"

"I don't wanna die, dammit. Nikoto-sama, I want to stay with you…" I could see the tears rounding up in the corner of his visible eye.

I couldn't speak anymore, I just cried. I morbidly wondered how long it would take for him to bleed to death. He was getting weaker by the second and there was nothing I could do to help him.

He locked his somber gaze with mine as he caressed my cheek with his thumb.

"You are the most beautiful woman in the world…" He breathed. "At least the last thing I'll see is you."

"D-Don't say that, Nova… You w-wont d-die…" I didn't even believe my own words anymore.

I did feel slightly flattered that my Fraccion considered me the most beautiful woman in the world. I knew I wasn't ugly, but beautiful wasn't exactly a word that would describe me. I was ridiculously short and flat-chested, it had always been my notion that my appearance resembled a child's. My hair was chopped and messy, and the large scar that crossed my right eye, curtsey of our Fallen Quinta Espada, wasn't exactly something you'd wanna look at. I didn't consider myself that attractive, I was surely not the most beautiful woman in Hueco Mundo, let alone the entire world. But it was still nice to know Nova thought so.

I mentally slapped myself for letting my mind wonder into something so superficial in a time like this.

Nova suddenly went into a coughing fit, gurgling and coughing up blood. It was so forceful, it drenched my stained shirt more and spiked my face.

"Ugh… I'm so-orry…" He struggled to speak.

"Don't be…" I ran my hand through his hair.

How awful. He was agonizing in such away, how much longer would he continue to suffer? He had been literally cut in half, why was he still alive and conscious? Maybe he wasn't destined to die. Maybe I could still figure out a way to save him. I had to think. Where was that little Inoue bitch?! If Ulquiorra was dead then that orange-haired idiot must've taken her, but the fighting was over, here at least, so where was she?

Nova's strained voice snapped me out of my thoughts, "Nikoto-sama, will you do something for me?"

"Anything, Nova." I replied.

"Kiss me… Please, just one last, real kiss…" He asked, probably remembering the pity-peck I'd given him before.

For some reason I was stunned. He was slowly dying and all he wanted from me was a kiss? It didn't matter, I wasn't going to let him die, and I'd promised him we would be lovers if we got out of this alive. So what difference did one kiss make?

I nodded as tears overwhelmed me once more. "Okay…" I whispered as I tucked my messy hair behind my ear and leaned down to plant my lips on his.

Our lips touched as he weakly tangled his hand in my hair. It wasn't like before, unlike our last kiss, this one was real for him and for me. I pulled him tighter against me, kissing him hungrily as if it would stop him from dying in my arms. He kissed me back as strongly as he could, urgently, like he was afraid of dying before he could satiate himself.

I could taste the blood that oozed from his mouth on my tongue, it left an unpleasant, metallic taste of death on my taste-buds but that didn't matter. I didn't care how awful his blood tasted because his lips were sweet.

I didn't want to part, I didn't want to let go. But I was sure that if I didn't he would suffocate, so I hesitantly pulled away from him.

He smiled at me. "I love you…" He whispered hoarsely, "I've always… Since I first saw you, since you first smiled at me… Nikoto… sama…" He shakily quoted his confession just as his chest rose and fell one last time before he became perfectly still. His head fell limply into my shoulder, his dim eye staring at my face but seeing nothing.

No. It couldn't be. No, he wasn't dead! He couldn't be!!!

"Nova… Oi, Nova!" I shook him lightly, no response. "No! No!!! Wake up! Wake up!!! Nova, please!!!" I shook him harder. "PLEASE!!! Don't do this to me!!! Nova, wake up!!! Wake up, NOW!!!" I yelled hysterically, choking on my on tears.

"Nova, don't die on me! Please… Nova!!!" I screamed as his head hung backwards limply.

I uselessly shook his limp body to no avail… My Fraccion was dead. I screamed at the top of my lungs, all of my emotions from today twisting together in a sharp, piercing noise. I screamed again, and again. I screamed his name over and over, repeating the word 'No' in ear-splitting shrieks.

My Nova was dead. He was dead!!! He was all that I had left and he'd died in my arms. I had lost everything and everyone I held dear in this war. I didn't even know what I was fighting for anymore, but I knew one thing; Nothing was worth this.

My stomach twisted and turned and my heart clenched and tightened as I sobbed into my Fraccion's shoulder. Just then, I heard footsteps approaching me. My head snapped up to meet the Shinigami approaching us. I didn't do anything to stop him, nothing mattered anymore.

"Please… Please, kill me!" I begged. "I have nothing left, just kill me now!"

The Shinigami stared at me somberly. "Like I said, Espada, An eye for an eye." He stated before stabbing Nova's zanpakutou into the gap between my Fraccion's body. He then turned and walked away.

My face distorted in pain and disbelief as what he was saying sank in. He had never aimed at me when he attacked, he knew Nova would take the hit. He thought that killing my Fraccion was more punishment than killing me. He was right.

I should've been angry, furious. But nothing mattered anymore. I let another cry of pain slip out of my mouth before burying my face on Nova's chest once more.

Why had this happened to me? I didn't want anything to do with this! The only reason I took part in this twisted plot was because I was bound to Aizen-baka by loyalty, because if it weren't for him I would still be a lower-class Arrancar. Aizen had given me a reason to train and get stronger, he had founded the Espada. I thought that if I was powerful enough to be ranked an Espada I would be powerful enough to stand for myself and follow my own path. But I ended up as Aizen's pawn, mindlessly following his orders like the others.

I knew a lot of other Arrancar who hadn't signed up for this either, starting with my two Fraccions. Gaby loved to fight, it was the only thing he got off his lazy ass to do. He became my Fraccion shortly after I became an Espada, precisely because I also loved to train and get stronger so I could fight even more. And Nova… He just wanted the best for me. All he ever wanted was to see me smile. Neither of them knew of Aizen's plan when they became my Fraccion.

And even if we weren't bound to Aizen by whatever kept us there, what other choice did we have than to do his bidding? If we didn't we'd be disowned, our limbs cut clean off, or just killed. We didn't have a choice, and to think I once believed that Aizen was our guide to a better life. How blind and naïve I was. He had given us everything… And taken it away.

My thoughts wondered wildly as I cried into my Fraccion's chest before settling on one particularly sickening realization. All I had left of all that I once had was the mangled corpse I held.

I looked at him and I no longer saw my sweet servant, I saw a gory, mangled, butchered, bloody carcass. When he was dying in my arms, the fact that he was cut in half hadn't fazed me at all, I had almost forgotten it. I had kissed a man, not a corpse. But now, the sight of his severed waist made me sick to my stomach, I retched and gagged at the sight. Feeling horrible about it, I shifted my gaze to his face. But his dim opened eye and the way his bloody mouth hung slightly opened made it worst. His dead expression made me stomach turn even more. I had seen far-worse sights of gore and death so this shouldn't have affected me so. The reason I couldn't handle it was because I could no longer find Nova Schiffer in the bloody pulp that lay in my arms.

I had the urge to get away from him as fast as possible, but I hadn't the heart to do it. After all, this corpse had once been my Fraccion. It killed me how I would not be able to remember his smiling, almost-constantly-blushing face after this. This nightmaric sight would haunt me for the rest of my life, which I hoped wouldn't be too long.

"I want to die…" I wept.

This was the first time in my afterlife I said something like that. I had commited scuicide when I was alive, having serious mental and emotional problems, but I had never felt that way ever since I became a Hollow, I always had a purpose, there was always someone there for me, I was no longer alone.

My heart seemed to stop. I had a sudden epiphany; I was alone again.

I screamed again before a familiar voice surprised me.

"One last merciful act towards my enemy." Hideki's voice rang in my head.

I couldn't consentrate on what he said, I was too stunned by hearing him. I'd thought he'd left after he killed Nova.

"Wha-" I tried to ask but sharp pain in my chest silenced me.

I looked down to find a sharp blade sticking out of my chest as the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. The blade yanked back out of my body as I fell forward, landing half ontop of Nova's chest. Everything slowed to a crawl, I could hear my injured heart beating wildly, I could hear blood rushing in my head. I was dying.

Relief flodded me as I realized that it would all be over soon. All my pain would be over. In just a few seconds I would be meeting my comrades in hell, or heaven, or whatever lay instore for us hollows after we die. I wasn't angry at the Shinigami anymore, he would always have my enternal gratitude.

With my last bit of strength, I stretched my arm and placed my hand on Nova's cheek. We would be together after all. Now I could die peacefully, knowing that my acid tears would one day bring beauty from my pain, one day a crimson rose would bloom where I have shed them…

And with that last thought, my broken heart drew out it's last beat and my mind slid slowly into the endless slumber…