---

---

Midday, it was raining, the sun in large part obscured by the storm clouds as they passed over Karakura town and the abandoned mansion in its outskirts. The mansion, which the residents and their governing body, had named haunted and forsaken, in truth housed something far less sinister than evil spirits and yokai.

After all, while spirits did live within its walls, they were those that protected the delicate balance of souls, rather than those who preyed upon man. Four months ago the shinigami had purified it of the infestation that had built up within its walls and had decided to make it their base of operations given its size. While the building had not been maintained for years, Taikou—the Commander—had ordered that it be cleaned at least on the inside and that barriers be put up to shield the town from the various levels of reiatsu which would normally emanate from the building.

He had made sure they were secure, protected from hollows by kido to conceal their presence, but capable of deploying at any moment. It was a barracks of sorts and while it was not perfect, it was nonetheless an efficient system they had set in place.

Taikou was glad they had found the building. However, they had prepared long enough and he had finally come up with a plan. It was time to act, and so it was that hell butterflies were cast over the premise, contacting each shinigami present that it was time to gather in the entrance hall, which was the biggest area within the building aside from the gym, which they had re-purposed into a sparring field.

Already present when the lot of the arrived, Taikou smiled and greeted each one as they gathered, with the captains arranging further up the mirrored pair of stairs, while their lieutenants stood lower, followed by the various seated officers below them. Taikou stood on the balcony above them all, where they could easily see him and where their attention would naturally be drawn.
Once everyone had arrived, Taikou regarded each one and after a tense moment of silent anticipation, he spoke.

“Today begins our campaign, esteemed captains, lieutenants, and seated officers alike,” he began, voice carrying easily through the chambers fantastic acoustics, lending to him a greater sense of authority, while instilling pride and confidence in his men.

“Those who cast us down must be punished in turn, but we must get to them, and we must be stronger when we face them.”

He looked at each of them in turn before continuing.

“When next we step foot into the Seireitei, we will not be the same shinigami. We will be ready to fight, and when we do, we will win.”

He gave them a moment to absorb that, letting the weight of responsibility settle on their shoulders so that they would know and fully understand their duty. “However, today is not that day. First, we will ascertain the nature of their strength, and to do that we must get to them.”

At this, one of the seated officers stepped forwards and Taikou nodded to him, giving the man permission to speak.

“Sōtaichou-sama, we cannot use senkaimon, so how will we find out way into Soul Society? Are we not trapped here in the World of the Living?”

Taikou nodded his head for the shinigami to step back, giving him a calm assured smile. “Hiroto-san is right, we cannot rely on senkaimon anymore. So I propose that we instead use Garganta or Kumon.”

Hiroto gasped, as did several others. He read looks of shock and confusion on many of those present, but he was undaunted, and his smile remained—confidence unshaken. “We have been sent a message, men. We have been told that we are not strong enough and we have been made to look weak and incapable of change. To truly best our enemies, we must adapt. So first will we capture a hollow and we will force it to grant us passage to the Rukongai.”

Some of the shinigami had incredulous looks and while Taikou did not ignore them, he did not look at them either. “For this task we will split into three groups. This area has an infestation problem, and I intend us to deal with it before we depart. Ah, and to make sure none of you do not take this seriously, it will be a competition. Whomsoever captures the strongest hollow will lead, or be involved in the scouting expedition into the Rukongai.”

He looked to the captains present, and spoke first to Hiroshimoto, “Masumata-san, you will go with Tatasuko-san. Kenpachi, Kawagana, you two are together,” he smiled at them, before continuing, his expression growing more serious.

“Kanai, Xiang, you're with Kenpachi,” he indicated Arina and Sano, “Koshūsuru, Dai sanji, you're with Masumata.”

Finally he indicated Jinzo and two others, “Kurogama, Hōshakō, Serizawa you're coming with me.” He looked at them all, making sure they understood, and then he released a brief burst of reiatsu, opening the doors of the mansion. “We need two hollows and the rest must be purified. When you are done, return here. Now go!”

With that, he vanished...those he had indicated forced to follow behind him. It appeared that their first order of business was to be a hunt.

'Who would do best?' he wondered.

Xiang entered the building with her normal formal air. Despite walking confidently, and her face being as stone, something was a little bit off. Holes were burned in her favorite red jacket, and she walked stiffly, like she was injured. Asking her about it would likely be a bad idea, Xiang was one of the more proud members of the Old Seireiti.

As she was greeted by her commander, Xiang nodded her head coolly, recognizing him. She, of course didn't say anything. It looked like she'd beaten her captain to the mansion. Probably for the best, Squad 2 had to be represented properly. They were the eyes on the rest of the shinigami, they were the justice to the rest.

She sighed, thinking about her squad: Captain Kawagana, Co-lieutenant Koshūsuru, Third-seat Hōshakō.... Yeah, she felt like the responsibility for saving face for squad 2 fell to her.

Xiang patiently waited as a 'rousing speech' was given, followed by orders. During the speech, Xiang watched Commander Yanagi very carefully. She'd already made her intentions crystal clear. At points she gave simple nods, agreeing with it.

“Kanai, Xiang, you're with Kenpachi,”

"Lieutenant Yue, sir."

She saluted him during it. A slight nerve was hit, why was she without title or last name? Even worse, why was she with Kenpachi. She turned to Sano, wordlessly shooting venom at him through her eyes. She used to be in Squad 11 before stabbing them in the back. She hated Squad 11.

Sighing in defeat, she turned to her new 'teammates' for the mission, standing by her captain...s, and Kanai.

"What is our plan?"

"One Hour." Kenpachi paced around his bedroom with a feverish manner, "I"m so ready to do this." Anxious was not the word to describe the former captain of Squad 11. He had wanted all this time for the Commander to finally call on him. The exile weighed on his mind greater then anything else at the moment and he just wanted revenge. A mind filled to the brim with hatred and anger, one could imagine the things that Sano would do the fools that pushed him from his home. Truthfully he wanted to run his blade through the hag he once called wife. The pillar of his happiness at one point now brought the filling to slaughter and rage. Sano was actually pretty tame when it came to the Kenpachi of old but, right now he to rip something, ANYTHING apart.

"ONE MORE HOUR!" He bellowed throughout the little abode.

A small sigh came from the bed as Arina pushed herself up, and glanced over at the angry Captain. She had been laying there for most of the day and she hadn’t planned on moving. His pacing she could handle, the yelling, was another thing altogether. The exile hadn’t weighed down on her too much, to be honest, she was enjoying not having to do so much work. Between the Division and her Clan, she had barely had any time for herself back in the Seireitei. She leaned forward and crossed her legs, placing her hands on her ankles as her hair spilled over her shoulder.

“Calm yourself, Sano.” There was no annoyance in her voice, she had said it soothingly, “It’s only an hour,” she gave him a gentle closed smile, “Enjoy the peace while you can. Once the order is called, our lives will be chaos.”

"Chaos is what I live for." Kenpachi's eyes seemed to light up like sparklers at the mere mention of chaos, "I haven't had time to test my skills in several yeras. Jinzo barely fights seriously, little snot." Sano stopped and turned his head just enough for his left eye to meet with Arina's eyes. Sano would never say but the woman had the most beautiful eyes; her eyes wouldn't stop him from raging though.

She sighed again, shifting her position so she was sitting on her knees, her hands resting on her thighs. “The peace has been kind of nice though,” her voice was a little distant as she broke eye contact with the Kenpachi. “It’s put a lot of things in perspective for me.”

She glanced back up at him again - a gentle smile replacing her usual egotistical smirk. She leant forward and crawled to the edge of the bed, stepping off and closing the distance between them as she placed a hand on his chest. “You’ve waited this long already, surely another hour isn’t anything to get so worked up over.”

Kenpachi let out a stressed sigh because in reality, Arina was correct. This exile had finally put the pieces of his life together in a way that even he had not foreseen. Arina's hand was warm on his chest and it brought a smile to his face. There was one thing in this world that could calm him and it was Arina's touch. Kepnachi placed a hand on Arina's hip as he learned forward gently placing his forehead against her own. "Alright. Alright. I'll wait. But you're mine for the rest of the hour."

--------------------------------------------------



Arina’s blue gaze wandered lazily across the other Shinigami in the room before she stepped to Sano’s side. She rested her left wrist over the hilt of her Zanpakuto while she placed the other hand on her hip, her elbow nudging the Kenpachi gently.

She frowned slightly at Xiang’s disheveled form, but didn’t bother to question it. What Xiang did outside of the Division was none of Arina’s business… nor did she really care.

“I suppose we’ll head straight out, unless you wanted a moment to go and change your clothes, Yue?”

Kanai had come to th meeting with a sigh, their commander had finally decided to do something, and it seemed like a good plan. he had been paired with Lieutenant Xiang, Kenpachi, and Captain Kawagana . He had no issue with any of them but he could smell the tension that was going on in there group and they had not even left yet. It was starting to make his head hurt, he did not know the detail about Xiang and the 11th but he knew they had bad blood. He did not care much about other Divisions and their drama, but he was not stupid and saw the problems lining up as they stood there.

"I am ready when ever you all are." the small man said after scratching his neck and rolling his eyes.

Finally the plan was at hand....and it was catching Hollow. The idea that he was catching hollow slightly pissed Sano off but it already let him get out his aggression. Teaming up with Arina would be relaxing but then he had Yue in his team. Sano and Yue were not on the best of terms due her actions many many years ago. Kanai, on the other hand, didn't bother Kenpachi at all, which was more then Yue could say.

"Alright boy and girls, I have a plan. Since Kanai and Yue are talented in Kido then you two will be catching our dear hollow. I'll act as bait. Arina, you take care of the grunts. Once we find a big one, let me take aggro. Any objections? Suggestions? Make'em known now." Kenpachi spoke in a commanding voice.

Xiang's eyebrow twitched at her captain's question.

"It's working hours, I'll manage."

She said that despite the fact they weren't in the Seireiti, or even the Soul Society. There really wasn't even a Gotei 13, yet Xiang still saw it as her job. Despite her feelings towards the Kenpachi, she didn't see anything disagreeable in his plan. She'd find plenty wrong later, she was sure. But, the job of the 2nd division was to keep shinigami in line. If they were already in line, what could she complain about?

"It sounds good. I'll find us one, Bakudō #58. Kakushitsuijaku!"

A grid lit up in front of Xiang, showing a circle with four quadrants in it. A hollows location quickly showed up.

"Let's go."

Xiang left before anyone could confirm with her, or give her orders.

Hōshakō, Yūbina

Pushing the doors open, Yū walked through the opened doors with not so much care in the world, even if he was almost late and nearly the last one to show up. He glanced about the room looking at everyone, spotting the members of his division in a quick enough fashion, Yue was probably the most respectful looking one here even if she looked like she blew up. His captain was...... something, and Kairi was probably the only one in this gathered group that had his respect. He would sigh as he would close the doors behind him with his feet, as he walked further he was greeted by the Captain Commander himself and returned said greeting with a nod of the head. He looked at the mirrored stairs where the line up seemed rather obvious to anyone who would look, that and where his division was there was a empty spot where he should be.

He rested against the guard rail for a few minutes before the commander started speaking, he would have kept his posture but Yue would have put one of those stupid Bakudos on him if he didn't show "proper respect." So he would stand up straight and look at the commander while he spoke at least. He could tell others were getting confidence from this man's speech, yet as long as he could punch the fucker who beat him the commander could say whatever the hell he wanted. Yet as the speech was finished the orders were set along with a contest, this man does know that now everyone would be bringing a hollow to try and one up the others right? Besides how the hell was he going to capture one? Not like he could drag it without it trying to kill him. Well that part would come later, what was interesting however was him getting placed along with two others with the commander himself.

The doors would burst open and he would tell everyone two hollows were needed and the rest purified, then he would vanish meaning he and the other two had to chase after him. "God damnit!" Yū spoke before vanishing himself to tail after the commander, and would manage to barely catch up with the man quite a ways ahead of him but still within sight and communications range. "So you got a plan there commander? Cause if Kurogama got lazy he probably fell asleep on the stairs!

The world was on fire. Screams pierced the pitch-black sky as the sounds of clashing steel rang out, easily depicting the cacophony of battle as it raged all around him. Jinzo stood motionless, mouth agasp as he was forced to witness the horrors of that fateful night. Masked figures draped in black cloaks were cutting down each and every one of his fellow Shinigami right in front of him. He could feel an unknown anger swell up inside him. His attention was brought to the fore when another figure, the same as the rest, appeared a few meters in front of him. He couldn't make out any distinctive markings but the feral growl confirmed that this thing was not normal. Instinct told him to reach for his zanpakuto but his hand would not move. Panic began to circle like a wily predator as he willed his hand to move once again, this time a grimace filling his face. He struggled against an invisible force to move his arm and only through a herculean effort did he manage to finally place his hand on the hilt of his blade.

Abnormally worn out, he turned his attention from his hand back to the creature in front of him, ragged breathing overcoming him from his struggle to move. It had sauntered closer by now and had suddenly drawn its' own zanpakuto. Jinzo steeled his nerves and tried to draw his sword but to no avail. He tried again, yanking at the hilt several times as the thorns of panic slowly wrapped themselves around his heart. The creature was drawing nearer, its' earlier growl having changed into the barely recognizable sound of laughter. Sweat began to ooze from the pores of his skin as a wave of goosebumps washed over him, Jinzo finally began to panic, still attempting to draw his zanpakuto.

The creature was upon him now, Jinzo tried to move backwards but the attempt was met only by pain. He looked down to find the creature's blade piercing his chest, he felt his legs give way underneath him and his body fall to its' knees, the sounds of combat dulled by the rush of blood pounding in his ears. By now the masked invader was laughing maniacally, all the while carefully and painstakingly digging his blade deeper into Jinzo's flesh. His world began to darken, with only the feeling of horror to comfort him. His last image was that of his Captain, Sannouske, falling in battle clutching his throat as bloody gore spilled between his fingers.

Jinzo opened his eyes and breathed. 'Just a nightmare.' He thought. Another in a recent string of disturbing images that had plagued his sleep of late. He pushed himself off of the wall he'd been leaning up against, noticing that almost everyone had arrived to hear the Captain Commander's speech. He'd been one of the earliest to arrive, even despite the internal argument he'd had with himself to stay in bed just five minutes longer. No, it had been four months since the Commander had cobbled together what was left of the Old Gotei Thirteen and this was to be his first major announcement. Though normally Jinzo could have cared less, he was beginning to think that these nightmares, coupled with his deep-seated regret over the night of the attack, were starting to change him. 'Nonsense!' He thought to himself, shaking his head with a frown.

Once everyone had showed, Commander Yanagi began his prepared statement. Jinzo listened along, partially. Most of it was fluff, aimed to rile everyone up but he just couldn't buy it. Everyone, except himself, had had their asses kicked five years ago. How could he expect a few words to make up for that? Nonetheless, Jinzo gave the man another chance. He noted the Commander's plan, it certainly was a different approach. After the previous attempts to regain the Seireitei had failed, Jinzo had resigned himself to the Human World. It wasn't such a bad place after all and it meant that his time remained unburdened by the weight of responsibility. But this plan would certainly change things, he would be expected to act in accordance with everyone else, which meant seeking out the enemy, which meant fighting. He questioned, again, why he'd gotten out of bed so early in the first place. After all, this was starting to sound like a bad idea to him. But something kept him stood there. Stood amongst his fellows, the ones who had truly fought and lost everything all those years ago. A pang of regret struck him, not for the first time and as the Commander made to leave the Mansion, Jinzo followed swiftly behind.

"So you got a plan there, Commander? 'Cause if Kurogama got lazy he probably fell asleep on the stairs!"

"Pssh! And just who're you calling lazy, Third Seat?" He exclaimed, suddenly appearing behind Yūbina Hōshakō, the man from the Second Division who was to be his squad-mate, alongside Old Man Serizawa and the Commander himself. "Maybe you oughta stop throwing out insults and focus more on your rear, 'cause if this was a fight, I'd have got you dead!" He laughed.

---

Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity.

One who acts thus is no leader of men, no present help to his sovereign, no master of victory.

Following the Commander's Initial brief, the words echoed within his subconscious. Pushing Taikou's ensuing conversation with Hiroto into the background as he pondered the current situation. It was only after he had reaffirmed his resolve to retaliate against the enemy, that Hiro's mind refocused on the present. Thus, when the Sōtaichou addressed him by name, delegating to him partial command of one of the hunting squads, Hiro quickly responded with a salute. Having quickly touched his right fist over his heart horizontally, before bowing his head in agreement. After straightening himself into a proper posture, he then waited until after the Sōtaichou had departed. Then turned to address those he'd be working with. Pausing only to eavesdrop on the Kenpachi as he assumed command of his assigned party. A smirk glimpsed lips.

He then turned towards Sunōfurēku. "Well then. Shall we?"

Unlike her fellow ex-captain, Rēku did not have to pull herself away from her own thoughts to listen. At the same time she was nowhere near as outwardly enthusiastic. If the commander and many others didn't know any better they might have thought Rēku fell asleep standing. She stood motionless and with her eyes closed throughout the entirety of the short rally and only opened her eyes slightly when her partner was mentioned letting the tiniest of smiles touch her lips before fading back into a near blank expression. As the commander left she slightly turned herself towards Hiro who had just spoken as her eyes finally opened fully. and she spoke softly, but clearly. "Indeed. When we leave, Hiro could you please alert the enemy of our presence by releasing a massive amount of spiritual pressure to attract a stronger group." It was phrased less as a question and more as heavy suggestion that she expected him to do.

Upon hearing her voice, the shinigami once again performed a salute. Seeing the meaning behind her words. “But, of course.”His voice held a nigh-mocking tone.

As the stirring speech came to a close--and not a moment too soon, she thought--Kairi ceased the quiet, and impatient, tapping of her foot, and made her way over to Captain Masumata and Tatasuko. She was just a little peeved that she hadn't been put with the Kenpachi, but oh well she was sure the Commander had a good reason for putting them into groups the way he had. Walking over to the pair of captains, she reached down to her sash and pulled out a stick of gum, which she popped into her mouth and began chewing. She had a somewhat bored look on her face, though her eyebrows were raised, as if expectant. It was as if she was saying, “Why haven’t we left yet,”---wait no, that’s her actually talking. Um…. Oh well. After asking her question, she remained there silently blowing bubbles with her gum, one hand on her hip. She was ready to go kick some hollow’s ass into oblivion.

Among the others, Shizu wasn’t concerned when they would leave. She wasn’t concerned with what was stalling them. All she was focused on was what she had been focused on when the Captain-Commander was speaking: completing the mission. Everything else was white noise. However, she would be a lying lieutenant if she said she wasn’t curious about why they hadn’t left yet. “Usually I don’t share Kairi’s sentiments, but if we are going to have any chance of completing this mission to the Captain-Commander’s expectations, wouldn’t it be best make haste?”

Hiro shot both of them a disconcerting glance. Only to remind himself of his manners as he spoke. “And how pray tell do we find this hollow? Where should we go?” His silence invited an answer as he momentarily held his gaze between the two.

Blowing a bubble while Hiro practically glared at them, Kairi cracked a grin, glancing at Shizu as she did so. “Heh, well we could go that way,” she pointed in as if at a wall, though obviously intending the actual destination to be somewhere beyond. There was a long moment of silence, broken only by the bubble popping loudly.

She glanced again at Shizu, and gave her a thumbs up, “Seriously though c’mon, we’re wasting time. The others are gonna get the best one before we can get to killing even one hollow! I just can’t stand for that.”

Shizu exchanged a disapproving glance with Kairi. She didn’t appreciate the way she spoke to the captain. “We should not go in without a plan, Kairi. It would be a quicker way to death. Or are you simply that foolish? Based on the way you aggressively pop your gum, I would imagine so. I mean, how else would you describe yourself?” Shizu said, brandishing a somewhat satisfied, albeit partially-smug, grin.

A sigh. It was all he could muster as he inwardly found himself cursing commander Taikou’s choice. Thus, after breaking off his gaze, and quickly rubbing his temples, Hiro looked to Sunōfurēku. Hoping to confirm their decision to take their leave.

Kairi raised an eyebrow, her smile dropping somewhat as Shizu responded. “Careful you delicate flower,” she teased playfully, “...you might strain yourself trying to look down on someone taller than you.” She blew another bubble and then popped it, before chewing her gum for another long while. “Also, really relating my gum popping to my combat methodology? You’re seriously scraping the bottom of the barrel for insults huh?”

“Touch a nerve, did I?” Shizu mused, “I wonder, Kairi. Is the reason why you’re responding the way you are because I’m right or that you simply don’t know the difference between an insult and a simple observation. If true—” Shizu was interrupted by Reku, prompting her to close her mouth, and put any remaining thoughts about Kairi on the back-burner.

“If you two are finished bickering like children we can head out now. At least one of you is showing usefulness.” Rēku bluntly interrupted the lieutenants and after that turned and used a shunpo to leave abruptly to head in the direction that Kairi had pointed out. While the two had been bickering Rēku had decided to try and locate any potential bounties. This seemed to be one of the better options and it was nice to know at least the second division’s old lieutenant had at least some promise.

Having made use of the aforementioned argument to hone in on a nearby presence, it wasn’t long before Hiro also used shunpo to vanish, leaving the two lieutenants to quarrel as he chased after Rēku, whom appeared to be headed towards a cemetery in the middle of the town.

---

The Shinigami exiles' resident Wild Animal waltzed into the usual watering hole, an abandoned mansion once filled to the brim with Hollows (only to be filled again by more souls in the form of Shinigami). By waltzing in, we mean violently crash in like a human-shaped wrecking ball, soaking wet from the rain. Was there a reason for such a move? Was he blown back by some sort of force? Not really, he felt like making a cool entrance. Thankfully, few had arrived before him so in turn, few could be pissed off by it. Daigo gave everyone present a casual wave, as if he didn't just rocket through the door, probably breaking it. Again.

"Rest easy, boys, papa Daigo is in the building," he declared in that off-putting, twisted voice. "As always, fashionably early." There was a reason for it, of course. Daigo wished to sit where the captains would normally and despite the nasty looks he's been getting for it, his ass had succeeded in resting itself near the top of the stairway. All to better listen to the Cap-Commander's speech, after all.

As the day moved on towards noon, more and more of the exiled Shinigami answered the summons until eventually, the 'abandoned' mansion filled and young Yanagi found it fit to start his speech. A rousing speech, basically a call to arms. Looks like the brat has finally found the balls to reclaim his 'lost honor'. Now, in Daigo's respectable own opinion, he would personally prefer to move on with what had happened in the Court of Pure Souls. Soul Society no longer welcomed them and they were on their own and that has never been a bad thing for Daigo Serizawa. Sure, if the Cap-Commander gave the orders to fight for the glory of what once was, he'd do so for that was duty. Didn't mean he had to like it in particular. As madly warmongering as Dai set himself up to be, fighting to claim the (un)life of a fellow Shinigami left a bad taste in his mouth.

Good thing, then, that today Yanagi sicked them on Hollows. A hunt for a Hollow! That meant slaughtering a whole bunch of them and seeing who survived last. Great fun! And he made it look like a competition, too! Daigo would enjoy this greatly because the next best thing to seeing Hollows fall like flies was seeing the looks on his buddies' faces when they lose. Most Shinigami loved to win. Not Dai. He loved seeing people lose. For this task, the Cap-Com split the motley crew up into strike teams. Scarface got partnered up with Special Snowflake, the same went for Hot Potato and Red Carpet. Purple Punk and Chinatown were assigned to the latter team while Tighty Whitey and the Speedy Bitch were stuck with the former. The Cap-Com himself called for Snoozefest, Fist-for-Brains and Daigo himself for his personal team. Between the literal Captain Commander paired up with the (self-professed) most interesting man in the world, their team would handle this in a cinch.

Daigo moved to be with his teammates. Snoozefest and Fist-for-Brains were predictably already at each other's behinds. He could feel himself giving in to the temptation of rolling his eyes.

"Ladies, ladies, please. Get a room before I put you in mine," he casually said, slapping a rough hand on both of their shoulders. Comically, he had to jump to get into that position. "And Sleepyhead! An insult stops being an insult when it is factually true. Then it becomes a statement and this pretty boy here-with a head like a mop!" He rubbed said mop hair for emphasis."-is protected under freedom of speech. It's what makes this world free and great. Now, are you just gonna sit here or are we gonna follow the big boss who has recently Flash Stepped out of sight and capture ourselves a mother-FUCKING Hollow?!"

---

Hiro and Rēku found the Hollow almost immediately upon their arrival at the cemetery - it was a large creature, looming over the many headstones, and was making no effort to hide itself beyond suppressing its own reiatsu - though they could clearly discern the immense power the monster concealed. It was an Adjuchas - precisely what the Taikou wanted. Subduing it safely would be tricky, but hopefully not too difficult between the four of them. Assuming the two lieutenants could stop fighting for a moment.

The Hollow was sitting cross-legged before a particular headstone. It raised its head at their approach and snorted, rolling coils of caustic reiatsu biting into the stonework and causing it to dissolve. Upon inspection, the Adjuchas greatly resembled some kind of twisted satyr, with the legs and skull of a goat but the body of a man. Its Hollow hole was embedded in its right thigh.

“Shinigami.” It rasped. “Did not come to hunt. Pay respects to companion from first life. Will leave soon. Not cause trouble. Leave me to my misery.”

Arriving only moments after the two captains, having utterly abandoned Shizu--not really caring if she had more shade to throw-- Kairi glanced around. “A cemetery? That’s fitting,” she said, before laying eyes on the hollow.

Shizu was the last one to arrive. Curse my lack of ability in Shunpo. She silently cursed as her light blue eyes fell upon the Hollow. She was no more than three paces away from the others and several more paces from the hollow. She would soak in all that she could. Now was the time to listen, Shizu, not speak.

It looked...oddly peaceful, despite being grotesque. “Instead of mourning then, why not join ‘em, eh hollow?” She smirked and raised a fist, the threat implied.

Although he remained silent, Hiro quickly raised his fists. Sinking into a low and streamlined stance as his face grew grim.

The Hollow snorted again in response, more coils of its toxic reiatsu rolling across the ground. “It is not your duty. No malice. Will not hunt. Do not disrespect this place. Only place loss is greater.”

With a sigh Rēku looked sympathetically at the hollow. “You see, as much as I wish we could...Well we need you. So either you come with us willingly, or we have orders to drag you back if need be.”

The Hollow met eyes with her for a moment - its were but empty hole within its mask, bottomless and hurtful to look into. A single moment passed.

“You...are not Junsei...are you.” It stated the question flatly. Without waiting for a response, it slowly rose to its feet, and its long, burgeoning arms uncoiled from its lap - roiling with cords of muscle and ending with long digits and talons almost half as long as its whole body.

“You...are outcasts. Cast from where you belong. No different than Hollows now.” It laughed then, a rasping, rattling noise like bones clattering on the stone-tiled pavement. Its reiatsu was still suppressed for the moment, but clearly it had gone from being reticent to hostile.

"No different from Hollows?" Hiro’s voice seemed to deepen with each syllable, adopting a more predatory tone. "Hollows are scum. Filth which feeds on the very essence of others in order to sustain the infestation that is their life." He began to exert his reiatsu, surrounding himself with a faint crimson glow. Then proceeded to raise his voice. "We-"

Kairi interjected, “Happen to exist to help them, technically.” She shrugged a bit and glanced at Hiro, “As much as I enjoy a good fight, it’d be easier to cooperate with a hollow than force one to open a portal for us. So...maybe let Reku talk for just a minute, pretty please?” She beamed up at the taller man, having lowered her fists to her sides. She’d even stopped chewing gum. “Though, I will say that’s a low blow, Mr. Hollow. For someone not wanting to be disturbed, you really don’t know how to mind your manners.” she admonished, though she was essentially joking when she said it, whilst waggling her finger in the air, before letting it drop.

“All that aside, any chance you’d be willing to help us?”

“Help Shinigami…?” The Hollow sounded genuinely perplexed. It had turned its skull to leer hungrily at Hiro - or perhaps warily, it was hard to tell. “With for what…? Pitiful secrets of the soul in trade for a blade through the visage of my heart…? For what purpose would I help your kind…?”

With a shrug Rēku spoke up again. “Well as you said: we’re exiles now. Outcasts, so it’s not as if all the rules need to apply anymore. Perhaps we can make some sort of an arrangement?” It was rather different making a deal like this, but honestly it had been five years since being exiled, why the hell not.

There was no hesitation, simply a shunpo. One which landed him directly between both Rēku and the Adjuchas. His zanpakuto now manifested within his hand, blade extended towards Rēku’s throat. Yet, his eyes never left that of the hollow’s frame.

“Our duty is to destroy them. Anyone who forgets that, can no longer consider themselves Shinigami.” There was a dire seriousness within his eyes. The Adjuchas’ shoulders twitched, and its arms hung down from its body with visible tension as it watched. A faint clicking noise like stone grinding against bone echoed from its maw, but otherwise it was silent.

With a smirk Rēku glanced at Hiro out of the corner of her eye. “Then are saying that the commander is no shinigami? After all he is the one that instructed us to find a hollow capable of helping us-”

“And capture it.” His arm flexed, a show of his unwavering resolve. “We were sent to obtain a specimen for exploitation. Not parley. They are to be the tools of our retribution. Not our allies.” He lowered his blade, shifting it instead towards the hollow.

At this point the smirk fell from her lips, replaced by a more unamused look as Rēku responded. “So just because you are obsessed with being violent towards Hollows, every human and soul around here should more than likely be killed just because of that?” At this point she looked back at the Hollow. “Besides. He’s trying to be reasonable, why shouldn’t we? If he’s not here to harvest souls then we should at least give him the slightest of chances if it means getting home sooner.”

“Yeaaah, I gotta agree with Tatasuko-san on this one. A fight between any number of shinigami and hollows is inadvertently going to cause damage to our surroundings. Trust me though, I like a fight as much as the next gal, but if we fight here...human lives will be in danger, and I guarantee Taikou will be...unhappy with that report.” Kairi gave him a sort of awkward, but sympathetic smile, followed by a shrug.

“Despite our squabble beforehand, I agree with everything that Kairi said,” Shizu said, eyes directed at Kairi briefly. “We must avoid putting innocent humans in harm’s way. They are what’s most important.” Shizu said. Though she was opting for the peaceful course of action, her hand was firmly grabbing the hilt of her zanpakuto. Should the hollow want to attack, she would be ready for a swift draw.

“At least some of you are still Shinigami. Maybe you are even Junsei. Just not this one.” The Hollow said with a sinuous intonation, a rattling chuckle accompanying its words as it addressed Hiro.

Inwardly, the war still raged. His desire to slay the hollow weighing against his duty to protect. While he knew that the others were right, reluctance still riddled him. Keeping him from outwardly voicing it. Hence, he instead settled for a simple sigh. Allowing his face to regain its former demeanor as he simply stepped aside. Turning his back to the hollow before utilizing shunpo to return to his original position behind Rēku. At last consenting to the will of the others. With a crimson flash, he then reverted his zanpakuto.

With a small smile Rēku continued as if nothing had happened. “As I was saying it would be great if we could come to some sort of arrangement. You help us and we can leave you alone after that, or perhaps there is something that you want?” Rēku offered to some degree raising her arms slightly in a shrug.

“Want…” The Hollow stated flatly for a moment, but it was clearly considering. Several moments passed in silence before it responded. “Yes. This grave…” It turned back to the headstone it had been sitting at, kneeling before it. “Earth is unmoved. The chamber is whole. There is nothing here. Those degenerates refused to interr. Cremated the body…” The Hollow paused as it crossed its legs into a proper seated position. It turned its head back to Rēku, and for a moment there seemed to be a red glint in the depths of its eyes. “I killed them all...but I could not find the ashes. Monsters hid them...cannot find them. Stone here all I have left. All memory gone. Need ashes. Find the urn. Know it exists. Somewhere in city. Get urn. Get ashes. Give them to me...and I will do anything. Anything.”

There was an audible grunt from Hiro at this point.

Kairi watched as Masumata quite nearly attacked the young captain Tatasuko, her expression flat. Growing slightly irritated she turned her head slightly and spat out her gum. It had lost its flavor. She was also getting bored and sort of had to admit that this whole--help a hollow, get a hollow--bit was rather...odd. Of course, additionally she started thinking further. What would Taikou say? How would they make sure that the hollow didn’t just...leave once he had what he wanted? How would they make sure the hollow didn’t leave and come back with more hollows to attack the mansion.

She frowned. That last one was a problem. “Hmmm…” she made a thoughtful sound, even as Hiro shunpo’d back to his former position, the dispute apparently solved. “I’m all for having no casualties, as I said, but um...I’d like to note Hiro had a small point. How do we know you’re not just gonna leave or turn on us? What do you want with the urn?”

The Hollow looked briefly back to the headstone. After a moment it replied, faintly, with a furtive intonation of despair.

“I do not know.”

That said, she turned to Reku, “Hey, don’t you like...have some finders keepers kido or something?” She had no idea what the name of the spell was, and had really only recalled it because she’d seen Kenpachi’s group using it before their team had departed.

“Kakushitsujaku.” Hiro turned his gaze towards Kairi, nodding with approval. “And we cannot trust it.” He momentarily moved his gaze over the hollow before letting it settle instead on his fellow captain. “Sunafureku, you should take Shizukesa and determine the whereabouts of this urn.” His gaze once again moved towards the adjuchas as he paced in Kairi’s direction. He stopped upon briefly gesturing to her with his hand. “She and I will remain. To ensure our...ally, maintains his part of this proposal.” Hiro then sought to meet Reku’s gaze. “I will restrain myself, unless provoked.”

With a sigh Rēku started to kneel to the ground reaching into her haori and producing a small pouch. She dabbed a couple of fingers in it before sprinkling the black powder in a circle and then drawing some symbols. “If I were to go...” she started as she looked up at him. “I’d rather take Kairi, since she’s faster. However for a simple retrieval I don’t think we’ll need me to go with her, but if you insist.” Rēku placed her palms below her work of art as she looked back down. “Kakushitsuijaku.”

With that the circle began to glow a brilliant bright blue and numbers started to cycle about as they waited momentarily until finally a lovely set of numbers appeared. “Kairi, will you need my assistance?” Honestly if it was as simple as it sounded the obvious answer was no, the question was whether it was actually that simple.

She shrugged, “Naw, I need to get some more gum anyways. I’ll be back in…” she paused a moment, glancing at the coordinates and then closing her eyes briefly, “...maybe 5 minutes? 10 tops. Yeah, let’s go with that.” She winked and gave the lot of them a thumbs up before turning in the proper direction, bending her knees and then vanishing in a shunpo.

---

With the others following with relative swiftness, the commander made his way to the center of the city, the rain pouring down on him and his group. Eventually he stopped, midair at first before momentarily closing his eyes, so as to locate the reiatsu signatures of the other shinigami. His subordinates...his comrades. Everyone seemed more or less fine, which was good. Of course, he had absolute faith in them, so he hadn't truly been worried. Nonetheless it was best to keep a keen eye on the lay of things.

This in mind he opened his eyes and glanced over the city proper. He could detect a number of hollows here and there...an odd amount. Perhaps something more was going on.

At that thought he narrowed his eyes. He made a rather troubled noise before he shunpo'd downwards and to the roof of an eight story building where he decided to stay for a time, knowing the others would follow swiftly behind. “Now, who would like to gather the hollows? Corral them in our area. Lure them as it were.” He glanced back at Jinzo, Yubina, and Daigo, smiling slightly as he did so.

It almost seemed like he intended this to be a contest among the three as well. To see who could gather and slay the most hollows in addition to their already stated mission directive. Yes, for Taikou was rather unlike the Commanders before him as he preferred to foster a sense of camaraderie with his subordinates, rather than merely create a relationship consisting only of fear, respect, and awe. It was more wholesome and he liked to think that it decreased the chance of any...meaningful squabbles among their ranks.

Still, he hadn't been the Commander long enough to know if his efforts would truly pay off. So, as with all things, only time would tell.

---

---

---

Meanwhile, in another castle, Kairi slipped into a gigai, bought some gum, and then slipped out, heading for the coordinates in earnest after she had done so. She came across a well-appointed manor - two stories, with a private shrine in the back and completely walled off. There did not appear to be any security thankfully.

Looking at it with a fair measure of boredom, the lieutenant hopped over the wall so as to more easily access the shrine. The coordinates would have put the urn somewhere in or beneath the shrine. Perhaps it had an underground burial chamber or something. Not that it mattered to her much. Walking in she searched for an entrance to the chamber - largely empty, just a small memorial against the far wall with some incense laid out. It was still smouldering - somebody came here regularly. There was a sliding door recessed in the wall down a set of stone stairs, with a very obvious lock set in it.

Seeing the stairs, she made her way down them, her eyes falling onto the lock. “Man, this is hilarious. I could break this with my pinky finger. In fact…” she reached out, curling her pinky around the curved bolt of the lock and pulled snapping it as she pulled it against the door at an angle, so as not to damage the actual door.

This act proceeded to trigger the alarm anyway. Modern technology was inconsiderate that way. The room beyond, besides being filled with noise, looked to be a small combination office and storage room for the shrine itself - there was a desk and several cabinets against the far wall. Hung next to the door was a traditional painted scroll, depicting a figure representing the Moon crying islands into being in the frothing sea below.

Well that was annoying, she thought, as she pushed the door open and walked into the rather loud room. She took a brief moment to search the place, and for like two seconds, admire the scroll, before proceeding to ransack the desk and cabinets. The urn was nowhere to be found - just a bunch of paperwork, most of which looked to have to do with somebody’s will. The coordinates from the kido were right about in the room though - she should have seen the urn the moment she stepped inside. It had to be in here.

“Well this is annoying,” she muttered before she suddenly got a bright idea. She glanced at the walls until her eyes fell on the scroll. Walking up to it, she moved it aside to see if there was anything underneath. She was rewarded with the sight of a wall safe with an electronic lock. It was a pretty large safe too - nearly half as tall as she was, and just as wide. There was definitely room for an urn or two in there, amongst other things. The tricky bit would be opening it without damaging the urn - her control over her own strength was immaculate, but predicting how pressurized steel would bend and break was a touch more difficult.

“Hmm,” she said, thinking a moment. Eventually she shrugged and drew her zanpakuto. “Let your body be my shackles and my mind be your will, Shūryō-jiku(終了軸 'Terminal Axis'),” she said and in but a moment she had donned a pair of bladed knuckle dusters, between the spikes of which there were orange spheres. Almost lazily she let her knuckle make contact with the door. She waited a few seconds, and then tapped the hinges and the lock. An orb settled into each hinge, merging with the material, the same occurred to the hinges. After a moment of contact with the main body of the safe she used the rest of the orbs, locking it in the place and form it was in. She then moved out of the way and activated the other effect of her zanpakuto onto the orbs connected to the hinges and lock.

Immediately the door was torn off of the safe, flying into the wall, before it fell to the floor. The orbs reformed in front of her weapons, before she sealed her zanpakuto and looked inside the safe, the main body no worse for wear. As expected, there was the urn - or at least, something that might have generously been called an urn. It was little more than a large metal tin with a clasped cap on top. A picture was taped to its side with a message in permanent marker written on it - showing a man holding the urn at some scenic overlook, possibly somewhere out of the country by the looks of the terrain. The message itself was faintly troubling.

'Ashes scattered in New Zealand, November 4th, 2016. Peace be with you.

Kairi stared at the message blankly. “If I had not just said we had to protect humans...I may have killed this one.” She began turning away from the destroyed safe, before she got an idea. Walking over to the desk she procured a permanent marker, and then wrote, on the note ‘Your ancestors are unhappy with your actions. You have disgraced us.’ She made sure to use a bright red marker. She also drew arrows on the wall next to the safe to further direct attention to it. She then put the marker away, sat on the desk and waited a few minutes to see if anyone would show up due to the alarms.

As predicted, a mere three minutes later two very nervous looking police officers huddled into the room, squinting around anxiously before they noticed the wall safe and the message.

“Shit.” They both said simultaneously.

Kairi smiled as she saw them look around, anxiety clear in their body language and expressions. She sat and watched. The place was clear, she was invisible. She mostly wanted to see the look on the owner’s face when he read the message. If the police officers even tried to remove the note, she would, with a huge smile on her face, punch the wall with a fraction of her full strength, causing it to form small cracks in a roughly crater-like fashion. Thankfully (or unfortunately), they did no such thing - one left, possibly to explain what they had found to the owner, while the other simply stood guard. A minute or so later the alarm stopped blaring. Another two minutes and the owner - the same man as was in the picture, dressed only in a night robe - shuffled angrily into the room and gaped in shock at the message on the wall.

Seeing the man enter, Kairi decided to fully commit to her act, mostly to see if perhaps the message had been a lie. If the man had even a small amount of the ashes, and any old urn, then it could probably trick the hollow. If not, well, they’d just have to beat it into submission.

Win/win. Drawing her sword she cut the tip of her finger, not even wincing at the action, before sheathing the blade. Then she realized, belatedly, that her blood would be invisible too. “Shit, uh.... Guess the marker will have to do.” Picking it up off the desk--which to the humans looked like it was being lifted by an unseen force--she began violently and sloppily writing jagged letters across the wall until it spelled ‘RETRIEVE THE ASH.’ She smiled at her work, glancing back at the humans.

“Ok, I’m out.” One of the police officers said flatly, turning around on the spot and walking straight out of the room. The other one, to his credit, only began backing out slowly as he reached for his radio and began calling in to the local precinct to report…

“A...a violent intrusion! Somebody is in the domicile and tearing the place up, but we can’t see them…”

The owner simply stared in bewilderment at the flying marker, he read the message with nothing but confusion on his face. “The ashes are gone! That whore’s remains had to be disposed of before the will was read! That was the only way-” He broke off and began to splutter in a mixture of fear and rage, a paroxysm of anxiety.

“Oh wow, poor guy. I wonder what kinda woman she was. Too bad I don’t care about his feelings,” she smiled, and there was an evil look in her eyes as she threw the marker, channeling a little energy into it. It struck the wall and pierced an inch into it, sticking there. She had hopped off the desk, using shunpo to close the distance between herself and the man, before she lifted him off his feet and pushed him/threw him into the wall, making sure he stayed pinned there.

“Man this is too good. If a captain ever saw me doing this I’d be in sooo much trouble.”

She grinned and pulled the marker from the wall with her free hand, her other hand keeping the man pinned to the wall by pressing against his chest. The pressure would be at least mildly painful. Meanwhile she wrote, at a feverish pace, on the wall next to her.

‘HOW DARE YOU!’ She followed it up by crossing the phrase out and drawing numerous jagged, messy lines with the marker. This was far too fun. Both of the police officers were gone now, leaving the owner to choke, suspended against the wall. “Damn you nosy spirits!” The man spat. “You killed her entire family anyway! I just inherited the damn stuff! She’s not even a direct relative by blood! What do you care?”

That left her a bit at a loss. The guy didn’t have what she needed, but he seemed like kind of an ass, so she casually decided to throw him into the desk. She then wrote on a wall again, this time as calmly and precisely as possible.

'Two days.’

Following this, she poked his finger with her sword, drawing blood on it, and then sheathed the zanpakuto, before she stood in the doorway to watch his reaction.

Regardless of what he decided to do or say, she wrote one final thing on the wall. This she wrote right under the previous statement.

‘Your disgrace will be punished.’

She then grabbed the urn, using shunpo so it appeared to simply vanish outright, only to reappear on the wall outside of the man’s view. She was laughing as she jumped down from the wall.

She left and wandered around until she managed to locate some rather small life signs in the form of a rat colony. She killed all of them before placing them in the urn, and then departed again. She found a factory with a furnace, located something to put the rats in--the workers having left for the night--and figured out how to turn it on, incinerating the rats to ash. She extracted the ash, placed it in a freezer for few minutes, and then poured it into the urn. The ash would be room temperature.

She then headed back to her allies, popping in a new piece of gum as she did so. She couldn’t wait to see if the hollow noticed the difference.

Xero woke up suddenly. His eye pierced open and he instantly sat up, stiff and alert. He glanced left and right taking in the fact he was in bed in what was clearly a makeshift medical ward. He inspected the balms and bandages he had acquired as was very clearly this was not the location he last remember before falling unconscious. He played back those moments in his head as he got up walked to the wall where his zanpakuto had been left. The fact that he had clearly been tended to and his weapon made accessible meant he must be in good company, but that was the least of his worries. As he gathered himself and his things, he reflected on the circumstances that brought him here.

Xero was once again beset by a sudden, unforeseen, opposing force tearing a sloth through his people and forced to flee and escape he did so alongside the third seat of the Eleventh Division. The chaos being what it was, they met up on the outskirts of the human world with no knowledge of the abandoned mansion established by the Commander. They regrouped with a few other survivors as one of the scattered groups of shinigami. After regrouping and establishing what little order they could, Xero spent 4 months monitoring and scouting. His abhorrence for the genocide of his people being what it was, he refused to leave anything to chance. If he lost anyone else, he would only hold himself to blame. And for months it seemed anything but pointless and unnecessary.

Nothing happened. No one came. They had not even received confirmed word from any other surviving shinigami groups. including the mansion of the Commander. It seemed like that was it. Even as everyone else resign to the relief that the worst had come and gone and all hope was lost, Xero refused to relax or give in. And that's when Xero picked up on something off. It was small, almost irrelevant, but it was off. Xero pursued the curiosity, which emerged in the form of the Third Seat's behaviour. She forgot something that was usually akin to her. Then a few days later, she didn't say her catch phrase. As subtle as these aberrancies were so was Xero's investigation, leading up to Xero finally following her on a hollow scouting mission that she was leading. When Xero finally caught up to her, he found bodies of fallen seated shinigami with her standing tall, smeared in the blood of others with no discernable scratch on her. Xero couldn't afford to wait for help to arrive, neither could afford to lose track of her. He drew his sword, figured that he could at least draw the attention of other shinigami by the clash of reiryoku. He expected to last long enough against her to accomplish that.

...And yet it was all over in the flash of a single strike preceded by a word he'd never imagined she would say.

"...Bankai..."

"Xero!" called a shinigami, seeing Xero moving down the hallway to exit the squad four medical bay. Xero was in the midst of putting his other arm into his top when he heard the voice. Seeing it was a shinigami, he turned to speak.

"Where is this?" He asked.

"This is the fort for Shinigami," replied the shinigami.

"How did I get here..."

"Oh - I found you and a group of shinigami on a scouting mission with my party. You were the only still alive, and even then, barely. My patrol team brought you back here. It's good to see you made it!" replied the shinigami with a wry smile. Xero looked to the floor as he took it all in. "You did well to survive as long as you did in your small group, between the new gotei and the hollow rampancy," the shinigami added. Xero was still looking to the floor, but was now thinking about how best to approach this.

"...Were you followed?" asked Xero. The shinigami looked on puzzled. Xero looked up at the shinigami. "Did anyone follow you back here?" he insisted, putting emphasis on his words and breaking his classically stoic nature.

"N-nno.. I mean; who would be following us?" replied the Shinigami, confused at the nature of the question. Xero nodded, calming himself and showing a little more patience with his fellow shinigami.

"Did Captain Kenpachi make too?" asked Xero. The Shinigami nodded hesitantly.

"Yes, but the Commander sent out Captain Kenpachi on a scouting mission."

"Fine, where is the Commander?" asked Xero.

"He's gone too, taking some seated shinigami with him," replied Xero's saviour. Xero was about ready to relax and what as he heard both his captain and commander had gone, until he heard the term seated shinigami escape his saviour's lips.

"Who? Who did he take?" insisted Xero, finding vigour in his voice again. The shinigami shrugged.

"I'm not sure exactly," admitted the shinigami, not knowing the names and faces of all those below Lieutenant rank.

"Which way did they head?" asked Xero, The shinigami pointed it out and Xero began to move.

"Xero! Wait! You need to rest properly. You've been unconscious for four days? Who knows how long it was when we found you! What happened out there!? It looked like a blood bath." asked the shinigami.

"...Nothing. Nothing happened. We survived as long as we could. Like we were trained to. That was our job. This is my job. I'm late for work." explained Xero, choosing to lie to his saviour. Xero wasn't sure if the third seat was a spy, a doppelganger or under any kind of spell or hypnosis. They knew nothing of the enemy that purged them from Soul Society. Furthermore, he didn't know if she was the only one. At the very least it sounded as if she didn't know Xero survived. If she somehow managed to find this resistance and amalgamate herself into the ranks, it would make sense to go straight for the commander's head if not keep tabs on him. By surprising her instead, he fully expected that the Commander would be able to subdue her and get vital information about the enemy one way or another.

---

“Until your little toady returns...what is the need of yours?” The Hollow turned its head and inquired to Reku, its voice faintly ragged.

Slowly standing up again Rēku smiled towards the hollow. “Well that’s simple, you’re going to open a path for us to go home whenever our commander wishes you to. I must confess now. I find it odd. Why is it you’re so different from most Hollows?”

“Not different. Many like me. Only now you notice, now choice stripped of you.” The Adjuchas’ jaw lowered and snapped back up with a harsh, grinding clatter. “But not meek. I do come to hunt. To feed. To kill. To sooth pain. Sometimes. Some days. Do not want to kill. Do not want to feed. Just want to be with little left.” It then turned its grotesque head back to the gravestone for a moment before speaking again. “Give ashes. I will grant you passage nearly anywhere. Everywhere there is power to go. Recently, some places are...barred.”

Rēku pondered momentarily. It was odd. Had she really slaughtered that many Hollows and not cared to notice that some might actually have thoughts? Then it also occurred to her that this Hollow was a means to an end and other than that it was of little importance. If it weren’t for the fact that capturing this thing alive and then getting it to help would be a lot more difficult she honestly would have just attacked it.

“Our comrade will return shortly with the ashes. Hiro, should we have Shizu find the commander and have her inform him of the situation now?”

“No.” His voice is faint and indifferent as his lips parted. His eyes closed as he listened on from his new perched position atop a nearby gravestone. “We’ve already divided our forces. To be blunt, I believe you are giving this hollow far too little credit.” Although, he did not make any motion to suggest his intent, he scanned the area for any sign of approaching threats. After all, they had been stationary now for quite sometime, and hardly subtle about their presence. “Use Tenteikura. Or do as you’d please. My only concern here is the mission. Thus, this hollow.”

Rēku frowned at Hiro before turning back to the Hollow. “So about these barred areas. What areas are we talking about, and do you know the cause of this problem?”

“Hurr...yes. Use of Kumon...tear in creation. Rip in weft of space, yes? Like your use of blades as keys to open your Senkaimon passageway.” The Hollow waved one of its taloned hands through the air breezily as it spoke. “Use power as key, unlock fold, create tear...but...some force in the other world. In Soul Society. Already contorting space. Powerful - cannot fold it in the proper way to form a Kumon. It is around Seireitei - the area outside no, but beyond the walls...impossible to reach. If you want to reach inside, you will need more than just a Kumon. You will need a Garganta. The door to the Kumon’s key. Would bypass the contorted space entirely, but few can create them - most in Las Noches. Not one of their number, I.”

“So you are useless.” At this, Hiro’s eyes shot open. Gaze locked about the hollow’s frame. “What we need, you cannot provide.” He momentarily batted raindrops out of his eyes, his rainwashed hair now plastered to his face.

“Oh? You have need to go to Seireitei?” The Hollow let loose another dry, rattling laugh. “The woman said I would receive instruction from your...commander, yes? Is their intent known by you?”

With a sigh Rēku scratched her head. This new development was not exactly good news, but it was good information to know at the very least. “Is there some way you’d be able to help us get there, or acquire the means by which we would need to get there? The commander won’t be too happy otherwise…”

“I can open a path into Rukongai...right up to the silent walls.” The Adjuchas replied somewhat stiffly. “You will find no other Hollow here in the world of the living that can do better, outcast.”

“You’re an arrogant hollow, aren’t you?” Shizu mused, unable to contain her chuckle.

For the first time today, Hiro actually chuckled. Allowing his head to tilt backwards in amusement at the hollow’s words. “A Survivor this one.”

“All Hollows survivors, petulant morsel. Survive agony of emptied heart. Survive others of our kind. Survive pawns like you.” It was hard to tell, but the Adjuchas almost sounded - annoyed. Something Hiro noticed, thus smirked.

A few minutes passed and then, in a flash, Kairi arrived, or...returned rather, an urn in her arms. “Ayo m’back. Took a bit longer than expected, there were some obstacles,” she chuckled to herself a bit and set the large urn down on the ground next to her. “So who wants to do the honors, eh?”
She glanced between the members of her team.

“Or shall I?”

The Adjuchas moved. With their immaculate senses, most of the Shinigami present could follow its motion easily enough - and know that the creature was just as fast, if not faster, than most of them. At distances this short it would have been prudent to already had weapons drawn - but thankfully the monstrous creature did not seem intent on attack. Before Kairi or the others could possibly have stopped the Adjuchas, it had gone from sitting to standing over the urn on the ground - one talon touching down on the tin’s cap with a soft clack while the other slammed into the paved walkway with force belying rage barely kept in check.

“THIS.” The Adjuchas yowled at Kairi. “THIS. THIS...is it?!? This is the urn? The ashes are in this? This is MINE?” It practically roared the last word at her, the outburst likely audible from outside the cemetery. The Hollow’s caustic reiatsu was roiling and churning, still being suppressed but faintly unleashed, the surrounding grass dying and stonework beginning to crumble to dust.

Kairi, however, had more pressing concerns. Namely, now that she was no longer carrying the urn and that she was looking down at it - she had forgotten to remove the picture taped to the side. The Adjuchas had not seen it - it was on the opposite side of the urn - but if it decided to examine the urn more closely, that would mean trouble. She could try to snatch the picture away of course, but if the Adjuchas had senses to match its speed, with its attention already focused on her…

She gritted her teeth as the hollow rather suddenly--though not so much so as to catch her off guard--closed the distance between itself and the urn. It was unfortunately only after it was so near that the lieutenant noticed the picture still taped to the side.

Having taken a small step back, Kairi decided to take a risk, letting the movement lead into her crouching down, making her more or less level with the hollow. She popped in a piece of gum and chewed it, not obnoxiously like before. It seemed the urn had once housed its very own ashes. Knowing what she did about the man who had been in possession of it, she didn’t feel the least bit bad about having likely traumatized him. Reaching a hand forwards she placed the palm of her hand on the urn, eyes aimed at the hollow’s own.

She had no real presence and no killing intent. Her own posture was entirely at ease, but not to the extent to imply that the hollow wasn’t a possible threat. “Yeah, the guy who had it was a real ass too,” she said, “...kind of glad to get the thing out of his possession.” Her words were smooth, her heartbeat steady, and her body language revealed not a single hint of the lie. She’d manipulated before.

She ran her hand along the side of the urn and as she let her fingernail slip onto the seam of the paper, allowing her to get a grip, she blew and then popped a bubble. The sound likely drowning out the smaller noise of her using a tiny movement of her dextrous hands to remove the picture.

“Interesting you took the time to put a piece of gum into your mouth.” Shizu mused aloud, eyes locked on Kairi as if searching for a reason why she had to chew a piece of gum while she did that incredible feat of what she just did. A few came to mind but none that were concrete. She would have to put a pause on that for now. Her eyes returned to the Hollow, narrowing them by just the slightest inch. He was a fast one, and Shizu would keep herself in the same on-edge stance that she had been in - hand on katana, ready to draw if need be.

“GET AWAY!” The Hollow screamed at Kairi, lashing out at her with obscene speed and bludgeoning her with its free arm. This proved to be fortuitous - the blow to her was little more than a love-tap, but the force from it allowed her to tear the photo off and retreat without being caught. The Hollow immediately scooped up the urn and held it aloft, turning away from the Shinigami as it spun the tin in its oversized talons, examining it. Instantly it went from enraged to placid, seemingly entranced by the cheap, featureless metal and the clasp that kept the cap secure.

Kairi didn’t even flinch, but braced herself, letting one knee touch the ground, while her other foot became planted so that she was kneeling. The strike made contact, but no pain went over her face, she seemed unphased and besides, she’d succeeded. In the moment, she allowed herself to be pushed back slightly and in doing so moved her right-paper holding-hand to steady herself. In doing this she placed the paper on the ground behind her foot and then stood up and used her heel to conceal sliding the paper to her left side. As she did so she gazed down at the hollow with a blank, but slightly threatening expression.

The strike had been nothing to her, but she still didn’t much like getting hit and then not retaliating. Tapping her toe against the ground and flicking the rolled up paper ball upwards she caught it in her left hand, which she moved to her hip, deftly flattening it despite its crumpled up state, and dropping it into her pocket noiselessly.

She let her weight sit on one foot as her hand reached her hip, the slightest of impassionate glares aimed at the hollow. “We got you what you asked for, yet you act ungratefully,” she said, no joy or sympathy in her voice anymore. “...don’t hit me again,” she warned, and then walked back over to the rest of the group before turning back to face the hollow. If Hiro even gave her a look, he’d receive a harsh, warning glare.

Kairi had never cared about rank. She’d fight anyone, and she was no longer in a particularly good mood. To further point to this fact, she spat her gum out to the side. It was aimed nowhere near the hollow...fortunately.

She gestured at Reku, “I’ve done my part. You can handle negotiations. Well, you and Yanagi-san,” she said, referring to the Commander, before she shut her eyes and quietly breathed deeply to calm herself.

“No more worthless words.” The Hollow declared, turning back to face the group of Shinigami. “You retrieved urn. I will do as you ask. Once. Then I will be made whole again with this.” It shook the urn in its upraised claws. “Could devour now, but no telling if I could still open Kumon once whole. I tell you this in good faith.”

Hōshakō, Yūbina

Jinzo would shortly arrive afterwards, giving him what he could only consider was a threat on his life and gave him a glare. "Well then lucky for me, you hardly ever fight lazy ass." Yū would tell the Lt, before Daigo would then show up and in a instant say something that pissed him off. Yū now shot him a glare before he seemingly backed his side up? He was a tad suspicious of this and there came the punchline, a jab to his hair. Yet he could handle that it was what he did after that, that caused a tiny bit of killing intent to come out naturally. Just as he finished trying to pump them up, Yū began raising his right hand in a attempt at what would be a jab. The jab would never come though as the commander spoke up causing Yū to growl at Daigo and listen to the Commander lay a challenge down for them.

Did this man just try pitting them against each other? Wait did he think the others actually had a fucking chance at beating him? Yū growled again and shot the other two a glare once more. "Don't get in my way!" He told them before flash stepping out of sight, he moved like much like the predator people called him through the city until a target was spotted. The hollow took notice much to late and it's head would soon have Yū's arm through it as the hollow would dissolve into nothing. The young man would then crack his neck as he began upping his presence to nearby Hollows. "Come and get me you pieces of shit!" He shouted and in the distance a few hollow would show up, nothing impressive looking however. Around five at most were charging at him but they were below a Gillian and therefore not worth his time to capture.

The first one which looked like a troll swung at him while shouting, would soon scream in pain as Yū meet his fist with his own. Only his fist blew through the Hollow's who now had a missing right fist, which didn't matter as he would then jump up and kick the Hollow's head clean off. Yet before the body could vanish, Yū would grab it and chuck it at full power at one Hollow flying and would watch them both burst into black blood. One took advantage of this combo of his and would whip it's tail into Yū, who budged slightly but otherwise held his ground. Grabbing the hollow by the tail, he would swing him like a bat and bash the upper half of one Hollow away then finishing off the snake looking hollow by thrusting his hands into the hollow and ripping it in half easily. Which left one Hollow who was pretty wary now at watching four of his kind die in less than two minutes.

As the shinigami arrived, they'd find themselves looking out upon a large park. Overhead there was a massive rift in the sky. The smell of death hung in the air as if in spite of the rain which should have drowned it. The air prickled with the vicious reiatsu of hollows, and there was blood here and there on the ground.

It was not a pleasant sight.

Xiang arrived first, following the kido to the location. Looking around, her face soured. As stoic as she was, her heart wasn't ice.

"This is why we're shinigami...."

As annoyed as she generally was with the other shinigami, she knew this was the exact reason they existed, why they were so needed to the world. Even the kenpachi had his use.

Sighing, Xiang looked around to see if the blood trails led to the hollow. She likely had her work cut out for her, considering capturing things alive was her specialty. The harder part of the mission was not killing the hollow. She had to admit looking at the blood, even she wanted to get violent.

The trails were everywhere, but there was only one reiatsu signature of note in the area, and it was in the direction of what looked like some kind of rough shodden climbing tower. Most of the blood was streaked across the ground as if it had been dragged in that direction, but that didn't mean there was a small quantity of blood elsewhere....

Kanai arrived soon after Xiang and took in the monstrous sight, the blood, the smell, it all was no surprise to him, when left unchecked this is what hollows do, what they bring. He looked over at Xiang after her comment and smirked, it was funny she said that considering she gave off the vibe that she hated the rest of them, at least her head was in the right spot.

He looked around at the blood trails but had yet to see a body, and Kanai knew he was not the only one who felt that presence in the distance.

"How should we move forward, and handle the elephant in the room?" he said with a frown as he crouched and gestured towards the tower.

Arina had arrived almost in stride with Kanai, narrowly missing a pool of blood that would have soaked her feet. A small frown graced her features as her blue eyes scanned the area before landing on her comrades. Her stomach churned slightly and she could feel the rising sickness in the back of her throat - scenes like this had been happening more often than not lately. Her expression, however, remained completely nonchalant, with no hint whatsoever that the scene had bothered her. The only give was a slight step backwards, towards the warmth of Sano - which was not unusual for her regardless. As the days progressed, she strayed from his side less and less.

She hadn't acknowledged Xiang's comment, but she placed a hand on her hip as Kanai spoke, her eyes glancing upwards to the tower for a moment before shifting back to Sano for his orders. He had taken over command of the group, so she'd allow him to continue as this mission's Captain.

"I grab it, you chain it. Simple as that." Sano replied to Kanai with overflowing confidence, "Question is where the hell is it?"

Sano was anxious as ever to find the hollow. The reiatsu pulsating from the direction beyond the hill antagonized him to no end. It was a tense day for the Kenpachi and just thinking how this was a competition now dug under his skin. First he would need to work with that backstabber Xiang and then he'd have to beat Daigo, the man he wanted to stomp into the ground more than any hollow. The leader of the group took point, unfazed by their surroundings, as he strolled over the hill before them.

As the group traversed the hill, odd scuffle marks became apparent, taking the form of something long. Something that largely dragged itself along the ground, or at least near it. The blood stains always accompanied the 'tracks' and after a minute they passed over the hill to reveal...a playground of which the climbing tower was apart. There was a slide, monkey bars, a raised structure, which connected to the tower, and of course...a jungle gym, which was a mess of bars that a child could climb among.

The kumon overhead snapped shut rather suddenly, causing a rush of air to blow some leaves from the surrounding trees, and to rustle the blood stained grass, dirt, and woodchips. Through the wind, in relative clarity, they could see an incredibly long insectoid hollow, which had coiled itself within the jungle gym's many bars. The bodies of children, and some adults--mostly women--could be seen hanging from or impaled by some of the bars where they had been bent away from their original positions, so as to be broken and used as meat hooks, as it were. As the wind died down they would hear a rather disturbing sound.

It was the sound of whimpers, sobs, and subdued wails coming from what would have first appeared to be human corpses. The reality was far more gruesome...as aside from a select few of the women and children, most were still alive, either being eaten as the hollow picked them apart with its mandibles and many limbs, or waiting to be eaten.

Stopping, the hollow glanced up, its long centipede's body slithering and scuttling up from the jungle gym, as its head reared up like some great snake, its 6 red eyes peering at them. It wiped blood from its mouth and 'face' with its mandibles as it spoke. "Ah, shinigami. Strong too. Tasty, me thinks," it said, its speech somewhat clipped. Its gaze seemed to linger much longer on the two women of the party.

However, it identified the leader as the musclebound man, causing him to look at him. "Hmm. You will be wanting me to pay for this?" It gestured at the still living, suffering, humans it had impaled and draped over and through the jungle gym. "Mal thinks he will not be doing so," he said, answering before any chance for the shinigami to respond revealed itself. "Anger. I think I will leave. You clean up," its mandibles twitched, as did one of its eyes. Mal had remembered that he couldn't smile again.

Xiang's eyes widened in anger at the scene. Shinigami were suppose to stop things like this from happening! Her anger though wasn't directed at this beast, it was thoughtless hunger. It was at the Junsei who had expelled them from the Seireitei. If it wasn't for them, they wouldn't have this problem.

A deranged smile came to her, one of cruelty.

"Oh, no. You don't have enough blood in your body to pay for this, or nerves to feel the pain. However, you need cleansing more than any other hollow I've ever seen. Make it rain, Okami."

Her blade transformed as she drew it. She focused on Mal, waiting for it to make a move. It it would try to escape, she would stop it. If it wasn't, there was a certain Kenpachi she was sure would appreciate hacking it to bits otherwise.

Flames sparked around Sano's feet, outward into his surroundings. The heat raising to the point it was visible in the air. Suddenly flames erupted like a wildfire all around him, making sure to not harm his allies. His rage was something of legend and this beast would see it first hand. The horror before his eyes could not be denied and his mind only raced on saving those that could be saved. These hollows brought about a special hatred, one that could only be staved by the death of this one. Unfortunately its reiatsu gave off a hint of its strength meaning they would need to catch.

"ARINA! KANAI! Save those that can be saved. Once you get them down, Kanai, get them to safety and Arina will rejoin the fight." Sano commanded the captain and the lieutenant, "Xiang, they said we had to capture it but the Commander never said it needed to be in perfect condition. Let's show it how 11th division used to do."

There was a pure moment of silence before the sound of Sano's leg muscles could be heard as he bent down, earth cracking under his feet. Sano couldn't shunpo to save anyone's life but, he did have one trick under his belt known as his Super Dash. Sano shot forward like a bullet, breaking the sound barrier at the mere start of his dash and rock flying everywhere behind him.

"COME ON, YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Sano bellowed like a lion in the jungle with fist cocked and ready to slam the hollow into the earth below.

Arina’s face hadn’t changed in the slightest - in fact, it brought her slight comfort in seeing the bodies; bloody paste was slightly more unnerving for her. Her blue eyes stared up at the centipede for a moment and she felt her skin crawl before she looked back to the Hollows victims - some of which were still alive. With a small sigh, she rested her wrist over the hilt of her Zanpakuto as she listened to the Hollow speak.

The scene didn’t seem to anger her too much, unlike her comrades, but then again - she was used to such violence.

She took a large step sideways, away from Sano as he all but exploded and she found herself standing beside Kanai as the Kenpachi ordered them to help the survivors. Her blue eyes glanced up at the wailing people and she couldn’t help but whisper something to the Lieutenant,

“It’d be more of a mercy just to end their misery…”

Her voice was low, but she allowed everyone in the group to hear her words.

But, she decided it wasn’t her decision to make; and as Sano burst forward, she stepped into a Shunpo. She went for the children first, silently wondering if they would survive the blood loss they would suffer when she pulled their impaled bodies off the bars.

Kanai stood there as the Hollow that identified himself as Mal with an indifferent look on his face. Deep down his heart
went out to the poor humans but that feeling was overshadowed by his hate for hollows and his rising temper. He was ready to fight the monster infront of them, but Kenpachi ordered him and Captain Arina to help the civilians since they were still alive.

He turned towards them with the captain as Kenpachi "jumped" into action. He heard her statement, along with everyone else, and agreed completley. What kind of life would they live even if they did some how surivie after being saved?

"I agree but orders are orders." he said but a little louder than her.

Right after she went for the children, Kanai stepped in motion with her, using Shunpo to grab the older parents and some elderly and take them to cover far away from the fight. The whole time making sure to pay attention to the fight going on next to them as well.

The centipede stirred as the shinigami moved and began talking, but it didn't move significantly, its only action seeming to be that it uncoiled its bulk from within the tangles of the jungle gym bars. "Hmm, yes, anger. Haha. Should have left early. Oh well," it then emitted a single clicking sound, but it was inconsequential, doing nothing. It was what they couldn't hear that was the problem, as it began creating an inaudible hum. Imperceptible from their locations the metal bars of the jungle gym began to vibrate. "Well, come then, little one," it said not to either lieutenant or female captain, but to the musclebound Kenpachi.

Come forth the man did, leaping into a tremendously fast dash, with fire wreathing his form. Of course, Mal had begun pregenerating, as he liked to call it, creating a hardened shell of flesh and chitin over the entirety of his body, making it dense rather than thick. As the shinigami got halfway to him, he opened his mouth, and as he was right in front of him...he screamed. It was a sound both within audible and inaudible frequencies. It was mostly focused into a cone that erupted at point blank like a sonic boom with no shockwave. The power of the sound would be enough to rupture the Kenpachi's eardrums and cause him intense pain throughout his entire body. Anyone nearby, such as the poor pretty captain and the male lieutenant would be hit with a wave of crippling pain and feel like they were going to throw up as nausea took over--the liquids in their ears being vibrated and thus destroying their balance completely. The one female who had released her zanpakuto and stayed far away would feel it too, as she would be within the cone as well--though the distance would bleed away much of the attack's strength. Nonetheless, she would be briefly unable to act.

Then the Kenpachi's flames engulfed Mal. Again he wished he could smile as he used his reiatsu to enhance his defense. This in tangent with the armor and his regeneration staved off the flames, though they forced him to close his mouth. Following right after the flames was the Kenpachi's fist, which struck him soundly in the side of his face. He moved with the blow, rather than against it, letting it send him flying backwards--though to anyone watching it would appear as if he was thrown by the man's strength well and proper. Speaking of which, it had cracked portions of the chitinous hide which covered the entirety of his body, causing fissure like cracks to run down the entire left side of his face and 'neck.' Again he wished he could smile as his mandibles stretched out, appearing to flail about due to the strength of the Kenpachi's punch, before they sliced the air just in front of his path.

Xiang collapsed from the pain, her ears bleeding, though her eyes never left the hollow infront of her. There was no way she was going to shirk the part. She hoped the captain didn't issue orders, because there was no way she was hearing any. She just needed one opening, one chance to bind it. The only problem would be kenpachi killing it, but one thing at a time. Her opportunity came as he punched it flying backwards. Immediately Xiang punched the ground.

"Bakudo #80, Kagesa(Shadow chain)."

She cried out to no one, she couldnt' even hear it, only hearing ringing. It was rather irritating. Immediately, chains shot up out of the creatures shadow, atttempting the chain its many legs, and bind it it belly up onto the ground. As soon as it was cast, Xiang chanted.

"Kōjutsu Eishō: (After-spell chant)
Iga, rise, hunt from the shadows,
strike, seal, return to nothing."

She, and her ears hated this hollow already.

The chains rose up and snatched at his legs, and again he wished he could smile. He'd been stopped a moment before creating a kumon, but it didn't matter. With his mouth closed he had managed to internalize a measure of sound, which he now passed into his limbs. As the chains were pulling him to the ground, all of his legs suddenly severed and he whipped his head downwards, creating a vertical kumon, before shutting it to sever the rest of his school bus length body. Out of their view, Mal chittered happily and regenerated, scuttling away within his path to make his way to Hueco Mundo. He would give them something to fight, but it would not be him...they weren't ripe enough yet.

---

Meanwhile, the deafening silence would be broken only by the whimpers, cries, screams, and groans of the poor humans who had unknowingly been pulled into all this. Corrosive hollow reiatsu lingered in the area.

Kanai fell to the ground, the pain from the screech caused him to double over and grab his stomach. At the same time his ears started to bleed, he looked up and saw Kenpachi land a blow, and it sent the hollow flying but that was not enough to take it down. Kanai knew it must be strong to survive a direct hit from one of his punches.

He started to stand but wobbled, and kept his eyes on the fight, Xiang tried to chain him down, but "Mal" as it called itself, escaped with ease.

Kanai looked over at Captain Arina, to see of she was okay, then looked at the crying humans, he still had to make sure they were okay. So he got his bearings and stood fully while the hollow escaped. He started to un-inpale the surviors.

"Captian, I will un-stick them and you can take them to safety."

As the lieutenant began his work, the immensely long insectoid body began to decompose into reishi, which drifted up into the air before disappearing. Due to its sheer size, it would take several minutes before it was entirely gone.

Arina had a child in her arms when the Hollow screamed - she had been holding the child in a strange way as to not get his blood on her Kimono, but as the sound hit her ears, her body immediately froze and she dropped the child on herself as she raised her hands to her ears. The child was now in her lap, bleeding out on her, and she was completely and utterly disorientated. Her thin fingers grasped the clothing of the child to push him off of her and as she tried to stand, she sank back down to her knees - the world was spinning and her ears were ringing, and she could feel the blood trickling out of them. She raised a blood soaked hand to grip the side of her head as she cringed in pain.

She heard the muffled voice of Kanai ask her if she was alright... or that might have been the ringing in her ears, but she came to the conclusion that she wasn’t deaf - but she wasn’t far off either. Trying to blink the dizzy spell away she opened her mouth to reply, but she decided against it as she crossed her legs and took a moment to regather her thoughts.

Her eyes darted around the area, looking to all her comrades making sure they were alright - and it did occur to her that Sano could be gravely injured, being hit point blank by the attack. She drew in a breath for a moment as she pushed herself to her feet, stumbling slightly. She looked to the child who was now dead, and to Kanai who was asking for her help.

“Xiang, take over for me. Try your best to contain their bleeding.” she couldn't hear herself so she assumed Xiang couldn't hear her either.

And with that, she unsteadily made her way to Sano, ensuring he wasn’t dead or dying. As she approached the Captain, she lost her balance once more and sunk to her knees beside the Captain, frowning at herself. She would have asked him if he were alright, but it was unlikely any use as she still couldn't hear much. She reached out to grab his shoulder and inspect him, looking for any serious damage.

Xiang, being closer, still was unable to hear her captian, only ringing, but got the gist from her emotion, and gestures. It was fairly evident in how she didn't immediately snap 'Lieutenant Yue." Sighing, she looked at the humans, most of whom had no idea what was happening, who couldn't even see them. Xiang flared her reiatsu to knock them out, as it would be better for them. Silently, she moved her hands for Bakudo, creating a trampoline of reishi for them all, to softly carry them to the nearest member of Squad 4 (NPC)... back at the mansion.

She spoke to her comrades, accidentally shouting:

"I'll be back"

Realizing that might not work, she created a rope with bakudo, and tapped Kanai, spelling out TAKING THEM TO MANSION.

The floating trampoline moved with Xiang, away from the site of horror. She wished her specialty included Kaido for once. All she was good for was hunting down other shinigami. To bind her comrades to ensure order. What did they have to displine if they weren't even strong enough to kill one hollow?

"Damn Junsei...."

---

With baited interest, captain Masumata readied himself - standing upright as to face the others - and addressed them with an inquisitive tone. His senses scanning the surrounding areas as he spoke. “Perhaps we should rendezvous with the others now?” His Mahogany eyes fell upon Reku’s face before quickly shifting upwards. Signaling that his focus had been drawn elsewhere as he tensed his body in preparation for shunpo.

Rēku had begun looking up at the clouds while rain poured down on them. She had begun to get lost in thought before abruptly being brought back to the present as she slowly turned her head to Hiro. “Right. Then I suppose it’s time we move out.” She turned back to the hollow. “Are you ready to come with us?”” She might as well be polite and at least make sure, but as soon as the hollow was ready Rēku would no longer be in that spot as she would have used shunpo to start moving out once more. They were one step closer to getting home.

“Move. Follow. No dawdle.” The Hollow practically seethed as it spoke, its talons scratching the urn’s sides as they dragged across it in what must have been either anxiety or apprehension. It moved to follow after her, and so the Shinigami had for perhaps the first moment in their admittedly long lives to observe a Hollow moving at high speed that was neither fighting nor running from them. Its movements were strange - not the sort of practiced and efficient elegance seen with shunpo. Its strides were irregular, and the motions it made were counter-intuitive. Any human attempting to replicate its strides would have torn their muscles - the Hollow was acting as though it had no need to counteract its own momentum, as though its body might start and stop in whatever position it pleased without consideration of whatever damage it might do to itself or any paltry physical impediments.

It also did not seem to care much for subtlety anymore. The few steps it had taken in the graveyard had been nearly reverent, but now each one carried with it untold force. Asphalt and concrete shattered beneath its hooved feet, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Kairi would follow the others dutifully bringing up the back of the pack, watching for any ambushes and also observing the peculiar movements of the hollow. It was...different.

And Shizu too followed, keeping a watchful eye on the hollow. She still didn’t trust it.

---

Meanwhile....

Shizuka Tsukikage

Lakeport City - Lake County, California, USA

He had been walking north for only a few minutes before he finally came upon it. His next clue. A smirk lined his lips. Before him, encircled by a square of yellow tape, a corpse debauched under the warmth of the evening sun. Its entirety dwindling as its stench thickened, staining the immediate air around it as coagulated blood did the concrete. Overhead, a single crow, black-feathered and sleek, sat perched upon a nearby ledge. Eyes trained upon the corpse as it waited patiently for those below to take their leave.

It was gruesome, even worst than the others. What had once been a human body was now only a bloody mound of charred flesh, weakly held together by the shattered pieces of bone protruding from it's exterior. Standing behind the yellow tape, Chris continued to look on. Watching a single member of the Lakeport Police Department in particular as the dumbfounded lot continued to take pictures and whisper back and forth. Two of which were clearly on the verge of hurling up the contents of their stomachs. Turning to his left, he watched intently, almost meticulously, as a short yet stocky male officer shimmied under the crime tape and barked orders at the group.

"Nothing right?" Christian's eyes softened as they locked upon the face of the brunette walking towards him. Barely managing to refrain a glance at her rear as she walked by, the man sighed. Dutifully, he then followed.

"I'm really not in the mood today, Cross. This shit is getting out of hand." Despite her confident posture and strides, he could tell by the dip of her head she was on the verge of breaking down. Thus, he remained quiet until they had reached the black mustang which had served as the detective's cruiser.

"It's not them." He walked to the passenger side of the car, holding the door open as she entered the vehicle. Her cobalt eyes following him as he leapt over the hood and without contacting the ground, threw himself into the driver's seat via window. Silently justifying his train of thought. 'They don't completely dismantle their targets... it's all wrong.' The car then roared to life, drowning out the churning of the woman's stomach as she buried her head within her hands. Sobbing softly as Chris maneuvered the vehicle through traffic and took a sharp left. Entering a side road as he gradually increased the pressure he placed upon the gas, easing off every so often as to maintain a speed of sixty miles per hour.

"It was Trina, Chris. That thing, was Trina's friggin' body!" As she raised her head to scream at him, the tears upon her face became visible. The sight of them pained him, but upon his grimed face, it didn't show.

"Em..." His voice faded. Leaving only silence over their heads for the remainder of the drive. Slowing the car to crawl, then stop, he starred blankly at the dashboard before him.

For a few strenuous and rather awkward moments, neither of the pair moved to exit the car. Both instead choosing to blank out as if reminiscing about some far away land. Finally, she pushed open the door. Stepping out and wiping her face prior to entering the eatery to which they had just pulled up at. Snapping back to his senses, Christian followed with due haste. His hands digging into his pockets as he followed the detective into the building. As she made her way to the bar, he simply stood at the entrance. His brown eyes observing the elegant paintings and luxurious mood lighting curiously as he scanned the entirety of the room, almost as if expecting them to leap off of the walls towards him. Once satisfied, he caught up.

Now leaning over the bar next to the obviously distraught woman, Chris watched as she reached into her back pocket, pulling free a thin leather wallet as her pale breasts threatened to fall from her v-neck shirt. Indifferent, Cross continued to eye her intently. Inwardly debating whether the body - or bodies, as this was the fourth, was indicative of an anomaly or not.

"The usual, Mikael. I'm having a rough day." The brunette placed her wallet down on the black marbled counter, leaving her twelve twenty dollar bills, her I.D. and her badge in plain sight as she adjusted her self upon the bar. Placing her left hand to her jaw as she leaned upon her elbow. Having glanced at it, Chris silently read over her name in his head. Emily Elizabeth Rhodes.

"Milk." Christian's voice was unusually lifeless, void of it's natural playfulness as he sat next to the detective and shot a heated glance towards the bar keep. Leaning closer to the long haired haired woman, he attempted to touch her shoulder. She instantly made a big deal of moving away. Looking up only to show Mikael an empty smile. If only for a moment, Cross stiffened, relaxing only after an exhale.

"They'll know we're on their trail Em. These men i'm after." Chris hadn't told her the truth. After all, she wasn't ready for, nor needed to be aware of it. Hence, he had spent the last month posing as an member of the FBI. Claiming that he was in pursuit of a pair of serial killers whom we're believed to hiding out in Lakeport in recent months. Of coarse, it didn't help that Cross actually had no idea for what he was really searching for.

Annoyed, he turned in his seat, moving as to place his back to the platinum haired bar keep. After looking between the two, Mikael quickly turned and walked away, leaving only the two of them around the eatery's bar. Chris then let his gaze fall back onto her, admiring the cuteness in her face as he continued to talk. "Look, i'm sorry it was her love, I really am. But you and I both know that that's just how the story goes.." Before he could utter another word; a strong, albeit soft, hand struck him square across the jaw, causing a thunderous 'clap' to resound throughout the high-ended eatery. Mikael, who had only just returned with their orders, as well as the rest of the patrons, all shot Christian a brief yet disappointed glance.

"You fucker..." While her words were not loud enough to be carried over the collective chattering and music, it was enough to once again cause a now frowning Mikael to draw himself away from his post. "I never wanted a part in this you know, any of it." She paused, fighting some tears to no avail before downing her drink in a single yet large gulp. "You dragged me into it."

The words caused Cross to grow still, as if he himself had become frozen. Had stung at his chest as if an arrow itself had pierced it. As a result, a growl formed in his throat, only to be briefly expelled when he too downed the beverage of which he had just now taken hold. For a few minutes, that was how the two remained. As silent and still as stone. Feeling the slightest buzz of vibration, Chris then quickly whipped out his phone. Immediately, his gaze was met by that of Rhodes'.

While the two did not exchange words, their conjoined glances spoke volumes as he listened to a soft voice speak through the phone. After a moments silence, a clear "Affirmative." from Christian could be heard prior to him glancing at it's screen. The action was inevitably followed by the pocketing of the silver touch screen phone.

Resisting the urge to say anything more, the man clenched a fist, sighed, then relaxed with an exhale. Raising from his seat, he then reached into his side pocket and pulled free a single twenty dollar bill. Placing it squarely upon the top of the milk glass, Chris then continued to turn towards the exit. As he did, something seemed to change in Emily, who sprung up from her seat. Cutting off his "Keep the Change" as she clung to the back of his right sleeve, almost as if begging him not to leave. Her face, which had turned red the instant his sleeve and her hand had touched, now glowed a dim blue under the light as she dragged Christian around as to once again face the bar. Remaining silent as she pulled him back down into his seat, he simply looked back up at the barkeep who shook his head.

"Another perhaps?" Mikael's voice held an air of complacency, giving his words a snide and rather hostile tone as they rolled from his lips.

Responding with a dry "No, thanks." Christian let a sly grin line his face. While it seemed sinister in nature, it added an aura of grandeur to his face. Upon seeing it, Emily could only sigh as she scooped up her wallet and badge, leaving the money owed on the counter top. Having silently accepted a second drink, she then took a sip, a brief smile forming on her lips as she swallowed a bit of the white liquid. Remonstrantly, Christian offered his hand to the barkeep. Softening his grin into a smug smile, he then parted his lips once more.

"Cross." He let his gaze slip from the barkeep's face to that of Emily's for an instant, observing the way she took to the drink before refocusing on the man before him. His tanned skin now holding a green hue under the light. Having noticed both his glance and his gesture, Emily tilted her head slightly. Unsure of what what to make of either as she placed the now half empty glass of Tom Collins back upon the counter. Smirking as the barkeep replied.

"Tu es con."

---

Seated within a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala, Christian intently studied an petite map book of the US he had obtained from a local travel agent. Despite the fact that he was familiar with the states, and that his Chevy had been equipped with the latest GPS technology, he still preferred to plan out his routes the 'old fashioned' way. Though he did so more to cover his tracks, as opposed to personal preference. Especially since his latest contact had clearly grown attached. He tried to dismiss the fact that he had as well.

Once satisfied, and confident that he had located the shortest route to Oregan, home of his next assignment, Cross quickly folded the map away. Throwing his keys into the ignition, he then sighed as the Impala's modified engine roared to life.

And a wooden blade pierced his sternum from his rear.

It was only after he had entered shock, grasping desperately at the carved oak, that laughter could be heard over his gasping breath.

"Oh.... darling." He strained his neck as to look behind him, grunting as the weapon begun to be slowing - and excruciatingly - drawn out of his frame. A hand then firmly grasped him by the jaw, nails like claws digging into his skin as it violently wrung his head around. Nearly breaking his neck. Yet, it was only as his eyes finally came to set upon his attacker that fear twisted his face.

"Shi...zu...ka." He gasped for air between each syllable.

"Miss me?" She tugged on his jaw, snapping his neck.

Feed! Tear! Grow!

The words hit her psyche like bag of bricks. Clashing and tearing at her thoughts with unyielding force as a million voices spoke in stuttered unison. Sending a wave of anxiety through the woman's body as she lept back and away from her victim's body. Smacking her head on the roof of the vehicle before falling onto her side. As they begun again, breaking into a repetitive chant, Shizuka writhed and gripped her head in pain. Sunlight now blinding her as she peered beyond the windshield into the deserted parking lot beyond. All the while screaming in silence.

Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!Feed! Tear! Grow!

At last, she found voice once again. Thus let you an exuberant shriek before once again falling silent. Exhausted from from her internal ordeal. Ignoring the copious volume of sweat now soaking her face, she then maneuvered herself into the passenger seat. Pausing only as to remove her bokken from the corpse before she continued to push it from the car with haste. She then took the wheel. "I'm in control now you fuck."

Mal's abandoned body continued to decay and as it did the caustic reiatsu in the air gradually lessened. The body had only dissolved a small portion of its size.

Sano, initially stood tall from Mal's attack, body unflinching from the events that transpired before him. Blood slowly slid down from his ears, his eardrums ruptured causing him to hear most things as inaudible sounds. Sano knew he could have dodged that if he hadn't been so reckless but he didn't care in the long run. What he truly cared about was the fact that hollow seemed to have gotten away before their very eyes. He almost angrily took a step forward before he felt Arina's touch, something he knew exclusively. He looked back at her out the corner of his eye, analyzing her body to make sure she was okay. Most important to this whole moment was the fact they lost their hollow. The mission was a failure and people were too hurt to really go on except for Sano. He didn't need the sound to keep him in the fight as long he had his gut, could see, smell, and feel then he felt like he could fight for days.

At least that's what he had thought, before it hit him. A wave of intense nausea and disorientation...followed by a harsh rattling of his skull and every bone of his body. Muscles would tense and relax, spasming uncontollably. However, he wouldn't retain consciousness long enough to feel any of that unpleasantness, no before he even truly realized what had hit him, he was knocked out cold.

Although Arina’s hearing had mostly returned, the ringing in her ears hadn’t subsided and she was sure than any form of raised voice would give her a splitting headache. She had regained her balance and had pulled herself up, using Sano’s hand for leverage. Her blue eyes scanned the Kenpachi for a moment, looking for any signs of damage, and aside from blood in the ears, there appeared to be none. So when he dropped, her arms shot out to grab him, only for her to fall along with him. She managed to soften his fall slightly and when she hit the ground her hands gripped his shirt as her irises scanned over him again. He wasn't dead but he was far from alright. She had wondered how she and the others had come out from Mal's attack virtually unscathed, and as Sano's unconscious form lay beneath her slightly trembling hands, she found her answer. He had absorbed practically all the damage from the attack.

She closed her eyes for a moment before calling out to her Lieutenant, "Xiang, take Sano with you. He needs a medic."

Xiang sighed. People she didn't want with her. On the bright side, he was knocked out cold. With a flick of her wrist, a rope grabbed him, and also put him on her trampoline. She turned to her captain.

"You'd better do the Gotei 13 proud captain. If not, someone else will have to take your place. I'm catching up."

She nodded at Kanai.

"Take care of my captain."

With that bit of cheer, she left in a Shunpo.

While those who remained recovered from Mal's attack, his abandoned body slowly dissolved into particles of reishi, dispersing into the air. Kanai and Arina would soon regain their hearing, though louder noises would continue to be a bit painful for awhile yet.

After five minutes had passed, the massive centipede's errant body finally finished dissolving, leaving only the blood of the hollow's victims strewn about as well as the damage he had wrought to the jungle gym.

However, it appeared that their luck would be turning over a new leaf, for as the seventh minute passed and they likely geared up to return to base...a shockwave erupted from the sky and two taloned hands parted it like a curtain, ripping open a kumon. Out climbed what, at first, might appear to be a Menos grande...until one looked upon its mask which differed significantly.



Glancing about, the massive hollow quickly located the shinigami and stepped fully out of the rift in the sky.

"These are the shinigami," it stated, its voice deep and resonant, its tone somewhat guttural as it echoed throughout the abandoned park. The Gillian was one story tall and by the sensation of its reiatsu...appeared to be around a lieutenant in strength. It wasn't weak...and it wasn't alone. From the very bottom of the kumon rift stepped a much smaller hollow--though it was of a seemingly similar appearance...its mask excluded, which was perhaps the most bizarre combination of plague doctor beak, masquerade mask, and pope hat that one could dream up. In a sonorous, excitable female timber, the second hollow spoke up, its form reaching only 5 meters(16 feet) in height, whereas its comrade was considerably larger, standing at 12 meters(40 feet).

The smaller of the two lurked behind its partner as they regarded the shinigami from roughly 40 meters away, though they were quite visible and not even attempting to hide their presence.

The larger one spoke up, "These are the ones we will kill, Saishi?" It asked, its mannerisms blunt, making the question sound more like a statement. The smaller female hollow, Saishi, spoke up, "Yes, they feel like the reiatsu that was on Maly so they must be! Specifically the big one!" She hopped back and forth from foot to foot excitably, her reiatsu spiking hither and thither.

The larger hollow grunted and Saishi laughed. "Gonna get 'em Kiretsu? Get us a good meal?"

The larger hollow grunted again before opening its mouth, a cero forming in an instant.

Saishi called out in excitement, "Yaaaaay, huntin' time!" So it was that the hunt--apparently--began.

It had been a few minutes since what seemed to be the end of their battle and they were preparing to head out. Arina's worries rested upon Xiang and Sano. They had been blindsided by the centipede hollow and the Kenpachi had paid the price. Although, she was rather greatful thatthe rest of the team had remained practically unscathed.

She was about to speak to Kanai when the shockwave erupted from the sky and as the kumon was ripped open, a sigh of annoyance escaped her lips, her blue eyes glancing to the two hollows as they made their presence known. She was growing tired of this mission at a rather fast rate of knots.

She glanced to the Lieutenant, suppressing her complaints as the two Hollows mentioned hunting them.

Kanai had finished his duty with removing the people from the "play ground" and entrusted Xiang with taking them to a safe place. His hearing had returned and this is hat alreted him to the precense of two new enemies. One was a Gillian and the other was a naormal hollow, or at least that is what it looked like to Kanai. The two hollows began to talk about how they where hre to "hunt" ands this caused Kanai to scoff.

"Those two hunt us, I mean I'm not one for underestimating but I am pretty sure we can take em." he said with confidence to the rest of the team that could listen.

He looked at Arina for orders but he was ready to fight, it had been awhile since he last used his zanpakuto, and this caused him to feel like a blade going dull.

"I am ready when ever you are Captain!"

Arina frowned at Kanai's words, her eyes never leaving the two creatures - slightly narrowing as a cero formed. Her hand gripped the hilt of her Zanpakuto for a moment as one of her feet stepped back. "Lieutenant, disengage," her voice was low and stern, "We're going to fall back, get back to the mansion."

While she waited for Kanai to turn and run, she drew her sword murmuring her release, incase she needed to make a quick defense.

"Bend and Shift... Collude without ends; through will I grant you form...."

---

He was half way to his goal when he felt it. The sudden fading of a previously substantial amount of reiatsu. One with which he had acquired a familiarity with in the years of late. Kenpachi Sano's. Thus, it was mid shunpo that the shinigami snapped his body about to face his east, simultaneously flexing the muscles of his legs prior to initiating yet another series of shunpoes. Doing so with a frightful boom as he momentarily shattered the sound barrier, now moving at roughly twice his previous rate. A wave of his hand prior to the action being the only expresion of his desire for the others to press on without him.

As he darted through the air, his heart began to race. Filled with both worry and concern. Hence every step grew fiercer, every stride harder, until he himself became all but the most subtle of blurs. A single thought filling his equilibrium as his subconscious guided him to the reiatsu's origin point.

Arina.

His concern only deepened when two more reiatsu signatures suddenly appeared in the vicinity. Their feel all too familiar.

"Hollows." The word rolled of his tongue with an air of disgust, causing him to only further his efforts in speed as he drew nearer to his destination. Especially given that one of them had begun to gather a voluminous amount of reiatsu in the last moments of his trip.

Alas, it was like some sort of otherwordly specter that he suddenly phased into existence before the group. Chest rising and falling in heavy pants as he stood, angled, betwixt Arina and the two hollows. His materialized zanpakuto firmly within his right palm as he extended his sheath back in her direction. Adopting an openly protective stance. Intent on recovering his breath, a brief backwards glance was all the greeting he could spare.

A flash of worry went through Saishi's mind as another reiatsu signature appeared, but it was too late to analyze it as a moment after she noticed and the figure appeared, her partner unleashed his cero. Of course, Kiretsu had noticed too, and in doing so he bit down on the cero as it released. What would normally be a sphere of fast moving energy, erupted into several hundred thin beams, that blossomed out and forwards in the direction of the shinigami.

Saishi hopped happily, establishing a connection between the shinigami and Kiretsu, signalling him with a specific flare of her reiatsu. Then the two would be violently pulled towards one another and likely into the piercing, burning beams of energy that Kiretsu had released. However, none of it really touched him--though if anyone was looking it would appear to--as his ability allowed him to travel through most things he could react to unharmed so long as they weren't composed of reishi or kishi. As he traveled he kept a small pocket behind him open, which Saishi had hopped into, hitching a ride on his back--thus hidden from view.

Together, the two of them could track and react--respectively--to most things thrown their way. Of course, little did they know that the man who had just arrived was going to be a tough adversary for them both.

Having arrived on edge, Hiro's senses were in full swing. Instinctively fuelled by the rush of battle. Alas, he wasted no time in identifying and absorbing his opponent's reiatsu as the tethers formed. Redirecting them towards the sheath of his zanpakuto as it consumed the would be links. While he was unsure as what the hollows intentions were, he knew better than to simply allow an opponents reiatsu to make contact with his being.

For good measure, he began to then collect all ambient reiatsu via the sheath. Concerned for the repercussions of having Arina fall prey to whatever they had attempted.

Arina had one thing in mind as she stood in between the hollows and Kanai, and that was to keep them at bay until the Lieutenant could get out of harm's way. So when a new arrival seemingly appeared out of nowhere she was rather taken back. She would have vocalised that she had never been more happy to see him, but that would have been a lie considering there had been one or two occasions in the past where she had been more relieved and ecstatic to see the man, and this was no time to bring that up.

Her blue eyes stared wide at him as he took a protective stance in front of her and her form faltered for a moment, “Hiro…”

She breathed his name as if she hadn’t spoken it in years, relief washing over her body as she relaxed slightly in the Captain's presence. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to go up against these hollows by herself, but now he had made an appearance, she liked their odds.

Her attention snapped back to the situation as her eyes narrowed on the cero as it was released, but scattered, causing it to rain down on them in hundreds of beams.

“Jigoku Shōheki (Infernal Barrier).”

Arina’s voice was low as she murmured the incantation, stepping closer to Hiro and stabbing her scythe into the ground, causing the ribbons to shoot up and merge together into a sphere around the two of them. The outer shell would harden and act as a makeshift barrier in attempt to shield them from the blast.

Once again, her blue eyes would glance back to the Division Seven Captain, “Thank you for coming.”

As she spoke, a smirk quickly took his lips. relief washing over him as he confirmed that, for the most part, she was alright. However, he did not waste words on the pleasantries of greeting an old friend. Even as his anger swelled upon the notice of the injuries she hid all too well. Instead, he elected to voice his intentions. Eyes trained upon the barrier now erected between the attack and them.

"Together." His tone was stern and yet gentle. As if to both ask and command at the same time. His head nodding to the barrier as to show his intention to force his way through. A flash of reiatsu erupting before him as a myriad of spiked balls materialized upon the barricade's inner wall.

The shinigami then stabbed his sheath into the floor next to him. Taking his zanpakuto in both hands as he focused his senses, tracking the movements of the hollows intent on seeing them to harm. Maintaining his composition only out of necessity as his eyes narrowed, and the enemy arrived.

Arina didn't have to be told, after close to a century of being with the man, she had learned to understand him, even when he spoke so few words. Her eyes met with his once more as she silently nodded her head, waiting for him to get into place before she lifted the scythe out of the ground and slashed it upwards, chanting something as she did so, "Akuma Mori (Demon Lance)."

As she did this, the barrier would shatter and the tendrils of shadow would morph into four lances. She would wait for his command before bringing the scythe down and releasing them at the hollows, two at each creature.

A signal which came in the form movement. Having raised his katana above his head, Hiro's stance grew wide. Arms risen and poised to strike as he entered into a Jodan No Kame sword posture. Another breath later and the man's reiatsu exploded. Momentarily shrouding him in a crimson aura as he brought his blade to bear. Intent on utilizing the force of his strike to amplify the speed of Arina's lances, which had now enveloped the metal spikes - hiding them within.

The beams struck the barrier, and as it was dispelled they continued to be scattered around them, slamming into the ground and pulverizing it, sending dust and debris into the air, obscuring their vision. Kiretsu, despite looking like a big lumbering oaf, and despite his being the brawn of the pair, was still intelligent enough to attack with more than one purpose in mind. His partner on the other hand, who was the brains of the bunch was having trouble, as it appeared that her ability did not work on the newcomer...at all.

She gritted her teeth and retreated, signaling Kiretsu, who in a flash threw another volley of ceros, creating a number of debris clouds, one to each side excluding in front of them. Saishi retreated into one of them and plotted her next move while Kiretsu held their attention. With Saishi having retreated Kiretsu knew things were likely to fall on him for the most part--it wasn't likely to end well, even he knew that much.

They'd need to stall. In the interest of such he charged two ceros in his mouth, grabbed them with his hands and then began charging a third, waiting for the shinigami to make their move as he ceased approaching, instead hiding his presence within the massive cloud of dust and debris his cero had kicked up. Hopefully they could get out of this alive.

A shadow loomed a bit in the distance, watching atop a building,completely obscured. Despite its reiatsu and visibility being obscured, it talked to itself, almost reassuringly.

"If your comrade is being defeated, you should see it as an opportunity. Rather than standing in the way, you should stab the enemy in the back. And if the enemy is so far above your level that you cannot even manage that... then you should let your comrade die. That is our way."

It didn't move yet to join in one side or the other.

Arina didn't even need to look at Hiro to know what he needed her to do, her ice blue eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the two hollows disappear into the dust they had created with the cero. And with one swift movement, she brought her scythe down in a swinging motion - releasing only two of the lances, aiming them forward. As they detached, they would launch forward, but crash into the ground, filling the entire area with a cloud of dust, engulfing the two Captains.

Then, without a word, she stepped back and to the side, her arm brushing against Hiro's due to the close proximity. She had no intention of being seperated from the Division Seven Captain, and this way, she could still recieve any silent signals he might give her.

With his body tense, its entirety flexed in anticipation, her touch brought with it a sense of comfort once long forgetten. Bringing with it a renewing clarity as his eyes combed the storm of debris and dust. Allowing the shinigami to feel as if his body had suddenly grown lighter. So it was that he then closed his eyes and once again focused his senses. This time training them upon his own reiatsu - or rather the spikes comprised if it as he suddenly expanded their size. Causing them to burst free of the two entrenched lances which housed them within. Sending several hundred spikes cascading across the entire battlefield like the shrapnel from a duo of bouncing bettys.

He tracked each and every one.

With his ears, he listened for movement. Ready to judge distance and location. With his nose, he smelt for the stench of a hollow. Determined to discern the presence of his foes. However, it was only after idly deflecting a few dozen spikes which threatened the two captains, that he felt for any vibrations within the ground. Searching for anything that might betray the movement of the brute.

Upon returning his blade to his side, he then pressed his free arm ever slightly against Arina's. Returning whatever affection lay hidden within the fleeting embrace.

Arms raising, Kiretsu protected his mask in the one motion, as his other hand grasped at the air and tore a hole straight in it, creating a Kumon with essentially no effort. He tore it open so that it eclipsed even his own body, sucking in air, spikes, and debris as it grew in size. He flexed his reiatsu and Saishi returned to his side, nodding. This was a fruitless battle, they'd be gaining no footholds against the two shinigami--as much as they hated to admit it.

So instead, they'd leave them a present...and then retreat. This in mind, Kiretsu put one hand into the massive kumon, near the top, grasping at its boundary from within, while he grabbed Saishi with the other hand. She crouched there, her muscles bundling up and her reiatsu charging in her body to amplify her speed further. Then Kiretsu bent his own legs, and jumped, tearing the sky as he did so, and then threw Saishi sky high.

She would briefly appear high in the sky, far above the shinigami. Kiretsu threw a boulder sized rock upwards in her direction, but she didn't react. As it caught up to her, she latched onto it, letting it be a shield and carry her higher, bracing herself. With that she latched her reiatsu onto Arina's and pulled even as she released a cero to push herself violently backwards. The effect would be drastic, pulling Arina just as violently into the air, at incredible speeds, directly towards Saishi.

Meanwhile, Kiretsu had charged a massive cero in his mouth, split it into two in his hands, and then charged a third cero in his mouth once more. By the time Arina was in motion, he had stepped into the kumon rift, and it had summarily snapped shut behind him.

What were the hollows up to?

Following the duo's movements, the captain sighed. Grimacing in disapproval as he sensed a steady stream of reiatsu emanate from the smaller of the two. Recognizing its composition, his expression grew plainly irritated as he extrapolated its trajectory. Enough! He threw his free arm to side as if dispelling some invisible force. Fixing his gaze upon the sky bound hollow momentarily, he then utilized shunpo to ascend into the air. Forming footholds as he darted side to side and advanced towards the foe. Chasing after his companion whom had been suddenly yanked into the air, ensnared by the swift assault of their female foe.

Her eyes narrowed as she was yanked upwards, her hair whipping about her face as she tried to gain what little control of the situation she could. It was duly noted that the larger one had disappeared within the kumon he had ripped open, but something didn’t feel right - there was something off about the way he charged his cero but retreated regardless. Blue irises shot up as she drew closer to the hollow in the air, at an alarming speed. With a large swing of her scythe, she detached the two remaining lances, aiming them at the hollow, as they shot upwards at her form.

The mouth of her mask curving into a grin, Saishi laughed even as she jumped back and released a cero, from her mouth, sending the large boulder hurtling downwards towards Arina as the shinigami hurtled up towards it, as well as blasting her backwards faster than the woman could be pulled. As she was sent back, one might notice an impossibly thin black line being formed by her claws. What were the hollows up to?

The lances she had previously detached, made contact with the boulder and instantly shattered it, along with themselves. So she barely had time to react as her scythe flew down, in a futile attempt to shield herself,

“Hidoi ho (Unholy Stride)”

A tendril of shadow stretched out sideways and in an instant, she had stepped into it, traveling out of the line of fire faster than her shunpo could carry her. As she traveled, the tendril rounded and stretched upwards towards the female hollow. She would exit the shadow still with some distance between the hollow and herself, and still being pulled. Her blue eyes glanced down at Hiro, not really needing to tell him what she was planning, and before she even made a move, she placed her scythe so the blade covered her left shoulder, he would only have a moment of opening before she spoke.

A window he intended not to miss. Ergo let air fill his lungs as he moved to initiate yet another flash step. However, instead of focusing on sheer speed, Hiro instead focused his efforts into manipulating the movement of his individual limbs. Maneuvering his arms as to bring his zanpakuto about his left side, his legs as to momentarily widen his stance, and then his arms once more. Releasing a horizontal slash into the air as he channeled his own reiatsu along the musculature of his arms. Initiating a Ken'atsu. All within the span of a single shunpo. Thus, to those incapable of finely reading his movements, it would appear as if a rather violent burst of air had suddenly erupted behind him as he continued on his previous coarse. Acting as if nothing had happened, he returned his attention to the 'petite' hollow. He would be between his latest and next shunpo when his attack at last struck the blade of Arina's zanpakuto. Its force propelling her to one side again as she continued toward the hollow, causing her to violently swing around the creature nearly forty-five degrees.

She smirked as Hiro's attack bettered her position,

“Kodai no dai Sanji (Ancient Catastrophe).”

Her arm extended upwards, pointing the scythe to the sky. As she did this, the ribbons wrapped themselves around her thin form as four balls of shadow began to form, creating a makeshift cube with her, as their center of gravity. Arina moved slightly, stretching her body into a strangely graceful stance, and the balls circled her before stopping and rapidly grew. A black sphere then enclosed her before the four balls released their energy in an amazing display of colour; her barrier reflecting the energy into a Kido like blast which erupted from the circumference of the sphere.

Yet Saishi's smile grew, intrigued by the dance of the two shinigami, and she dropped her connection with Arina, instead attempting a link with the male. as before it failed, and with her having let go of Arina, the woman's movements would be thrown off course somewhat, even as Saishisent links out to individuals far below, pulling on them. With many inside buildings, she managed to use them to pull herself downwards. It appeare dher tactic simply couldn't work, so she'd have to alter it somewhat.

She shot downwards rather suddenly, then started moving diagonally, so she moved away from the shinigami, and downwards at the same time. While she'd stopped dragging her claws through the air, now she started again, before suddenly pushing instead, flinging her upwards and away, knowing the two would pursue. This would be interesting.

Remonstrantly, the shinigami let out a lion-like roar. Ignoring the pain within his chest as exhaustion gripped him. Momentarily sending a wave of tardiness throughout his body. Thus, it was without haste that the man reached for the strap which fastened his haori upon his frame, having come to a sudden and strenuous stop when his opponent's position begun to rapidly change. A few short moments later and the strap sat undone, causing the white over-coat to sit loosely atop his shoulders. Twitching eratically as it fluttered against the brisk kiss of the midnight winds.

And then he leapt.

Allowing himself to at first freefall, Hiroshimoto extended both arm to his sides. Allowing the air to pass around him as he let gravity propel back towards the city they had climbed so high above. Watching as the ground grew ever closer. It was only when he noticed that the hollow had changed directions whilst maintaining its momentum, that he drew his limbs close to his core and closed both hands around his sword's grip. Aiming the tip of his zanpakuto towards the ground as he used it to part the flow of the air before him, lessening his drag as he continued to plummet with ever increasing speed. With a loud swoosh he then vanished. Only to emerge a few feet from Arina's position shrouded in an abundance of crimson light. His haori now firmly gripped by one hand as his reiatsu seemed to instantaneously sky-rocket. Sending a harmless pulse of the energy out and across the area before the aura faded.

A small sigh escaped her parted lips as the explosion went off, the female hollow avoiding it with ease, throwing her off balance slightly as she released her connection to Arina. Her legs trembled slightly as she dropped the scythe from above her head, stumbling slightly as her scythe became a sword once more, the Zanpakuto rebelling against its master.

A small frown graced her features and the weakness in her limbs began to take hold. Kidai no dai Sanji was by far her most powerful ability and was not to be used lightly, just as she had done. The slightest audible groan sounded from her throat as she fell, her blue eyes partially open as she allowed her body to give out on her. She was sure Hiro would be able to take the hollow on by himself… more or less she hoped, considering for now, she would be rendered useless.

Concerned for the well being of his comrade, Hiro involuntarily moved to catch Arina as she begun to fall. Cradling her within his arms as he braced her neck with his haori. Attempting to minimize as additional damage she might sustain, despite knowing is efforts to be in vain. Hence his voice was acerbic yet soft. His irritation bleeding into his concern as his lips parted to speak.

"Eis quos amo." He let himself fall. Decreasing their altitude as energy once again swelled up within his body. Swirling beneath his flesh with an increasingly audible whine until he used a shunpo to lay her upon the ground. Next to their original location and his zanpakuto's sheath. Expecting the enemy - who would now be even further away, he then moved to grab it. Taking a moment only to glance in Arina's direction and hone his senses before he spoke. His voice stentorian and direct.

"Bankai."

In the same moment his words rang out, a rift opened 5 meters above him and Arina and for a brief moment a fierce light and a glimpse of a familiar mask could be seen. Saishi grinned as her partner appeared before their mutual enemy for with his appearance came the release of the three cero he had been nursing elsewhere. She'd been but a distraction all along--which was her typical role anyways.

This could not have been more apparent, for while Hiro was likely briefly immobile whilst releasing into bankai, the hollow unleashed the cumulative power of three ceros in a beam straight down at the immobilized pair hoping only to deal damage, adding insult to injury, as it were.

While the man was distracted with that, Saishi tore a kumon in the air and hopped in, the rift snapping shut behind her in the same moment that Kiretsu's did, leaving them alone--and perhaps looking a bit stupid--in a park.

For a sliver of a moment, time itself seemed to stand still. Air and sound seeming to cease as all of the reiatsu surrounding the male shinigami was suddenly pulled inwards, towards his frame. Creating what would only appear to be a thunderous pop and flash of light of ruby light as the energy was violently absorbed into his being. Vanishing instantaneously. It was only then that the soul reaper tilted upwards his wrists, allowing them to face the sky as magnitudes of spiritual energy erupted from each in unison. Quickly blanketing the entirety of the man's body with a crimson aura as said reiatsu exploded outwards and into the sky.

Initially, it simply formed a momentary pillar of pure energy. The likes of which sent a devastating shockwave across the imediate area in its sudden manifestation. Subsequently consuming all of Kiretsu's ceroes within its spire as it streched ever higher into the sky. Yet, milliseconds was all it took for the spire to collapse in on itself. Splitting itself into a myriad of air born tendrils as a secondary explosion sent them cascading outwards over a large swath of nearby land. Land which would be enevitably marred as the wayward streaks of reiatsu carved away at the environment with every strand that struck the earth.

A display of unchecked power that would have also left Arina mortally wounded, had he not been literally standing over her. Placing her within the epicenter of Hiro's crimson storm. Thus, minimizing, but not exempting her from the repurcussions of being so blatantly exposed to such an abundance of his reiatsu at close range. Unfortunately, having at last given in to his repressed urges of anger and pain, Masumata found himself all the more frustrated as he watched the hollow fractionally avoid being bisected. One of the aforementioned tendrils having whizzed past her last location just as the kumon had slammed shut.

Alas, when the the ambient destruction had finally halted. Leaving the area shrouded within a cloud of dust. Hiro remained steadfast for a few moments longer. Allowing his gaze to linger upon the night sky whilst he tilted his head back and again screamed. This time to the stars as the aura encircling him begun to fade, and with it the additional attire he had emerged with. Causing the metallic red of his pauldrons and hard-light wings to slowly flake away. Returning to a state of pure reiatsu before becoming translucent and at last returning to the void. Leaving him once again in his standard attire.

It was at this point that he spun on his heels, dropping to a knee as his rage swifted to concern - and he bent over Arina as his zanpakuto reverted back into its sealed state. Worry thick within his voice as he sought to ascertain her state. ""Arina..." His eyes begun to look her over. "Are you ok?"