Arina Kawagana, Sannouske Kenpachi, Xiang Yue and Akio Kanai
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...."
