Memories of a Shinigami (BLEACH Club Members only)

Steph was about to make to his move with Kagashi when a surprising appearance of someone from the academy showed up standing opposite of them to the strange child that was eying Steph still. The new person to the field did not make an immediate impression on Steph, but he was not always great with names of people that he did not meet but once.

Kagashi recognized Mugen when he dropped in on the fight, but he could see that Steph was a little uncertain about him. “He’s from the sixth year class, Steph. Besides anyone willing to help deal with this thing the better.”

“If you know him… The look-a-like is very skilled in the shinigami arts. It has kido, shunpo and high speed regeneration. It’s very dangerous, so don’t let your guard down for a moment.” Steph did not leave his readied state watching the child uncertain what was going to happen next. He weighed his decisions on attack knowing that he would have to go all out if he expected to even stand a chance. His eyes shifted momentarily over to Kagashi silently communicating with him. They had trained together for so long they knew each other styles very well. It was a fact that Steph was counting on in this fight.

Steph freed up one of his hands facing it straight at the child without hesitation release a large fireball from his palm. The child evaded the kido as he expected, but Kagashi was already gone in shunpo the moment Steph had fired. It gave Steph the time that he needed to focus on his next attack. Kagashi was far more skilled in shunpo than him making it difficult for him to follow their movements even with the time that he had fought with him. The spiritual pressure around him increased with spirit energy pouring into his hand for his next spell. This time he took the time to recite the chant for the spell while he checked around the field for Kagashi and the child. They were breaking in and out of shunpo in their sword clashing with the movements starting to show. ‘Keep him distracted another moment, Kagashi…’

The spell was nearly complete with the last few words of the chant left and he could tell Kagashi’s change in his shunpo speed dropped for just a moment. It was enough for Steph to read and make the final adjustments to the angle. Kagashi spun around landing in the air kicking back the dust as he slid bringing his Zanpakuto straight out shooting a small column of ice from the tip of the blade bringing the child to change his direction to avoid the attack.

“Hado #33 Soukatsui!” Steph shouted as a large blue sphere grew out of his palm flying faster than normal towards the child just as he was evading Kagashi’s attack leaving him completely off guard. The blue sphere engulfed the child disappearing from sight as the energy exploded blinding everyone momentarily.

Kagashi came to a landing on the ground still keeping his sword out staring in the sky at the cloud of blue energy and dust that covered where the child had been. “Did you get him?”

“I think so, but is it over?”

“What’s going on here?” Hitsugaya said as he was on the outer edge of the blast that took out nearly twenty floors of underground labs in the Research and Development Department of the Squad 12. He could see cross sections of labs across the gap that led up to the surface. There were countless shinigami researchers either dead or severely injured laying everywhere. The Hell Butterflies were already sent out to the Squad 4, but with the size of the blast he figured they were already moving. As bad as this was, he had to get to the bottom of his problem. The spirit energy of the shinigami he was following came from the center of the blast. “He’s still alive…”

Hitsugaya jumped down the hole getting to the room that he needed quickly. He landed lightly in the broken lab of what little remained. The researchers looked to be lightly burned, but the blast was directed up sparing them from much of the energy. He found the man that he was looking for laying against the wall unconscious along with everyone else. Hitsugaya knelt down by the man giving him a light slap to the face finding that it was apparently enough to get the shinigami moving. “Hey, what happened here?”

“Huh?” the shinigami said still out of it from the blast. It took a moment, but the man jumped up to his feet looking surprisingly well if not distracted by his room. “It’s all destroyed. Everything… And the subject’s missing and the sample…”

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes and stood up walking over to the shinigami crossing his arms. “What happened here?”

“What? A Captain?! What’s a captain doing here?”

“I was the closest when the explosion occurred, so I came to investigate,” Hitsugaya said not ready to play his cards if he could get the information that he needed without revealing his hand.

The shinigami turned to face him directly, but the anxious and broken expression that he had the moment before was gone. The man had become cold changing his demeanor in front of Hitsugaya. “Just an experiment that we were conducting with highly unstable materials. The containment was broken during a procedure which resulted in the explosion.”

‘So you’re not going to be straight with me. Lying to a Captain…’ Hitsugaya pulled his arms up a little tighter as he watched the shinigami for a moment. “I see… You were saying something about a subject being missing. If you’re missing something from your research I can have some of my men help with the search.”

The shinigami tried to keep from twitching hearing Hitsugaya’s offer of assistance. “No, that’s alright. I must have been thinking out loud about another project of mine.”

He was getting a little closer. Hitsugaya knew that he still wanted to play things carefully for the moment. There was plenty he had left to work with. “I sensed a spiritual pressure leaving this area as I arrived. Do you know what that was from?”

“No, I can’t imagine. There are a lot of a projects being carried out here, so maybe one of their subjects escaped in the confusion.”

Hitsugaya walked around the room looking at the other shinigami that lay still unconscious from the blast. He looked up to the sky that was visible through the hole that the explosion made. ‘The size and energy used had to have come from someone of at least Vice-Captain skill level. Dangerous materials indeed…’ The room was completely trashed making it impossible for him to get any further from the room to fuel his questions. While he turned around to face the shinigami again something caught his eye. “The blast was all directed upward from what I can see.”

“Yes, we were fortunate. If the safety measures had not activated we would have been killed in the blast.”

“I see… But that doesn’t explain this.” Hitsugaya pointed to a large hole in the wall of the room that went into the hallway. “If the blast was directed up then why is there a separate hole here?”

“As I said before, we were dealing with unstable materials. Not all of them being used. It must have become unstable when the experiment blew up creating that hole.”

“Yes, you had mentioned that. However, I don’t see any debris here or marks on the floor that would indicate that sort of explosion.” The shinigami held his words that he normally had a quick answer. Hitsugaya turned back looking at the wall seeing that he was starting to get to the place that he wanted. “That also doesn’t explain why I’m detecting faint traces of spirit energy in the room that are consistent of a kido spell. This explosion looks focused and directed, not random.” Hitsugaya tilted he head over his shoulder connecting his gaze with the shinigami seeing sweat start to bead up on the man’s face. “I’m a busy Captain and I can’t be expected to remember every detail from a report someone gave without it being written. Perhaps you can refresh my memory so that the report is accurate.”

The shinigami’s composure was disappearing seeing that he was on the losing side of the argument and Hitsugaya was even giving him the chance to revise his statement without the previous being on the record. The man narrowed his eyes for a moment and blinked seeing his own defeat. “It was caused by an experiment that we were working on, but it would be closer to consider it a living organism. It became unstable during a procedure and escaped.”

“And the subject you mentioned?”

The shinigami went quiet again beginning to look sheepish from the question. Hitsugaya glaring at him helped to make up his mind. “An academy student…”

“You were experimenting on an academy student? How are what escaped and the student related?”

“The test sample that escaped is made up from cells that we took from the student and then duplicated. We kept the samples small, but recent tests required a larger working material.”

“How large?”

“We duplicated enough to be equal to the mass of the subject’s body.”

“But it’s just cells, how can it be moving on its own?”

“We don’t know. It all happened so fast that we didn’t have time to look at the data. An uncontrollable reaction occurred within the mass that caused a massive restructuring of its molecular makeup. It then fed on the subject’s spirit energy gaining its own source of spiritual energy. The energy it is using is very much in the same quality of the subject as though it took on all of the traits of the subject. However…”

“There’s more? What is it?”

“The subject was unique in a number of ways, but the most important is that for whatever reason the subject has a barrier or seal for lack of a better word that significantly restricts their spirit energy usage. However, the sample doesn’t have those limits. So depending on the body and amount of spirit energy it can generate it could exceed the current subject’s capabilities.”

“By how much?”

“I’m not certain.”

“Give me a guess then.”

“Well the subject’s spirit quality exceeds anyone in the academy by far. They have quality that would be expected from a Captain level shinigami, but they only have the reserves of a mid-level officer. The sample I don’t think is complete, but I believe that the subject’s true reserves are that of a Captain level shinigami. So theoretically the sample could be as strong as a Captain.”

“You’re saying that a test sample is running around the Seireitei with the possible strength of a Captain? You’ve put the entire Seireitei in danger with your experiment!” Hitsugaya could not believe what he was hearing from the shinigami. He still did not know what they were trying to accomplish with the tests that they were doing to Steph, but it became clear to him that he did not have time to waste listening to the shinigami. He started to prepare for shunpo when he was interrupted.

“Wait! One more thing. The other important thing about the subject was his body, which the sample has copied and enhanced.”

Hitsugaya did not like where this was heading. It was only getting worse the longer that he listened. “What does this mean combat wise?”

“The subject is still a mystery to us, but we found that we could not duplicate it without the samples from the subject. So all of the black box secrets are built into the sample. We don’t know the full capabilities of this, but our initial estimates say that it would have high-speed regeneration on par with what we’ve recorded from hollows and arrancars along with high-speed spirit energy regeneration. The body itself is made out of reishi like everything in the Soul Society, but it can alter and mold it at will. That is how it can have the regenerative abilities. It will literally strip the area of reishi to fuel its regeneration.”

“You lost a possible Captain level shinigami test sample with high-speed regeneration into the Seireitei. I can’t believe this. I’ve got to track this thing down and help I can stop it before it destroys any more of the Seireitei.” Hitsugaya disappeared into shunpo without another word leaving the researchers to their thoughts. ‘I can’t that they were using Steph for such experiments or that he had that much potential… I don’t like the sound of a black box… I may need to keep a closer eye on him to prevent further troubles from occurring…’

Steph and Kagashi saw the cloud lower to the ground slowly starting to fade away from where the child would be. The moments grew to be tense as they developed an uneasy feeling about what was occurring. He knew that he had hit his target, but he was not sure if it was enough to destroy it completely. Steph figured with something that had high-speed regeneration it would mean that the only way to destroy it completely would be to doing all at once.

A gust of wind burst through the field taking away the cloud that surrounded the child revealing it to be severely burned over most of its body and missing both arms up to the shoulders as well as much of the chest and face. However, the body was glowing as the ground turned into partials ripped from their home to become attached to the body of the child. It was only a moment before they were completely whole again. The child began to glow green with everyone quickly feeling the increasing spiritual pressure coming off it.

“Steph!”

“I know!” Kagashi increased his spiritual pressure trying to keep with the child and Steph as well. However, he knew that without his release he would have trouble keeping up with the speed. He would have to focus on kido since a sword cut would not be able to kill it.

“Use your shikai, Steph!” Kagashi said noticing that he had remained sealed so far. This was not a fight where they could hold back in and Steph knew it.

“I’ll focus on kido! My shikai isn’t refined enough for it not to affect you negatively as well.”

Kagashi was not sure what Steph was talking about, but they had not really gotten into the powers of their Zanpakuto. He was still unclear to what the capabilities of Steph’s shikai were, but Steph knew best. This would have to be fought with him on the front line with Mugen and Steph supporting them from behind. “Come on, Mugen! Let’s show this thing what the academy is made of!”

Kagashi used shunpo to close the distance with the child bringing his Zanpakuto clashing with the energy sword that it had created. He did not wait on Mugen knowing that he would join with him. ‘I’ve managed to match his spiritual pressure, but I’m almost at my limit. If he goes any further I don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t know if this thing has a limit.’ He disappeared into shunpo again trying to get an advantage on the thing, but its defenses were even stronger than before as though it was learning and countering what Kagashi was throwing at it. As the fight dragged on and exchanging blows with the child, Kagashi found that nothing was working anymore forcing him to start using his ice attacks from his Zanpakuto to keep pace with the child. ‘I don’t know how long we can hold out like this…’

Fire blew past Mugen as he dropped to the ground immediately when Steph performed the kido spell. He covered his head and as soon as the coast was clear, looked up. He saw Steph and Kagashi fight in tandem. "Damn these guys are good." He said.

Mugen decided to stay back until he was needed and witnessed the clone explode. He popped up to his feet and shouted in victory: "Way to go!" His victory dance was interrupted when the smoke cleared, revealing a dismembered mass regenerating from the attack. "Holy hell, no way!" Mugen readied his sword in hesitation. "I don't think I can hold up against something that can regenerate from such a powerful attack."

“Come on, Mugen! Let’s show this thing what the academy is made of!” Mugen heard through his doubtful thoughts, he saw Kagashi go all out on the clone. "If he's using his shikai and going all out, I might as well too!" Mugen then spread his legs and held his sword reverse grip down between them. He held onto his sword arm with the other and then his spiritual pressure began to fluctuate.

"I haven't used this in a real combat situation, so I have no idea what I can do, but, if it means preserving the lives of my friends then I must! Now, Shine Brighter, Benihyourin!" The his Zanpakutou pulsed then began to turn into a shiny, metallic material, almost like mercury. The mercury-like substance melted and spread up his sword arm. It spread up to his shoulder and covered his entire arm, finally solidifying but retaining it's mercury-like characteristics. The material formed armor on his arm and a 3 foot blade slid out from the top of his forearm. He held it out straight ahead of him and charged at the clone.

***

Elsewhere, Rei was a fair distance away from the battle but still felt her husband's pressure as if he were right next to her. She had a worried look on her face. "Please be careful."

***

Mugen attacked the clone in tandem with Kagashi but seemed to be parried with each strike. He was no match for him with the effort he was putting forth. Kagashi began to use ice attacks and while the clone was dodging, Mugen managed to strike it down the back. The wound was filled with the silvery substance the same as his shikai was. "Never knew it could do that before." When the clone's regeneration kicked in the substance was still in his body. Mugen attacked again and noticed the clone seemed a fraction slower, almost fatigued. "So, that's what it does, it acts as a poison!"

Mugen jumped to Kagashi's side. "Use those ice attacks of yours to hold him still for a second, I think I know how to weaken him a little!"

The fight had become less of a duel and more of a struggle to keep in step with the enemy. Kagashi was not used to having more than a duel with anyone. For a shinigami there was some honor in fighting one-on-one, but when it came down to it this was a fight for their lives. He could not be held back the sense of honor in this fight. The ice columns from Erimaki no Konpekihane were having little effort on the child, but it seemed that Mugen was having better luck. He had not seen him using his Zanpakuto in class and by the reactions he was seeing it seemed that Mugen was still learning as well.

The last strike that he made appeared to have a strange affect on the child. Kagashi did not know exactly what Mugen had done, but he was willing to go with the flow of the battle if it would end it sooner. He knew that Steph would back him up. Kagashi nodded in agreement with Mugen and re-focused his attack on the child.

The first strike he made with his sword dashing in with shunpo felt stronger for some reason he could not explain. He disappeared again as the child took a swing at him and then followed him into shunpo. The child gave him chase around the field keep pace with Kagashi, but he still felt something being off. Their game of shunpo came to an end with the child gaining on him and clashing swords with Kagashi before pushing him back. Kagashi was tipped off balance by the strike as his eyes widened in shock seeing the child extend a finger to his head glowing. He could not think or move as everything happened so quickly. ‘Is this…’

“Hado #4 White Lightning…” the child said in a dull tone as a thin beam of kido shot out from his finger stunning everyone.

Steph held his hand out stretched towards Kagashi paused in motion it seemed. Kagashi lay on the ground still and behind him a burning hole in the ground where the kido continued past. Everything held for the moment fearing for the worst. A solemn wind swept through the field pushing at the blades of grass around Kagashi’s body as the child turned towards Steph.

“Hado #33 Souka—“ said the child as he was interrupted by a Zanpakuto through the chest with ice forming around the body of the child quickly. The body was almost completely encased in ice and behind him a shadowed figure revealed to Kagashi.

Kagashi panted heavily feeling like he had lost some years off his life from that close call. ‘I can’t believe that Steph was fast enough to see that and pull me down with a Bakudo #1 in time.’ He looked over to Mugen giving him his opportunity to strike while the child was held down. Unfortunately, he could feel the spiritual pressure increasing off of the child even more with the ice starting to crack. “Hurry, Mugen, before he’s free!”

The night of the duel still rattled through my mind. So much so, that I slept later than usual with the help of a night terror that locked me in what seemed like an eternal slumber. The memories of the past that coupled with the memories of the present bombarded me with fright and regret of my actions. My distraught emotions caused me to question the integrity and identity of my Zanpakutou. The simple thought of these disturbing and sadistic characters inside of my mind was enough to crack my shell and make me weep with pain.

My fingers gripped the sheets as my sister Mai looked over me with a look of concern and fright. Mai bit her lip, and I could feel the light slaps upon my cheek to wake me from this terror. However, I could not wake. Not just yet. I had something to do: Something to solve and vanquish once and for all.

The visions of the sadistic personalities encased me in a swirl of laughter and taunts. I didn’t want these personalities inside of me any longer. Though in a flash of screeching wind, the torment stopped and I found myself upon the face of the all too familiar cliff.

I saw the hawk woman fly out of the cliff and hover above me. The recollection of the duel and the torment I witnessed through these vile personalities made me glare at her with a vigor of condemnation.

“…You aren’t really who you say you are… are you? From what my shikai does, and how you put everyone around me at risk. The torment I witness from not being able to prevent the lewd actions from my evil personae… Why put me through all this?”

The wind below her stifled to a gentle breeze as she landed on her feet and stared at me. Her lips curled into a smirk as she ran her tongue over her lips. Her wings changed color from a tender brown to a black that was so dark, light was absorbed and didn’t reflect from her feathers. Her skin changed to a soft blue hue. Her eyes shifted to a vile red that mirrored the color of my hair. Her fangs grew longer as her gentle feet formed into vicious claws that could cut through anything.

From her mouth, a shuddering screech surrounded the air and sent a wave of visible sound past my shoulders, “…What took you so long, brat? I thought my hints were easy to see through. If you took just a single moment to think about my plan, you would have known something was off. You still have a lot to learn, little girl.”

I let out a breath as I bit my lip and snarled at her. The nerve of this harpy to deceive me like she did! “You could have just been straight with me, you know. What did deceiving me accomplish, exactly?”

She rolled her eyes as if the answer was yet another obvious statement. “It showed that you still have naivety and blindly trust individuals without a second thought. You need to learn to have a strong sense of self, and you need to learn not to rush into things head on. You should learn a little from your tranquil personality. You may not be aware of this, but I’ve always been inside you. I’ve seen these personalities develop and branch out into separate entities.” She snapped her finger and different harpy women appeared, their appearance slightly varied.

“These girls represent each of your different personalities, which, by the way… are all apart of who you really are. You may feel as if all of your memories were recovered, but they weren’t. There is still one thing left for you to remember, and it involves how I came to be inside of you. Even as you look at me now, you don’t remember me, do you?”

My jaw dropped and I could say nothing. I did feel that everything was back to normal, but my brother did drop his name for personal reasons. Did it have something to do with that? I dug deep into my mind to remember, and I could feel something poke at me with soft taps.

“You look like you’re almost there, but not quite. It’s quite all right, Shino. I don’t blame you for not remembering me. You never did like me when I was living, after all.”

“…Living?” My eyes squinted as my brain attempted to understand what this harpy spoke.

“Yes. I was alive, once. We knew each other quite well. You know your brother Kyoshiro, don’t you?” Her lips spread to a fake smile as her eyes fluttered. It was my turn to roll my eyes. She laid it on really thick, and as she did, a large jolt shot through my brain.

My vision blurred as the Zanpakutou world flittered in static and disappeared. All that was left was me and the girl. Except… she wasn’t a harpy anymore. However, her face showed genuine cheer as if I’m on the right track. Her hair was black; she had the same red eyes, and a gorgeous figure that almost rivaled Mai’s. Almost being the key word.

The jolts in my mind lessened as my eyes trailed around her body. She spun on the balls of her feet to give my eyes a good look at her body. “Like what you see, girlie? Too bad you can’t have it. I don’t swing that way… or do I?” she winked as a faded image of my brother appeared next to her. Seeing them two together...meant something! I just can’t dig any deeper into my mind!

The actions she performed around my brother’s image, the way it reacted to her, another jolt pierced my brain and sent me to the floor in a seizure.

My lips struggled to speak as my body shook on its own from the pressure of my brain being overworked.

“Mi...kata…” I managed to spurt out. The sensation I was all too familiar with at this point rushed into me. The zanpakutou world faded back into existence as the other harpy girls shrieked as their bodies turned into glowing lights. My soul was a black hole and absorbed them into my entire being. All but one of them returned back to their original place. I could feel my soul being corrected; nearly complete.

The dark red winged girl with blazing red hair let out an ear shattering screech that portrayed her thoughts into my mind. My body turned over and reached outward, unaware that Mai was in the way. It tightly gripped onto her chest and squeezed her large breast. Mai let out a soft moan and pulled the subconscious hand away from her chest.

“No, no, Shino. I’m not into inces--…” she cut herself off as she remembered that they were not blood related. A sly grin stretched across her lips as she took it upon herself to straddle across my lap. She pressed her body onto me and kissed me.

The sudden act of Mai and the transmission of the harpy girl was enough to bring me back from the land of the Zanpakutou. I opened my eyes to find my sister kissing me. She wasn’t really my blood sister, but I thought of her as one. A feeling of nausea washed over me as I pushed her from my lips.

“…No.” I said nothing more and shook my head.

“But you groped me~!” she frowned and crossed her arms and gave a fake pout.

“Not on purpose, Mai. Even though it shouldn’t be any surprise to me that you would do this, I don’t think of you that way. You’re always my sister and that’s that. I’m not into incest, okay?”

“But we’re not blood related!”

“It doesn’t matter… you’re still my sister.” I let out a sigh as I rushed to the bathroom, remembering the news from the harpy girl. Mikata said her name was Blair. I washed myself and slipped on my uniform. I grabbed my Zanpakutou and a jolt of energy took me by surprise and I dropped it on the floor. I shook my hand and grabbed it again.

The same jolt of energy rushed through me and into me as the zanpakutou changed. The scabbard became a jet black and the blade shifted into a pair of gloves. The gloves gave my nails the ability to become claws. I inspected the sharpness of them and cut my skin in doing so.

There was no more mp3 player or timer of any sort. There were no more personalities to switch between, except Blair, except I didn’t know which personality she was. She didn’t seem evil, but she seemed to care deeply about this new opponent that felt incredibly strong. She just had to test her power and strength against this new force even if it meant her death.

That was one thing that Mikata told me. If I died, I wouldn’t die. Blair’s existence would vanish in place of my own existence. With that new information, I felt like a video game character with two lives, except one life I wouldn’t be able to control. I seriously hope Blair isn’t too much for me to handle.

The sharp talons acted as a dousing rod and led me toward the huge energy source of the opponent.

When I arrived on the scene, the battle already went underway. A mysterious shape similar to that cutie Steph was held in place by ice, from that guy Kagashi if I remember his name right. However, it didn’t look like it would last long. Another guy that I had a small memory of was on cue to make the next hit.

Some part of me felt as if there was only a faint window before the thing broke out of its icy prison. I needed to act fast and hard. Before Mikata let me wake up, she told me that when the time was right, to call out a specific release command for a second form of Zanapakutou, which would be Blair’s sign to take command of my body. Whatever personality she was, at least I would have the right to choose when she took over.

My aura of reiatsu exploded as I vanished from the entrance to the haunting grass field of the duel between Fukumi and I. Before that guy could make his strike, I appeared before the abomination and subconsciously used a fierce palm strike that shattered the ice and ripped a hole into its chest. The force of the strike sent the body of mass across the grass and toward a wall of rock.

I knew better than to let up my attack. Somewhere inside of me was an itching to see it die a gruesome death. New sensations and feelings washed over me. Somehow they were linked to the multiple personalities that grew up with me.

I vanished and appeared just before the wall of unforgiving rock. I mouthed the special technique I learned, “Air Rend”. A gush of wind with the power of a hurricane sent the mass into the air as I followed it and wailed on its remaining body with a combination of melee attacks. From the force of my strength, its body morphed and bent, blood seeping from its bruised wounds and gaping hole in its chest.

However, as I grabbed its neck and aimed its head into the solid ground, I noticed the large hole wasn’t quite so large anymore. It looked as if it shrunk a little bit. So that was its game, huh?

The force of wind and gravity aided the quick decent onto the ground and smashed its body to a bloody, twisted shell of its former self. I stood up from the impact and rotated my arms to keep the blood flowing.

I snapped my fingers to get the attention of Steph and Kagashi, and the other guy. “Oi. Don’t just stand there. Freeze it again and do whatever you were going to do to it. Don’t stop.”

The wise and patient part of me had a hunch that it wasn’t over yet. I may have beaten it into a bloody pulp, but if the regeneration was any kind of clue, then a pulp is not going to be enough for this thing.

Every single piece of this thing had to be routed.

All of the fighting and shunpo was making it difficult for Steph to keep track of everything going on. He would have liked to have been able to use his shikai, since it would have given him the advantage that he needed to keep up with everyone’s movements. Yet the risks involved were too great for them. It could cost them their lives with a single misstep against this foe. It had seemed like for the time it was just toying with them, but it had gone for the kill on Kagashi. The field was changing getting deadlier by the moment. Steph felt like he was being left out knowing that he did not stand a chance toe-to-toe with the enemy anymore.

The arrival of another student brought the combat to a bloody and gruesome level as she made an attempt to take the child out in a decisive combo, but it left her hesitant seeing the regenerative powers of the child at work. Slicing and dismembering meant nothing to the child. Steph was not even certain if it had any organs that could be considered vital. He had destroyed half of its body with his kido and it did not even hesitate in returning to normal. The monster that they had created was unfathomable.

Steph was broken from his concentration by the student snapping at him. He was not certain, but he was pretty sure that he recognized her, but she was older than him and not someone from his class. The familiarity that she was acting with them made him think that he should know her or remember her, but names escaped him. ‘Probably another sixth year…’

Kagashi shook off the dazed feeling that he had seeing Shino dropping into the fight. He had seen her fight enough in the classes to know that her brutal and merciless skills would be of advantage in the fight. However, he knew as she was learning that swords and fists were not going to be enough. Unfortunately, he did not have enough time pull himself back together by the time that the child was acting again.

The moment the body was finished returning to normal there was an almost audible thunder as everyone in the field felt the sudden jump in spiritual pressure from the child. A green glow was bleeding off his body into the air in thin wisps twisting around towards the sky. The grass was being blown outward as the students could feel the pressure on them. ‘This pressure…it’s stronger than me…’ Kagashi thought trying to keep his senses sharp so that it was not affecting him. When the rise came to an end the energy burst in a shockwave outward kicking back everyone’s robes as he stared through everyone.

The child disappeared into shunpo leaving no one able to react as it appeared behind Steph thrusting its energy blade into Steph. Blood and cloth ripped into the air as Steph fell sideways in mid turn only realizing what happened a moment before he was struck. It was enough to escape a fatal blow, but the blade still pierced his waist at his side under his ribs missing any organs. It bled, but he could still fight. Fighting might not be something he could do though as the child was already opening a hand to him preparing a kido spell to use.

Kagashi was already in shunpo step when the child appeared behind Steph. He came out of shunpo in front of Steph launching several ice columns at the child while Steph still lay on the ground. The child did not even flinch as his hand become encased in ice, but the other two shattered on impact against him unable to pierce or freeze him. The hand still glowed blue with building spirit energy for the kido. “Steph!”

Mugen's plan blew away like dust in the wind with a single moment of hesitation. Just as he was going to charge right after Kagashi froze him, Mugen froze himself. A voice deep within him told him to let it out and that this doppelganger would be taken care of in an instant. Mugen recognized the voice, a chilling and maniacal tone... White Mugen. But he stood firm and pushed back his inner most demon's presence.

The new fighter caught Mugen off guard with her violent flurry of attacks. He stood back and watched to see the outcome, one that didn't surprise him. After a devastating attack, the creature's body grew back like before, a maleficent spiritual pressure pierced his entire body, taking his breath away.

Then the doppelganger disappeared. "His spiritual pressure is totally... gone!" Mugen said, but then, it returned... and from behind him. Mugen turned to watch Steph fall to the creature's sword. Mugen watched in fear as it was readying another kido spell. The inner voice spoke to him again, but a softer, more feminine tone. "Strike now! While he is vulnerable, break off my blade into the being's body and poison his very spiritual energy!" Mugen's right arm, Benihyourin, pulsed. He knew that his Zanpakutou, his protector, was right.

In a instant, Mugen used Flash Step to reappear above and behind the child, his arm raised to strike. But as soon as Mugen thought he was going to be successful, the child turn and Mugen's blade landed in it's chest. Surprised, Mugen stood stunned for a second, but soon realized the child was still preparing the kido spell. Mugen swiftly broke off Benihyourin's brilliant mercury blade in the child's breast and the blade immediately melted and filled the wound. However, Mugen wasn't no safer as he was before, the child still stood, with anger in it'd eyes.

"Way of Destruction #33 - Soukatsui! (Blue Fire, Crash Down!)" A blast of blue fire shot out of the child's hands. Mugen had tried to Flash Step out of the way but was still caught in the blast. His body hit a wall with such force that caused the impact crack to spider out and destroy the section. Mugen's unconscious body lay among the rubble, blood pouring from his head, his body and clothes torn and charred, his broken sword reverted to it's sealed state, and fragments of a white mask laying at his feet, also charred from the blast.

Steph’s eyes became widened in shock as he watched the student that just saved him take almost the full blast of the kido. He could barely move to lift himself up from the ground as the child turned to look back down at him. The stunned look on Steph’s face could not take in what was happening anymore leaving him open.

As the child prepared another kido for the unguarded Steph, Kagashi moved to counter the child. Shino jumped in immediately with Kagashi taking the fight into shunpo clashing across the field trying to keep step with it.

Steph tried to stand up to walk over to the student’s still body, but fell over in the grass unable to hold his legs together. His eyes were still wide and iris shrunk almost to dots as he stumbled over himself to get to the student. “Why… He protected me… Why…” When he made it over to the body he fell down to his hands and knees trying to keep from crying. “He was just…” He hung over the body with his hair falling into his face covering it up.

From the academy, Hana appeared in the field next to Steph having sensed his spiritual pressure. She had felt others nearby and feared what might have been happening. When she saw Steph bent over an unmoving body her fears became real. She knelt down by Steph putting her hand on his back for comfort. “…Steph-kun…”

‘Why… Why me… No…’ He stood up in a field with a sakura tree above him upside in his Zanpakuto’s world. Steph looked over to the woman that was his Zanpakuto with eyes of sorrow and pain. They began to change before her into a fuel that fed him. “Please lend me everything you have…”

“…Steph…” She walked over to him lifting up his hands holding him between her hands. Her eyes met with him and smiled in reassurance. “I’m with you…”

“…thanks…” Steph stood up from over the body of the student with Hana looking a little concerned and puzzled at him. He turned to look at her with the tears dried up in his eyes. “Please, Hana do what you can for him. And watch me…” Steph began to walk away towards the fight hearing and briefly seeing the points that they stopped in clashes.

Hana held her hand close to her chest looking at the back of Steph as he walked away. She was not certain what was going through his mind, but there was a change, a sense of determination that she remembered. Her mind snapped back looking at the student shinigami seeing that he needed medical attention. “My healing is not the best, but it should be good enough for first aid…” Hana knelt down focusing on her spiritual energy hoping that she could stop the bleeding.

Steph walked forward into the wind feeling it pick up. The band holding his hair together snapped floating off into the currents. His hair whipped around his head as his spiritual pressure began to rise. “I promised myself I wouldn’t let it happen again! Never Again!” He held his Zanpakuto out in front of him as it began to glow pink. “Strip bare my beloved, Adeyaka-Sakura!” The pedals peeled away from blade flying into the air getting caught in the wind currents. Steph’s eyes suddenly glowed green as his aura became visible with spiritual energy pouring off of him. “NEVER AGAIN!”

‘…Steph…’ Adeyaka-Sakura said watching from her domain.

A thunder erupted from Steph as something snapped in him increasing his spiritual pressure beyond what it had ever been before. The increase in spiritual pressure alerted Kagashi and Shino to the change bringing a momentary pause in their fight before the child forced them back into combat. The energy bled from Steph increasing to match with Kagashi. The energy burst in a shockwave as Steph disappeared into shunpo reading his pedals for the movements of the battle.

Steph appeared in a charge out of his shunpo breaking through Kagashi and Shino to collide his sword with the child sending both of them sliding across the air from the force of Steph’s speed. During the collision Steph released his hand aiming it at the child through their swords. “Hado #4 White Lightning!” The kido dug through the child’s shoulder leaving a small hole that began to seal up quickly. Steph spun his body around freeing his sword and used his leg to knock the child’s hand away to bury the Zanpakuto in the hole made by the kido. He pulled away from the body ripping free the limb as he buried his hand in the child’s face. “Hado #33 Soukatsui!” He used momentum from their slide directing it down throwing them into the earth kicking up dirt as the kido spell exploded in the face of the child destroying everything above the chest.

The still attached arm of the child raised up shooting out a White Lightning kido spell from its finger forcing Steph to evade the attack. Steph did not waste his time as he evaded throwing out another Soukatsui. However, the winds detected an attack from behind Steph making him shunpo to get out of the way of a delayed kido spell. The time was enough for the child to stand back up fully restored and charging towards Steph.

Kagashi and Shino joined in with Steph exchanging turns against the child. However, Steph was running with blinders on ignoring everything around him other than the target in front of him. The child was getting further away from him as the fight was suddenly dragged off. He started to run back in readying shunpo when he heard a voice shout to him.

“Steph-kun!”

Hana’s voice snapped him out of his rage bringing him to a stop turning to look around towards her. “…Hana…”

“Steph-kun… You aren’t alone!”

“…I-I…” Steph began to pant suddenly feeling fatigue catching up to him. He stared at Hana for a moment seeing her feelings carried on the deep look in her eyes alone. It was enough to bring back his senses. She could tell that he was back to normal and smiled to him nodding. ‘…thank you…’ He turned back looking up where the fight was going on sensing where they were from his shikai’s pedals in the air. He concentrated on his spiritual energy feeling out where they were traveling through the distortions in the currents. “Bakudo #61 Rukujyoukourou!” In the middle of the air while the child was in shunpo being chased six thin bars of light appeared around him pounding into his waist binding his movements.

Shino and Kagashi turned to look down at Steph a little surprised. He stared back at him grinning through fatigue and short breathes. “I’ve got him for a moment! Take him down!”

The battle took a sudden and brutal change with the child being held in place unable to escape immediately. Shino took her chance to lay into the pale thing trying to destroy all of it with repeated punches. Kagashi was a little slow in following up from witnessing Shino, but he gave assistance with his ice to keep it held down longer. Little was being left of the child with strikes cutting away parts that fell to the ground. However, it was not enough as a part of body that had fallen to the ground began to reform as the rest remained under assault.

The upper half of the body had managed to form quickly with it extending up an arm that was already quickly gathering for a kido spell unknown to everyone. Steph, with the larger view of the field, was the first to notice what was happening. He tried to keep his focus on the spell he was maintaining while manipulating his pedals with his mind. It was the first time had tried to do two completely complex tasks at the same time. He tried to yell out to them as he realized what was happening, but his voice could not get volume from his fatigue. ‘There’s only one chance and I don’t even know if it’ll work…’

The summoned pedals from his Zanpakuto pulled in from around the air as the spell was being finished. Shino and Kagashi were alerted to the kido, but with the proximity there was no time for them to dodge. In the last moments of the kido launching towards them Steph’s pedals flew in to the path of the kido, but were vaporized instantly. The pedals had no substance to them and provided no stopping force to the spell. Kagashi and Shino were engulfed into the blue kido as the entire area exploded from impact.

Steph fell over as he reached out to them fearing the worst for them. ‘Kagashi…’ He stared on waiting for the cloud to clear way hoping to see that they were still alive. However, the clearing only had empty air left where they had been with no bodies. There was nothing that remained of them. He felt his heart sink as the child stood up completely reformed and marching towards him.

“Man…that was close huh, Mai?”

“Yup! Glad I followed my curiosity!”

“Hey, Steph! What’s with the long face?” Tamashi said to grab his attention over. Kagashi and Shino were alive and looking the same as they had next to Tamashi and Mai. They had been pulled out in the last moments by Tamashi and Mai arriving late to the battle. The four stood staring down across the field of grass at the child.

Steph pulled himself back up to stand with the others. They watched the child increase in spiritual pressure once again pushing out of their range. Steph had reached his limits finding no more left to work with, but he could sense the others getting even stronger in their spiritual pressure. The distance in power between him and them was suddenly made very clear at the moment. They all disappeared into shunpo taking their turns on the child as it only continued to increase in strength. ‘How much more does it have?’

Kagashi worked to try to freeze it as he felt himself being pushed to the limits. Shino and Tamashi worked off each other as Tamashi was able to momentarily pause in by capturing its shadow thanks to his Zanpakuto. It was the time that Kagashi needed to freeze it and Shino to unload her fury on it. While in the back Mai tried to break it down with kido spells. Steph stepped up with his own kido as it was the last thing that he could do with his Zanpakuto neutralized by the last attempt he made.

The battle drew on as the child’s strength grew to a point that Shino was no longer able to cut it. Tamashi found his Zanpakuto’s powers were being over powered almost instantly and Kagashi could not even get his ice in range as it was broken down by the force of the pressure. Mai’s kido had the same results and Steph was too fatigued to be able to concentrate losing the sharpness that he usually had in his spells. They had all become ineffective.

A sudden invisible hammer hit everyone as the entire area fell under a new spiritual pressure. Everyone tried to resist the new arrival, but with their fatigue from the fight they were not able to do anything but keep knelt to the ground. The only one that remained unaffected by the pressure was the child that seemed to increasing its own once more in an attempt to match.

The mystery shinigami that still seemed invisible did not give the child its chance as he shouted out his Zanpakuto’s name. “Hyourinmaru!” A mixture of pressurized water and ice came from nowhere in the form of a long serpentine dragon hitting the child and engulfing it completely in ice as it was frozen to the ground. Hitsugaya stood in the air looking down at the scene relieved to have arrived in time before anyone else was killed. Unfortunately, relief was not to be held for long as the ice cracked that held the child. ‘So it’s already grown strong enough to resist my shikai. There’s no choice anymore. I have to end it in one decisive blow.’ Hitsugaya turned his head to catch Matsumoto arriving behind him having sensed her Captain’s increased spiritual pressure. “Get the students to safety immediately while I deal with this threat.”

“Yes, Captain!” Matsumoto disappeared to the ground next to Mugen and Hana first. She smiled comforting to them and disappeared with them. She repeated the process as she felt the urgency from the massive increase in spiritual pressure from Hitsugaya.

Spiritual energy bled off Hitsugaya as he focused his reiatsu. He only had a little bit of time before the thing was freed from the ice prison. He was not wasting any time in building up his reiatsu knowing that it was going to require a significant amount to completely destroy this threat with its abilities. The prison cracked and shattered further exposing an arm. He could not delay any further on Matsumoto. “Bankai!” Energy burst from him as ice particles and dust in the air were kicked up around him in the quick surge of reiatsu. Ice wings from his back brushed aside the cloud surrounding him revealing his bankai state. “Dai Guren Hyourinmaru!”

Ice shattered around the child releasing him from the prison as he charged towards Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya dashed forward with his Zanpakuto held forward running it through the child as they collided in the air. Instantly, the child was frozen in a large chunk ice that pierced into the ground as it expanded absorbing water from the air and Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya pulled back swiping his sword through the air as he returned to it his side. “Ryusenka,” he said as the ice all shattered in vapor leaving nothing of the child to remain. He turned around releasing his bankai and returning his Zanpakuto back to its sheath.

Matsumoto walked over to Hitsugaya as he began to approach. All of the students were lying about the grass still fatigued from the pressure and fight. Shino was making the most efforts to move and the only one that had a little success due to stubbornness. The rest remained on their backs.

“They’re all safe, though one needs to be sent to Squad Four for treatment, Captain.”

“The Seireitei is still in disorder from the explosion. See to the student’s return. I’ve got another matter to deal with.” Hitsugaya disappeared on Matsumoto as she was about to question his order.

She turned back to look at the students sighing heavily to herself. “Can’t believe he just left me like this.”

Hitsugaya arrived back at the Squad Twelve R&D facility to find many of the squad’s shinigami working hard to clear away the debris. He was going to return to the bottom of the crater when he received a message summoning him to Captain Yamamoto. It was an order given specifically for him rather than all Captains. “Is this about the incident?”

He changed his destination and eventually reached the main chambers of Squad One and the meeting hall for the Captains. The doors opened granting him entry to the chambers finding that Captain Yamamoto was not the only one present. Captain Kurotsuchi turned upon hearing of his approach.

The stone faced Yamamoto looked through his narrow slits for eyes waiting until Hitsugaya had reached the point next to Kurotsuchi. “I have summoned the two of you because of the explosion that occurred in the Seireitei at the R&D facility. Captain Kurotsuchi has been informing me of his findings, but I want to hear from you as well Captain Hitsugaya.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What would the Captain here know about my squad?” Kurotsuchi said protesting Hitsugaya’s presence and need to be reporting on a matter that did not involve him.

“I’ve been under orders to investigate matters involving some of your subordinates.”

“What?! Why wasn’t I informed about this? If someone in my squad is being investigated it should be me doing it!”

Yamamoto stepped his voice in between the two Captains to address Kurotsuchi. “The matter was given to Captain Hitsugaya because it involved an academy student as well as Captain Hitsugaya. I felt that given his involvement made him a better choice given the threat.”

Kurotsuchi’s look of disbelief was quickly turning into frustration and anger. “What does this have to do with the explosion?”

Hitsugaya stepped up seeing that he was going to have to go through a long explanation for him. “My original investigation involved the murders in the academy if you remember.”

“You closed that down months ago though. What does that have to do with this?”

“The two are unrelated, but in the course of my investigation of the murders I found a witness. The witness’s name is Steph Whitestone an academy student that continued to appear with the hollow that was killing students. The problem came when I began to follow him since he seemed to be linked to the hollow in some fashion. I found that his records had been altered. Someone was trying to cover up parts about him. This lead to a new investigation being opened on him and those that would be covering up information. As I followed him I learned that someone from your squad was doing regular examinations on him.”

“When Captain Hitsugaya brought this matter to me I determined that if there was a threat in your squad it was necessary to have it looked at from outside your squad.”

“Hajime Miura, the shinigami examining the academy student was found in the room that was the source for the explosion. The research was using the student for samples for an experiment that became sentient and blew a hole in the underground facility. The subject escaped and I tracked it down destroying it.”

“Experimenting on academy students is a serious offense, Captain Kurotsuchi. As well as altering documents to hide or remove information.”

“Yes, it is. I will have those involved arrested and an investigation opened to determine the extent of the conspiracy.”

“Send your reports to both Central 46 and me. The punishment for these crimes will be determined. That is all!” Both Captains nodded and departed the chambers. Kurotsuchi glared over at Hitsugaya briefly before leaving back to his squad.

In the passing weeks, Hitsugaya closed the case on Steph and Hajme Miura. Kurotsuchi was strangely agreeable about much of the matters that followed placing his subordinates under arrest. His investigation determined that they were working beyond his approval on exploring a forbidden area of research using Steph’s cells to create a new artificial body that would be vastly different from the standard gigai used by shinigami. The report remained brief and vague on the matter with it all quickly labeled forbidden research.

Hajime Miura and his researchers’ verdicts handed down from Central 46 ordered their deaths to be carried out to prevent the research from possibly being resumed. All of the materials and data gathered were destroyed by Kurotsuchi. The hole in the facility was quickly fixed and life once again returned to normal for everyone.

Graduation came for the students of the academy. Most saw the day as an entry into their new lives and next step for them. Others felt like they had been given a final test that they were not certain if they had passed or failed. Defeat was not something they were always so familiar with, but it left the lesson that there is always someone or something stronger out there.

After the graduation the newly acknowledged shinigami were granted their squad assignments. Friends and classmates had to give their partings knowing that while they would never be too far away it was a time to part ways. It was a quiet time over the academy following the graduation. There was some excitement, but it seemed to be over shadowed by the changes that followed. The sixth years passed out of the halls of the academy into the Seireitei proper. Captains and Vice-Captains arrived at the large gate where all of the new shinigami stood in their groupings divided out on needs, abilities and openings.

Kagashi was assigned to the Sixth Squad and felt a little unsettled leaving Steph behind. He knew that he did not have any choice in the matter. Steph had a new road to follow as did he. Their past and problems had been resolved. So he could walk forward without regrets.

The line that he stood in was filled with familiar faces. There were not many of them, but he was left to wait as each new member of the squad was greeted in. He knew who the Captain was, but for all of his searching he was not able to actually find him. When it came to his turn he was welcomed into the squad by the Vice-Captain.

“Welcome to Squad Six, I’m Vice-Captain Abarai.”

“Thank you! I’m Kagashi Mitsu, sir!”

“We’ll be holding the officer test for all new members to see if you place later in the week. Once I’m done meeting with everyone we’ll be returning to the barracks. You may relax until then.”

“Understood!” Kagashi walked away from the Vice-Captain towards the rest of the men and women joining the squad. There were still a few remaining before they would leave. He looked around once more for the Captain. The lack of success made him lean against the wall where the others waited. “So we all made it to Squad Six, huh?”

“Hey Kagashi!”

“Would have thought you’d be in Squad Eleven with your skill with the sword.”

“Heh, yeah I guess because I can do kido I didn’t get stuck with the other thick skulls.” They all laughed together with Kagashi relieving some of the tension from their first day as real shinigami. “Anyone seen Captain Kuchiki?”

“Nope.”

“I hear he doesn’t show up to these things.”

“But all of the Captains show up. Even Head Captain Yamamoto shows up.”

“I guess it’s their privilege to show.”

“He’s part of the four main houses. He’s nobility. Probably doesn’t want do common stuff.”

“Hey, careful what you say.”

Across the courtyard was the group for Squad Ten where Steph stood. He had a strange feeling that he was going to end up in Squad Twelve, but relieved that it was not the case. However, there remained a feeling that he was in Squad Ten for a reason as well. Captain Hitsugaya and he had a history so the placement could have been on purpose. He did not know what the case would be as he was the next in line.

Both Captain Hitsugaya and Vice-Captain Matsumoto were present for the greeting of the new members. When it was Steph turn to face them he tried to act like it was their first time. “I’m Steph Whitestone, sir!”

Matsumoto grinned to herself and leaned over grabbing Steph by the shoulder and pulled in him tight squeezing him. “Isn’t he cute, Captain? Acting like we’re strangers. You should be more relaxed, kid!”

Steph stuttered a little not sure what to think of the friendly attitude from her. Hitsugaya was visibly frustrated with his Vice-Captain, but tried to suppress it. “Matsumoto…he’s trying act respectful and as a subordinate should.”

“Aww… but Captain, we already know him. It’s almost like we’re friends. Besides he’s your same age see?” Matsumoto pulled Steph out of his place and placed him next to the Captain. She ran her hand straight over their heads trying to show their height. “See, he’s even about the same height too! Though you’re going to need to slouch a little kid! You can’t be taller than your Captain!”

“S-Slouch? I-I-I…” Steph was become increasingly flustered by what was happening as the other new squad member were all staring at him. Next to him Hitsugaya’s popping vein in his forehead only continued to grow in frustration over Matsumoto’s antics.

“And look you even wear your Zanpakuto over your shoulder too!” Matsumoto jumped in front of the two giving a playfully suspicious look at the two of them. “It’s almost like he’s trying to copy you, Captain. Though we’re going to need to bleach your hair and cut it if you’re going to pretend to be the Captain, kid!” The gears in her mind were spinning quickly as thoughts that Steph never wished to know where being formed. “You’re really blonde already, so it won’t take much to make you white. I think we’ll be getting along great, kid!”

“…Matsumoto…”

Steph tried to slide away from his Captain fearing that, while he was a victim of circumstances, he was causing problems from him as well. Unfortunately, Matsumoto did not hear or listen very well and jumped behind the two and squeezed them together smiling. “Let’s all go back and drink to the new Captain look-a-like! Oh I know! Nyuu-Taicho-chan! Umm…that might be a little confusing… Nyuu-chan then!”

‘Not again…what miserable luck do I have to end up with the same nickname again…’ Matsumoto began to drag them off looking very eager for the drink that she spoke about. “Umm…Miss Matsumoto…I mean Vice-Captain...”

“What? Speak up, Nyuu-chan!”

“T-There’s still others left…” Steph pointed behind them to the other confused shinigami that were feeling a little dejected from being ignored. It was then pointed out to her that Hitsugaya had already freed himself a long time ago. Hitsugaya was straightening out his clothes as he walked back trying to still keep his cool.

“Hey! Don’t leave me behind, Captain!” Matsumoto dragged Steph back with her under her arm and dropped him done next to her. She gave him the impression that he was not supposed to leave her side. It could also be the fact that every time he tried to leave she grabbed him with cat-like reflexes and dropped him back down at her side. “And don’t forget to say hi to Nyuu-chan here!” Matsumoto frequently said through the rest of the greetings as though Steph had always been a part of the squad and should be expected to be known. She would also include the facts that he looked like the Captain, but that they should not be confused with the similarities.

“I like her!” Adeyaka-Sakura said appearing next to Steph with a wide grin on her face.

‘Figures you would… You two are very much a like…’

“Aww…you look so sad when you say that. Come on cheer up you’ll be a shinigami now!”

‘And yet it feels like nothing’s changed…’ Steph was dragged around for most of the day until Matsumoto passed out and Hitsugaya was kind enough to give him a way out.

The first week came and passed by smoothly enough for everyone in the Seireitei. Officer seatings were held for the new shinigami to see if they ranked in if they were interested. Kagashi was fortunate to get an eighth seat in his squad, but Steph ended up being very nervous for a number of reasons and placed poorly in as the twelfth seat.

Time slowly moved along with a year passing since the graduation. Missions had been given out and shinigami had been lost, but everyone that Steph knew survived the first year. It was often said that the first year was the worst for the new shinigami and if they survive it then it was likely they would live a long life. Battles against hollows were always a dangerous job for any shinigami, but fresh ones often made a lot of mistakes.

Steph had been on his share of missions to the human world, but they were usually uneventful for him. He preferred them to be uneventful with the sort of life he had in the Squad Ten barracks having to deal with the Vice-Captain on a frequent basis. It seemed like he was being turned into the mascot of the squad with how much Matsumoto dragged him around. When she was drunk she would mistake him for their Captain embarrassing everyone.

He had been on rest since his last assignment, but a summons to the Captain’s office had him missing his peace, how brief it was. When he arrived at the Captain’s door he slid the door open and announced himself. “Seventh Seat Steph Whitestone reporting, sir!” In the year he had managed to advance a few places after he eased up on his nerves.

Matsumoto looked up from the couch that she was laying on to check the door. “How many times do I have to tell you not to be so formal, Nyuu-chan!” She jumped up from the couch and grabbed him by the neck dragging him over to the Captain’s desk.

Hitsugaya was usually frustrated by her actions tried to keep things normal. “He’s following protocols unlike you.”

“Aww…Captain, you two need to lighten up.”

“You summoned me, Captain?” Steph said tilting up his head from Matsumoto’s arm as though he had become accustom to the treatment he received. However, he choked suddenly with the movement of Matsumoto dragging him away for the desk just as Hitsugaya tried to speak.

Matsumoto lifted him up by the shoulders to look at him with a good foot of clearance under his feet to the floor. “Say Nyuu-chan! You never mentioned having a girlfriend.”

“…this is not the time, Matsumoto…” Hitsugaya said trying to get his meeting back on course.

“G-G-Girl-friend?” Steph said completely at a loss for the sudden topic. He was not sure what she was talking about and the sound made him feel even more uneasy.

“Yeah, I just met her at the graduate ceremony for the new recruits we’re getting.”

“Huh?!”

Matsumoto looked a little disappointed by Steph’s response though she also seemed to be enjoying his reactions as well. She carried him over to the door that had been closed and threw it open grabbing a shinigami out from the hall that looked like they were waiting patiently and dropped them on the couch, much to Hitsugaya’s chagrin. It all happened so fast that no one could see who it was until they were inside.

“Steph-kun!” Hana said jumping from the couch grabbing on Steph.

“Hana-chan!?” Steph said in surprise followed by the feeling of being smothered by both of them. Once he was freed from the greeting he looked at the both of them for answers. “What’s going on? What are you doing here? And why are you in shinigami cloths?”

“Because I’m shinigami silly!”

“But don’t you have another year or something before graduation?”

“I just graduated I didn’t want to be away from you any longer!”

“What?! But what squad are you assigned to?”

“Squad Ten, of course!”

“Huh?!” Steph felt himself start to fall apart as he lost his sense of reality. Everything was happening so fast for him he did not know how to react to the news. He zoned out from the world as Matsumoto and Hana grinned to each other.

“Isn’t he cute when he’s like that!”

“He is, isn’t he!”

“Ah too much fun,” Adeyaka-Sakura said watching on the scene with great enjoyment. “It’s a shame that he’s too clocked out to really enjoy it.”

“Matsumoto!” Hitsugaya snapped finally losing his patience with her.

She jumped up startled by him and turned around looking sheepish. “Hey Captain, don’t scare me like that. I almost popped out.”

“…you always say that… Send in the others that you forgot about.” Hitsugaya stared at the other two with Steph still out. Hana was quick to sweat and disappear out of the office knowing it was not her place. Steph snapped back as things returned to normal for him. He stepped forward as Haruka and Haku entered the room standing in front of Hitsugaya’s desk. Matsumoto stayed at the wall looking a little more serious than before. “Now that you’re assembled I have a mission for the three of you. The Monitoring Station has detected an unusually high amount of hollows in the Tokyo region of Japan. In order to deal with the threat quickly it has been decided to send out several teams. Reports say that the hollows are nothing you can’t handle, but the number present presents a risk to the humans and souls in the Tokyo region. You three will be assigned to the Shinjuku region.” As Hitsugaya went into further details of the assignment they received information on the other teams. In addition to Squad Ten being assigned, Squad Two’s Shino Sendo with Squad Eleven’s Fukumi Garu, Mokoto Zaishen and Claire would be going to Shibuya with members from Square Twelve. There had been no hollow sightings yet, but strange readings were found that they wanted document that could be hollows. Thus the back-up was added. Squad Thirteen’s Mai Sendo, Tamashi Kuragari, Mugen Tsukiakari and Rei Tsukiakari would be assigned to another hot spot in Chiyoda, northeast of Shibuya. The last team was Squad Six’s Kagashi Mitsu, Mahonna Kuiki and Miru Soregashi taking the third hot spot in Meguro, south of Shibuya.

“Alright, you have your orders. Move out immediately!”

“Yes, Captain!” the three said together.

They all left for the Senkaimon that had been prepared for them. It was to be expected that the other teams moving would be leaving at the same time that they were. This would be the first time for Steph to return to Japan since he had died and the first time that he worked with Haruka. There had been an odd tension between them ever since the thing with Kagashi, since they frequently had trained together. Even after the academy he would make frequent visits to Kagashi to spar. Steph had been pleased to hear that Kagashi recently made sixth seat, but he had kept the news to himself.

As he was arriving to the Senkaimon his hell butterfly appeared at his side along with the others. The wood doors of the gate were already opening for them. It had been made clear to them the danger that the number of hollows presented to the human world population. While it was just a normal mission that he was used to doing, the urgency was a little different. He nodded to the others as he let them step through first.

They exited from the Senkaimon in the early morning hours of a sleeping Shinjuku, Tokyo. Their position set them on top of one of the many skyscrapers that lined the city of Shinjuku. It was a rather strange location to be left at. Steph stepped out of the gate catching the cool breeze and the lit cityscape around him. “Quite the sight…” However, they did not get much time to break as Steph’s Soul Pager rang off. He pulled it out looking at the screen giving them coordinates for the recently detected hollows. “Looks like they’re pretty far away. With the reiatsu they’re putting off we won’t feel them for a while more. Ready?”

~Reawakening~

Mugen woke up in the fourth squad's medical center, wrapped in bandages and laying in a bed. Next to him, Rei slept in a chair. He smiled and moved his hand weakly to her head. She woke up and smiled back drowsily.

"What... where am I?" He said.

"You're in the fourth squad's medical center. Vice-Captain Matsumoto brought you here during the battle. Captain Hitsugaya managed to destroy that... thing. Rangiku-san filled me in on the details when she picked me up on the way here."

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"It's been a few days."

"Days? T-the graduation!"

"Don't worry, it's not until tomorrow."

"But... I have to get ready!" Mugen tried to get up, but his entire body collapsed under pain."

"You idiot, you'll reopen you're wounds doing that. Captain Unohana guaranteed you would be able to attend the ceremony tomorrow."

Mugen laid back and relaxed his body. He perked his head back up when he thought of something else.

"Benihyourin?"

Rei bent over and picked up Mugen's broken Zanpakutou. "It's still broken, the Captains said it would repair itself gradually, even more-so with your help."

Mugen held his katana and slid his fingers across the flat of the blade to the break. He felt it vibrate, as if in pain, but he knew she would be O.K., since it was the spirit of the sword's idea in the first place to be broken. Mugen slid the blade into the sheath and handed it back to Rei. "I'm going to get more rest until tomorrow."

" 'Kay."

~Graduation~

Rei helped Mugen get out of bed and get dressed for the ceremony. He was still in pain and to his dismay his right arm had to be wrapped and in a sling, along with most of his abdomen and some of his neck in bandages. Even though it took longer to get ready, Mugen had Rei to assist him.

The two arrived at the ceremony on-time, despite the problems. Rei stood on his left to hold hands.

After the ceremony, Mugen, Rei and a few others (some familiar) traveled out of the academy's front doors for the last time and went to become acquainted with their assigned squads.

Rei only told Mugen that she managed to get them together in the same squad, not any other specifics, so it was a surprise to him that they were assigned to squad 13. He had heard about it's Captain and his chronic illness, but also his time as a Soul Reaper and being one of the first to have graduated from the Captain-Commander's academy. What surprised Mugen even more was that the captain was there, despite his tuberculosis.

"Greetings, graduates. My name is Captain Jushiro Ukitake, welcome to squad 13!" After greeting the group as a whole, he met with them individually. He eventually came to Mugen and Rei...

"Greetings, Captain." The two said in unison.

"Greetings, Rei. And this must be Mugen. Rei and I met before when she asked for you both to be placed in the same squad." He said, making the note more for Mugen. His illness could even be heard in his voice.

"I thank you for this opportunity." Mugen bowed respectfully.

"Anything for such a wonderful, young couple." He smiled brightly. "I heard about you from the reports about the incident from the other day. I must applaud you on your efforts to save your classmates." Mugen blushed a little. "But at the same time I must condemn your actions. You were reckless and could have been killed. What do you think your wife would have felt becoming a widow so soon after your wedding?"

"I never thought about it that way. Rei, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, you survived, that's all that matters."

"Now that I think about it, I am also surprised that I lived. Taking in consideration what that thing's power was, I SHOULD have died."

"Perhaps it was luck, or even a power you didn't even know you had. Either way that battle was with another Soul Reaper, Hollow battles are way different. You might find them easier or more difficult depending on the situation." Captain Ukitake realizes the time it took with the conversation. "If you'll excuse me, I have some more graduates to greet. We will have plenty of conversations later on." The captain dismissed himself and went on to other Soul Reapers.

~Mission: Start~

Mugen and Rei where playing a game of shogi (with Rei being the winner by a far lead) in the squad barracks when a Hell Butterfly came in and landed on her finger.

"Mugen and Rei Tsukiakari, please report to the Captain's office." The voice of one of the 3rd seat spoke.

The two left the game as it was and proceeded to the Captain's office. They entered quietly. Two other where there also.

"Thank you for coming." Started the Captain. "You four will be taking part in a mission to the World of the Living. Apparently the R&D department have been getting abnormal Hollow readings in the Shibuya area. Squad 13 has been chosen to handle the Hollow in Chiyoda, northeast of Shibuya. Shibuya seems to be the most dangerous but the surrounding area has also been riddled with an abnormal amount of Hollow. This is an all-squad based mission, with the majority patrolling Shibuya. Captain-Commander Yamamoto has ordered this mission directly. Once you all are ready, get to the Senkaimon, no doubt that other squads have gone on ahead. Remember: there may be Hollow you all will be fighting against, use teamwork and get back safely. You are dismissed." Captain Ukitake gave the orders like any Captain would, but one could tell he was worried about his subordinates.

They all met at the Senkaimon. Members from almost every squad gathered for the upcoming mission. He saw many familiar faces, especially Steph and Kagashi who where departing from a different gate to their destination. He gripped his Zanpakuto's grip hard, staring up at the gate. Rei looked at him in concern.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing... well... it's been a while since I've been back to the World of the Living."

"It has been a while, hasn't it? It'll be O.K., as long as we all watch each others backs, we'll make it back unscathed. Come on." She beckoned. Mugen walked into the gate afterward, their group being led by Hell Butterflies.

They exited the gate into Hibuya Park in the Chiyoda area. It was quiet. The pre-dawn night dominated the area, which was lit by lamps. Mugen looked around and remembered something about this place.

"We have to be very careful here."

"Why?" Rei asked.

"The Imperial Palace is nearby."

Plastic torment, ricocheting from wall-to-wall with a splash of blood and a chorus of moans with sighs, filled the candle-lit room. His eyelids glued open, revealing bleary green gems of hate. Haku Ishikawa’s reality, was different. It melted upon sleep into nightmares and nonsense. Haku felt the sword stroke pull through his right shoulder, leaving the flesh there, loose and red.

“It seems you just don’t notice, Kuishi-san…” Agito’s voice was bored and tired. “You don’t care, do you?”

Haku spat a clot of blood onto the concrete floor with a hacking cough. He smiled, distantly as Agito‘s blade pinned him back into the wall. Haku heard and felt the katana tip stick in the wood, as it ran through his chest.

“I think that you should never be forgiven, Agito.” Haku said, holding trembling arms out in a weak shrug. “You were a murderer and a madman.”

“And you had me chased off like a dog!” The voice seethed. Agito sharply twisted the blade, widening Haku’s wound. Haku looked up, a small trickle of red on his bottom lip, running down his chin.

“You should’ve been put down like a dog.” Haku smiled, sadly…His eyes begining to phase out of focus.

“You were forgiven for your crimes! Given a seated office! Even your name was restored to you!! Tell me about FAIRNESS, Ishikawa-kohai!!! All this fair treatment you’re given, when, deep down…you’re nothing more than a dog of the same breed.” The sword was torn from it’s sheath of flesh, severing out more blood and gore.

“Well…” Agito, folded his arms and looked down into Haku’s dying form. “Let me say thank you, Ishikawa-kohai. Life is more spicy when you season it with hate and villains like you. I’m almost sad to see you die…”

Agito’s arms unfolded and in a swipe, Haku’s head rolled from his shoulders like a thrown die. As the head’s eye’s closed…


Haku’s eyes opened and he hissed as he rose from his Futon. He brushed his hair out of the back of his kimono. His hair, that had once been only shoulder-length, now fell down his back. His fingernails had lengthened like daggers. His face, if possible, had only paled into a more sallow colder hue. His moments of humor and spontaneity that he showed for public display, had become darker and rarer.

He was a fifth seat officer now and the people of the Seireitei were seeing Haku Ishikawa, not Kuishi Sato, for the first time in an age. They were seeing him as the grim angel he was…

He picked up a masu of Sake from the night before to his lips. The sake was quite cool and tart. He had forsaken his diet of Gunpowder tea and Reishi berries…for Sake, Koshu, Awamori, Udon, Pomegranates and Cranberries.

Grabbing both knees, he lifted himself to his full six feet and stretched. It was suspicious how, in spite of the dream, in spite of the clutching knowledge that Agito Taguchi still lived, his mind avoided the topic in daylight. His thoughts never broached the subject or gave it consideration.

“Kuishi-san!” Haku whirled around to see Shengo stumble past his open screen.

“Out.”

“But, Kuishi-san!” Haku tilted his head to the left and cut his eyes up dangerously. A pointed fingernail commanded and Shengo removed himself from the room, long enough for Haku to brew a cup of Sencha green tea. Not being able to contain himself any longer, he exploded into speech.

“Hitsuguya-taichou wants to see you, Kuishi-san!”

Haku sipped at the warm tea, unconcerned. “Fine.”

“Do you know what this means!?”

“Out.”

Growling in frustration, Shengo excused himself with a bow.

Haku flung back his obi and tied it. His hair peeled out from under his rice hat, as he slapped it on. His eyes were lost under that hat and in countless tendrils of silver hair, as they snaked down his back and framed his mouth and face. His thorned fingers wrapped around the grip of Mayonaka Naru, sending a charged buzz of terror through his arm. He tucked it into his obi. He had learned to cope with the seizing terror that assaulted him with the slightest contact with his zampakuto. He had successfully blocked out the voice of it's spirit, the witch, locked up in that black and blue-veined kilij. He pulled a single white glove over his weapon hand, so that the effect of terror would be lessened, should he be forced to draw.

Haku looked at the lace wrap that wound around the grip of Mayonaka. An iridescent chord droned in the air. Haku could hear it. A sound behind the layers of present reality. A sound only resonant in his mind, like the deceit of a tired ear. The malign buzz settled into a complacent fury, fading into the back corner of his brain.

Years ago…before he sold out his soul to play God in the fifth seat of the tenth squad, he was a student. On his first mission…classified. Technically the order didn't exist. It had been an ultimatum. He was to assassinate Agito Taguchi. It was an act of self-preservation, free of guilt and culpability.

Agito escaped, withdrew, died, disappeared… Instead he had been attacked by Mahonna Kuiki. Dead set on vengeance for reasons even she couldn't possibly understand. She was quietly thrashed… His name was restored to him… Saigo-Taicho even saw he was made eligible for fifth seat. But Agito escaped…

"Who escaped who?"

Haku jolted alive. His eyes reflexively glared at the zampakuto at his hip. 'The witch.' He thought grimly. He had let his guard down. He could feel her clawed voice scraping at the walls of his brain, desperate for acknowledgment, trying to find purchase and to gain admittance to his innermost thoughts.

"Who else was summoned, Shengo?" Haku asked, knowing full well that Shegno had not left.

"Steph Whitestone and Haruka Tokoyami." Came the sheepish voice.
Haku's eyes narrowed coldly. It was a mission. He finished his tea with a commemorative gulp and wiped his lips on the sleeve of his kimono.

"Can't keep them waiting." He mumbled grimly. In a swish of black kimono and silver hair, he was gone.

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

Mahonna's eyes were rain-littered with tears, each a somber overcast sky in their own right. Every brackish drop was caused by nothing that could be put to paper or uttered with words. It was the same heart-crunching ache that had plagued her for the last few years. She had tormented herself with pain and peril to convince herself she earned her place in mediocrity, so she could enjoy the spoils of her failure.

It all sounded so full of self-pity that it simply begot more self-pity and by so-doing, snowballed out of all reason. Her once luxurious chocolate hair…had been shaved into a spiky Mohawk. She hid her eyes in circles of bruised make-up…just like 'he' had once done. Her nails had been bitten and chewed off into the quick until they bled. Her gorgeous golden tan now looked like a gray brown. She seemed so monochrome in visage and manner, these days…

She flattered her pride that she had fallen from greatness… Not necessarily fallen so much, as struck from the sky. She languished in her twelfth seat while 'he' sat in his squad's fifth seat, looking with hungry eyes at seat four. A murderer…one day to be captain before her?

And great gods was he arch? Always with an oily smile or a raised eyebrow, preparing a greasy speech oozing with arrogance. Kuishi Sato…Haku Ishikawa… How it must've burned him to be forced into using a fake name for so long… His true name not collecting the accolades that he felt it deserved…

Her achievements went unnoticed. Each note of endeavor surpassing the next with scaling ambition only to crescendo in pitch and in cadence. Power began to build in the keystrokes, circling themselves and ever growing from background to foreground. Only to be drowned out in Haku's laziest efforts. Humiliation and eternal shame…

A blasphemous collection of black cigarette butts were lined on Mahonna's desk, each had been neatly extinguished in a grid-like pattern forming a perfect square. The last had only just been so disposed and still smoked.

So suddenly she felt hot needles flush over her skin as if she had a billion tiny bugs crawling all over her. Kage Uzumaki, she felt it hovering over her with it's fangs. All she needed was power and time. Haku Ishikawa…

Haku self-consciously adjusted his hat and relocated a few locks of white hair before entering to see the Captain. The little Shinigami was composed behind his desk looking horribly bored and annoyed. The Vice-Captain was grinning stupidly, like the buxom strawberry-blonde she was.

Haku made a singular effort to ignore the figures to his left and right. But nonetheless, his right side was haunted by Steph-kohai. Haku sneered at the thought. He was an effeminate child in appearance. If the tenth squad could only collect a few more pre-pubescent specimens then they could make the change from Tenth squad to Tenth grade, official.

Haku had been placed in the tenth squad, to be sure. But he felt more in tune with the Eleventh. He was, to his knowledge, the only Tenth squad member to make fifth seat without obtaining a Shikai. And he didn’t lean on his reiatsu prowess to make this rank. He had nothing but pure blade skill, the quickest blade that created a virtually impenetrable shell of lightening-fast parries and ripostes.

But some credit was due to this Steph-child. He had apparently shown enough shining features of the child prodigy to deserve his rank. And he had to admit that he was behaving particularly bitter about Steph, Hitsuguya-Taichou and Rangiku Fuku-taichou in order to systematically wipe his notice of the other shinigami present.

He could feel his left palm sweat nervously, being as close to her as he was. He could hear the scraping cries of his Witch Zanpakuto spirit, desperately mocking him for attention. Was it that she decried his secret feelings for Haruka? Or was it that he was simply that much more vulnerable in her presence?

Haku listened to the orders with doubt. The moment the Vice-Captain blurted them out, he felt a bad taste flood his mouth. His eyes shot, searchingly at the Captain. Ice blue indifference met him. And yet, Haku couldn’t shake the feeling that no mission was so simple. Mistrust was in his meta-paranoid demeanor. But the order was issued and he heard himself creak “Yes, sir.” right along with the others. A perfect portrait of mutual respect and cooperation…in a pig’s eye.

He robotically followed into the Senkaimon. He laughed to himself in a creepy musical giggle when he saw that the blasted thing had deposited them on top of a corporate tower, high above the urban canopy. A foul polluted, distinctly human wind ripped around them with a shouting sound. Tokyo… The noise and smell of Tokyo.

He heard Steph mumble something into the wind and then asked if they were ready. Haku’s palm landed on the pommel of Mayonaka Naru and he felt it’s mind-splintering effect of terror register with the first contact. The effect was slightly lessened by the protective gloves that Haku had become accustomed to wearing.

His eyes scanned, looking for spiritual pressure, sensing for spiritual pressure. The vague impression of being surrounded from far below was present. Haku noted it with mild surprise. The Captain had been right… Unusual numbers… Unusual strength…

Somewhere in Hueco Mundo...

The white, dead sands of the world of the Hollows sifted with movement like waves. A creature moved under the surface like a shark through water, speeding across the desert. The radical crescent moon above gave eerie shadows to objects protruding from the sand and the dunes themselves. The hump from the creature's movement was no different.

It stopped in front of a white clothed man, the sand burst violently into the air. From the sand emerged huge Hollow, it's body was like that of a snake, it had no legs, only powerful arms. It roared, echoing throughout the barren land. The white clothed man's back was still turned toward the Hollow, he didn't move.

The Hollow noticed the man's stillness and grew furious. A concentrated orb of red spirit energy formed in the Hollow's mouth, a cero. Still the man remained motionless. The cero hit the man with such violence. Dust and sand was stirred up from the attack, the Hollow attempted to peer through the cloud with no avail. Suddenly, the Hollow felt a sharp pain. It split in half cleanly down the middle and disappeared.

When the dust settled, the man's back was still turned, he hadn't moved one inch.

"Pesky Menos." The man said.

And with that, a dozen more Menos Grande popped up from the sand around him, roaring. The man's annoyance could only be seen through his eyes, his entire lower half of his head was covered by a terrifying, skeletal mask. The mask's mouth opened to reveal his real mouth and a dark green, concentrated orb of spiritual energy formed in his mouth. The man is an Arrancar, one of the best of the best. A powerful cero erupted from his mouth, he turned in a circle, disintegrating all the Menos Grande around him.

After the powerful attack dissipated, the Arrancar roared himself, letting any would be attackers know who's the real prey. He felt a powerful spiritual pressure show up behind him, turning around, another Arrancar faced him.

"What do you want?" He said.

The other Arrancar responded, "I need you for something, are you interested?"

"Maybe."

"What's your name?"

"Engel Weiss. What do you need me for?"

"We're going to thin some of the Soul Reaper's ranks." The other Arrancar has a strangeness about him.

"Sounds fun, count me in."

The light of the Senkaimon disappeared with the closing of the doors until it faded away. In the middle of an ordinary looking street of Meguro stood the three members of Squad Six assigned to the hollow extermination mission. Mahonna Kuiki and Miru Soregashi had stepped before him leaving Kagashi taking up the rear position.

He scanned the area quickly checking the environment. It was still very early in the morning with dawn still some time away. A drunken businessman stumbling by tried to make his way back to his home, presumably nearby. The humans were not his immediate concern. He was looking for any hollows or wandering spirits nearby. There was nothing that he could see or detect. ‘Why’d they drop us off so far away from the hollows?’

A moment later the Soul Pager rang out from his clothes making him quickly grab it out. He flipped up the cell phone looking device getting the Monitoring Station’s hollow report for Meguro. The hollows were a significant distance away. “We’ve got two hollows detected to the north over three kilometers away. They’re pretty weak looking. It’s going to be a while before we can sense them.” The other two shinigami’s nodded to Kagashi and they leapt up into the air using the roof tops of the houses as stepping stones.


Steph waited the moment as he returned the Soul Pager back into his clothes for a response from Haku and Haruka. They had remained silent making it unclear if they were taking in the view or just searching. However, he did not have much time to wait as they had a mission to complete. “Report says there are three hollows to the west of here roughly two kilometers away. They’re pretty weak so it shouldn’t be much trouble.” He tightened his robes up a little feeling the strong wind at the altitude start to pick up. After he was finished Steph took the first leap across to the neighboring skyscraper.

Behind him the echoes of feet landing assured him that they were following with him. The path took them across the high rises of Shinjuku eventually reaching the ground level only a kilometer away from the hollows. As they began to close in on the hollows their spiritual pressure began to be detected allowing them to narrow in on the enemy. It was still some time before they reached location.

Steph came to a stop on the roof of a two story home quickly accompanied by Haku and Haruka. There was no need to point out what they could plainly see in front of them. In the street, a tall bipedal hollow that nearly reached the roof of the house they watched from was marching down the street roaring infrequently. Nearby a block over was the second hollow looking more like an insect and much smaller. The last lumbered three blocks away as a large muscular creature. All three of them were as the report said, weak, but Steph had a strange feeling that of something out of place. He was unable to place it, but the mission had to be focused on. This was just the start, since reports claimed to have detected over a dozen hollows in the Shinjuku, however they were still narrowing down the locations with the numerous signals and an unknown interference.

There was little time to pause as the hollows were no doubt hunting for lost souls to devour. Steph looked over at Haku keeping with rank, Haku was above him. “How you want to handle them?” he said softly between them.

Mugen had taken the role of group leader and made the decision to split up into pairs. He and Rei would take the North and East up to the Imperial Palace while the others would take the South and West.

"Be careful," he told the right before they split. "If you get into any trouble, give us a page, we'll be there as soon as we can." Rei said.

"Same goes for you two."

With that, Rei and Mugen Flash Stepped away. They landed on a tall building to get some high ground. Mugen was about to pull out his Soul Pager but Rei stopped him. Not only being a kidou expert, Rei was very keen on sensing spiritual pressures.

"All I can sense is one. It's very weak, I can barely sense it. There's another spiritual pressure, though. I'm not sure what it is. It's definitely not Hollow." Rei's eyes were closed, helping her concentrate.

"Another Soul Reaper?"

"No, we are the only ones dispatched to this area."

"Could it be an Arrancar?"

"I can't tell." Her eyelids tightened, she was focusing as much as she could. "I can't pinpoint it, it feels like it's everywhere. It's like nothing I've ever felt."

Mugen thought for a moment. "We'll handle the Hollow first and worry about the second spiritual pressure later. Our priority is the Hollow infestation, once the mission's over we'll make a report. Which direction is the Hollow?"

"It's... north, towards the Palace."

"We better hurry before it causes any havoc."

They disappear from the roof and run as fast as they can towards the Hollow. Mugen notices something strange about Rei.

"What's the matter?"

"I just can't believe this is Japan. It's been almost 100 years since I last seen it. It's changed so much."

"You think this is impressive, you have to see Shinjuku. Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, and it's only been roughly 50 or so years since it's Industrial Revolution."

"Wow, we'll have to visit again on our next day off."

"Yea... We're getting close, I can sense it."

"Me, too. It's definitely a weakling. We probably have a kilometer."

The two ceased running and used shunpo again, gaining lots more ground. Moments later, they came upon the Hollow. It was grotesque, it looked like a giant centipede. Up close, they could feel that, although weak, it was still too powerful for them individually, they'll have to work as a duo to take it down.

Haku leaned back in his shunpo, enjoying the wind, letting it catch him and shove him back. He landed softly, getas quietly clacking against the clay terra-cotta of the house roof. Steph had scouted ahead and seemed to be anxious or unsure of his ground. Haku wondered how he would handle the situation. Would he ask for orders? Would he just dive in? He didn’t know the shinigami well enough to guess.

Haku watched with secret delight at the hulk storming around their street. It was a big ugly one. As Steph-san answered his mental pondering by asking for orders, Haku knew. That hollow had Steph’s name all over it. If he couldn’t handle it, it would be too bad.

“Don’t get in over your head.” Haku said grinning at the small shinigami. “Don’t exhaust yourself; don’t play around and don’t embarrass the captain. One hollow to an officer. Take the one nearest. I‘ll take the furthest. Leaving the last for Haruka.” Haku said, careful not to directly address or order Haruka. “If any one of us needs help, run to join the others. After each of us wins our battle, we regroup.”

They started to leave when Haku stopped them with a long-nailed bony finger. “Don’t forget to keep casualties down to a nice minimum.” He creaked over a soft chuckle.

Haku took five steps to reach his mark. He was rather proud of it. It was nothing compared to the Captains' shunpo, but for a fifth seat it was nice and showy. He ended it in a backwards slide, drawing his Zanpakuto after having fully stopped. He could feel the beast clumsily ambling behind him.

“You move like a pregnant yak, Hollow.” Haku laughed, whipping Mayonaka Naru through the wind. He about-faced to really take in his mark. Haku let out a beleaguered moan; it was just a simple little imp. He had no doubt that if he stood there for several minutes on end, the thing would figure out a way to kill him. It was slightly larger than your average hollow, but no where near as monolithic as Steph’s. This was what he had made such a business over? To think that such lower hollows presented him with misgivings, even from afar, was positively shameful. Why then did he still feel unease? Impending doom? It must’ve been Mayonaka Naru’s influence. Her effect against him was gaining strength.

“Byakurai.” Haku creaked in something like a sing-song fashion, pointing a forefinger at the hollow. The momentary blast of yellow lightening only prompted the thing to tuck and roll like a boulder, out of the way. It was then that Haku decided he would break one of his own orders and play around. Ending it now would be professional, yes. But as fun as stepping on a bug. He had to make it last, after all…

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

Landing on the last roof, Mahonna put her black cigarette out on her thumbnail, leaving a black scar. She made her sigh as audible and obvious as possible. Her shaded gray eyes were all disenchantment. A small catch of hollows were freely skulking just a stone's throw from their roof.

Her Squad was pissing away their time on the most useless of all missions and she was being drug around. Kagashi-senpai, sweet and clueless, was leading the way. Even Mahonna could sense the hollows. The ones that were causing ‘problems.’ But that was only more evidence that they were just wasting the dawn.

Kage Uzumaki was tugging on her one trillion neurons, pleading for some air. Just a nice hollow to swing through. She frowned. She wasn’t battle hungry and her lowly office of seat twelve dissolved her urge to show off. She had no business here, except to stretch the steel on her zanpakuto.

She scratched a shaven patch of her head and ran her fingers down the side of her Mohawk and looked to Kagashi.

“Waiting for anything special, are we?”

Steph smiled back to Haku with his usual expression that he gave everyone. While things had changed for him he remained with the mask that he was so accustomed to wearing in front of people, old habits. Once Haku had leapt from the roof towards his target Steph dropped his happy face turning serious. ‘He’s a strange one, sounds like he’s enjoying this and seems like he likes to hear himself talk. Most of that was unnecessary. Well he’s not my concern at the moment.’ Steph stood up from the roof sizing up his very large target before going into battle.

Haruka had already disappeared taking to the assigned hollow. The rising in reiatsu from Haku meant that he was already engaged in combat as well. Steph disappeared in shunpo from the roof appearing down on the street to block the path of the hollow. The size difference became even more pronounced once he was forced to nearly break his neck to stare up at the thing, though it did not help that Steph was very short.

While a giant and a simple hollow the smell of a shinigami quickly alerted it to Steph. ‘It’s pretty dumb if it just now noticed us…’ Signaling its acknowledgement and intention to attack the white and gray beast with a surprisingly small ape-like mask opened its mouth letting out one of its roars. Despite the small mouth it had a booming voice that rattled the windows of the house. It looked like it had hoped the call would have been enough to frighten Steph, but he stood his ground looking serious and unimpressed by the hollow. The chase it had been wishing for was forgotten as it reached out its arms to grab him. ‘Very slow…’

Steph was already gone in shunpo once more appearing near its feet. He had dealt with far more challenging hollows in the past. However, he could not allow a single hollow to harm anyone so long as he could prevent it. He had to keep getting stronger for the day when he would face that woman once more. “Hadou #31 Shakkaho…” said Steph with his arm raised up towards its chest. The red glow from his palms quickly turned into fire shooting at near point blank range at the hollow. Smoke was blasted up from the impact making it difficult for Steph to determine a kill.

Out of the cloud dripped dark blood barely missing Steph as he used shunpo once more to recover his distance. Even before the cloud disappeared another roar from the hollow came this time in pain, but it was followed up by a second filled with rage. The giant came stomping out of the cloud towards Steph blindly swinging its arms around from the wound it had sustained. ‘Thing’s so large one kidou wasn’t enough…the house!’ Steph was interrupted from his thoughts seeing that the wild flailing was putting the house in danger.

No longer thinking, he leapt into the air towards the house taking the full force of the hollow’s strength. The size of the forearm was enough to dwarf Steph under it. Having hit something, it pulled back its arm continuing to swing while Steph looked a little darker from the blow. A trail of blood dripped down his head and lip where it had met the crushing force. He narrowed his eyes staring at the hollow ignoring the blood. “I won’t allow you to hurt anyone!” Launching from the second floor of the house front, Steph burst from his spot drawing his Zanpakuto quickly in the motion leaving a blue streak through the air that cut through the hollow with deadly sharpness. A moment later the hollow began to disappear being granted its peace.

Steph came to a landing on the neighboring house looking back to see the cracked street, but nothing more damaged. A relieved sigh escaped his breath as he wiped away the blood. His sword was already sheathed before he had landed leaving his hand resting on the hilt. He turned to catch how the battle was going with Haku and Haruka to know if either needed assistance.


The empty parking lot of a store was giving home to two hollows. They had just arrived at the roof and took in the moment. Mahonna had spoken up to Kagashi making her sound like she was itching for a fight. He was never certain what to make of her since she seemed bored and uninterested while impatient. There had been the feeling like she wanted to prove herself in spite of her attitude. However, these were simple hollows and nothing to worry about for them. “Nothing. Miru and you take the one on the left. I’ll handle the other. We’ve got more hollows to find so let’s make this quick.”

Kagashi leapt off the roof with the others in motion with him. His hollow was averaged size, but it was walking on all fours with a mask that was significantly larger in proportions than its body. It looked as though the head was weighing the rest of the body down forcing it to use its arms to hold it up. Their presence was already alerted to the hollows making them turn towards the incoming shinigami. Not wanting to waste an action, Kagashi already was drawing his Zanpakuto going for a killing slash immediately. However, the speed surprised him as the hollow was able to use its arm to take the blow instead.

Next to Kagashi, the others were quickly engaged with their hollow. He pulled back at the moment to re-gather his attack. While the strike did cut it had only managed to dig half way into the thick muscle and bone. The wound was going mostly ignored by the hollow charging for Kagashi angered by the attack. Kagashi was confident in his shunpo keeping easily ahead of the hollow while dealing a couple more cuts. The hollow appeared slow and weighed down, but had surprising instincts.

Once Kagashi came to a momentary pause in the battle dance with the hollow, the hollow took a different stance. It leaned back a little while its masked mouth opened wide to the point of unhinging itself. A flash of light appeared making Kagashi jump away. When he was recovered he could see a liquid on the asphalt of the lot along with smoke rising as it ate away. ‘Acid spit…’ The hollow launched another acid attack at Kagashi making him shunpo towards the hollow getting under it slicing its stomach. This new wound had produced a loud roar from the beast making it stand up on its legs leaning back in pain as Kagashi followed up with a vertical slash to its mask shattering it and its body.

The Tsukiakari's devised a plan before rushing in for the attack. Mugen would head in, hand-to-hand, while getting Kidou backup from Rei. It was a nearly flawless plan except for one problem. The Hollow sensed their presence before they could complete the whole plan and divided them. The Hollow had the ability to divide itself and make clones, making it a one on one battle for the Soul Reaper.

Mugen and Rei got separated from each other, making helping each other and even communication nonexistent. Mugen worried about Rei but had faith in her surviving. She was the best Kidou user he knew.

The Hollow used it's clawed feet to strike at Mugen, whipping at him with at least fifty legs. Mugen dodged and parried the attacks, being pushed back towards the palace each parry.

He had no chance to counter, he was completely overwhelmed. He felt Rei's spiritual pressure spike, knowing she had released her shikai. "What a pain." He groaned. Mugen Flash Stepped far enough away from the Hollow to release his own shikai. "Shine brighter, Benihyourin!" His sword melted and encased his arm in silver armor, the blade forming from on top his arm.

The Hollow was not intimidated, it charged at Mugen with full force. Mugen also charged at the Hollow, making a suicide run. The Hollow roared thunderously. "Bring it on!" Mugen yelled. The two almost met when Mugen made a last second move. He jumped over the Hollow and landed on it's back. It bucked ant wriggled to get him off but Mugen sunk his blade deep in it's hide.

It stopped bucking and squirming and arched it's head back, facing Mugen eye to eye. Mugen swiftly took his blade and struck the Hollow straight in it's face. The Hollow gave out one last roar then disintegrated. Mugen landed on his butt and dismissed his Zanpakutou's shikai then immediately ran to Rei's aid.

A single step and a twitch of his wrist and the hollow had no left arm. A laugh and short mutter and a blast of kido slammed the thing into a concrete wall. Sputtering blood and howling, the thing went thrashing. Each violent paroxysm crushed in a bit more of the wall, until it was fit to crumble. People had stopped on the street to watch the mysterious crumbling wall. Haku bowed before them, wishing they could see.

The Hollow tried to rush him during his bow, but Haku sidestepped it and caught the wretched thing by it’s neck. He stood there, holding it off the ground and pinching it’s throat with a grip that would’ve twisted steel. After squeezing until he felt gratified, Haku flung the thing down onto the street. It impacted the concrete and rose, dizzily shaking it’s masked head only to look up to see a shining blade descending and finally carving it’s poor mask in two.

Haku sighed. The hollow dissipated, leaving him without a playmate. These oafish akuma didn’t test his skills. Even in playing with them, he couldn’t really stretch his powers. Haku sighed and scanned the horizon. Steph had finished. Haku smiled, he was proud of him. He had obviously misjudged the shinigami. The hollow didn’t seemed to have caused Steph one fifth of the problem Haku had thought it would. Haruka had likewise finished. In fact, Haku had taken such time on his, the others might well think he needed assistance.

“Time to go.” He creaked to himself. A flash-step, it took six steps this time. ‘What a shame.’ He thought. He skidded to a halt. Decelerating always was the most fun. He looked to Steph and was about to grin and congratulate him, but he felt himself stop. He couldn’t shake the feeling something was off; something was definitely wrong. He quickly covered the worry up with a skeletal grin and raised an eyebrow, looking at Steph.

“Didn’t give you too much trouble?”

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

Waiting for the que, didn’t wait long. Mahonna flipped up, Kage Uzumaki seemed to spring of it’s own volition. She tried best to stay out of Miru’s way, but she was not going to let him see the only action. She let her shunpo drop her to the ground and drawshot the hollow’s left leg.

She wish she had an excuse to try her Shinkai. Not just to sling steel, but to actually let loose. She shot up and let herself plummet back to earth with Kage Uzumaki raised high. She dived past it, removing a nice chunk of it. She tucked and rolled away, quickly recovering to see Miru finish the fight, handily.

It was odd how automatic, sheathing a sword and lighting a cigarette can be. The sword was at her hip and the cigarette end glowed. Taking it out of her mouth. She spat onto the concrete and cursed. Did she really want a fight? Did she want to be put to the test so soon? She loathed these fights with grunt third-rate hollows…

Steph caught the presence of Haku returning. He turned to face him, the blood wiped away, but with a light stain still on his face. Using a light healing kido on himself he had been able to stop the bleed quickly enough before it became any trouble for him. When Haku landed on the roof Steph gave him his usual pleasant greeting. “No trouble at all!”

Haruka was the last to join them allow each to confirm the safety and kill of the hollows. However, before they were able to do anything more a signal from the soul pager rang out announcing further data on the hollow presence in Shinjuku. Even before Steph pulled out the cell phone he could already sense the other hollows nearby with these three now dead. There was still the feeling of being surrounded, but he could definitely pick out a couple more, mostly like the closest and easily filtered through the dull mass of spiritual energy that was stirred thick into the air of the city.

Not needing a direction from the phone, Steph leapt from the roof going after the hollow presence assuming the others would follow with him. As he pulled out his phone he was able to get a clear reading of what they were facing and location. Their mission was nowhere near being complete yet. The problem that concerned him was that there were five hollows in close proximity to each other. ‘We might be forced to deal with more than just one at a time…’

Landing on the top of an electrical pole, the view of the neighborhood provided a tactical position to judge the hollows. Steph planned to wait until Haku and Haruka joined him, sensing them behind him, but he saw a spirit being cornered by a prowling hollow. ‘I can’t let it hurt the man!’ The sense to protect activated strongly within Steph as he used shunpo combined with his Zanpakuto to cleanly take out the hollow in one motion. “Are you alright?” said Steph turning to face the spirit returning his sword back to the sheath.

“What’s going on?! I was just walking home and…now these monsters!” The spirit was a man in his thirties in a business suit, no doubt having been killed on his way home from work. He was completely confused about what had happened to him trying to continue what was instinctual to him.

‘Do I have enough time for Konso?’ He could sense the other hollows getting the feeling that they had all become alerted to him at the same moment. ‘Well I can’t let him just run around and protecting him against this many would be almost impossible.’ Steph pulled out his Zanpakuto once more baring the hilt end at the spirit. “It’s alright. Everything will be fine in a moment, mister.” The man panicked when he showed his sword, but Steph did not give him any time and immediately performed the Konso.

These hollows seemed to be fair more alert than the last ones having already figured out where Steph was while the spirit was still in transition. All four of the hollows were coming at him charging on all fours looking like lion in appearance and size, complete with claws. ‘Surrounded this quickly…it’s like they’re working together…’ He would be attacked at the same time if he did nothing. So Steph charged forward towards the first hollow still holding his Zanpakuto out striking it through the mask unchallenged. He spun around quickly raising up his finger over his sword as it glowed suddenly. “Hadou #4 Byakurai!” The lightning shot from his finger striking the hollow’s mask killing it. However, the other two were already close on him forcing him to block the first one’s claws with his blade.

Steph was about to turn not sure how he was going to deal with the second that he knew was nearly upon him, however Haruka arrival killing the second hollow. ‘Haruka!’ Once the momentary surprise was over he pushed back on the hollow sharpening his pressure to cut through the claws arms and into the mask killing it. ‘Those were far too weak… something’s off…’

“That was reckless going off by yourself, Steph!” Haruka said once the excitement had ended.

Steph held his head down a little knowing that he had let jumped the gun. “…I couldn’t let the hollow eat that soul! I was waiting for you.”

“If I hadn’t arrived when I did you might have died!”

“We’re supposed to protect the human world from hollows! If we must we have to be willing to sacrifice ourselves for them!”

“I know that, but think more of your own life than to toss it away so casually!”

“I wasn’t…”

“You two done?” Haku said from outside the area looking in at them. It was more to get them to focus back on the immediate problem at hand. They were surrounded by more than a dozen hollows that all looked completely identical to the ones that Steph had just fought.

‘They’re all back? And there’s even more?!’ Steph turned around scanning the view seeing hollows in the street and roofs closing like a net around them. Haruka and Steph stood back to back with their Zanpakuto held out prepared to deal with the onslaught. ‘There’s something wrong with these… Their spiritual pressure feels weird…’ He stepped through his memories trying to recall the brief fight he had with the hollows if there was anything he could remember to explain it. Even more hollows were appearing increasing the numbers that were surrounding them. It was then that it hit him. He turned up to Haku still outside of the entrapment. “I think these are all fakes! There must be a more powerful hollow that created these copies somewhere hiding. I don’t want to overstep my bounds here, but I can deal with these if you can hunt down the real one!”

“Steph?! There’s too many for you! Let me help you!” Haruka said over her shoulder. They were interrupted by five hollows jumping in at the both of them. Being weak copies they were all dispatched without effort by the two of them.

“Haruka, trust me! I can do this!” He looked over at the hollows knowing that he was going to have to use his shikai to make this work and he had still not managed to prevent it from negatively affecting his friends. So he would only be hurting them with the hallucinogenic effects of his Zanpakuto. It would be like a slow poison on their physical performance and he could not risk it. ‘If we all fight these fakes this could go on forever…’ They took out several more hollows coming in at them only to see them quickly replaced by even more. “Please!”


Kagashi smiled to the others in his team to see a job well done. He quickly picked up on spiritual pressures that were coming towards them. It seemed that their presence had been detected by the nearby hollows. ‘So they’re coming to us… Well that makes it easy.’ He quickly turned with his Zanpakuto held in both hands prepared for the next round of fights. This time there was a hollow flying in the sky larger than any bird he had ever seen followed by two giants stomping through the street crushing the fence that marked out the parking lot they stood in. “Looks like our next fight is decided already! I’ll deal with the flying one. You two take the giant ones.”

Miru and Mohanna charged forward, though Mohanna seemed to drag behind a little. ‘These are definitely stronger than the last ones…’ Kagashi disappeared to land on the roof of the store near to the flying hollow that was already targeting him with a cero. It happened in a blink of an eye that the blast burst out as Kagashi was engulfed in the blinding blast. There looked like there had been no time to react as the fading light revealed no trace of Kagashi anywhere. All that was left was a hole in the ceiling of the store and smoke spreading out. The hollow started to move on towards the other two shinigami when it was suddenly struck in the left wing from a new direction.

A part of the wing was covered in ice as a column had pierced its wing making it shriek loudly. The ice followed back to Erimaki no Konpekihane held extended by Kagashi, unscathed having used shunpo to escape the blast. The hollow was not as injured by the sneak attack as Kagashi had hoped. It flapped its wing breaking the thin ice pole still able to keep in the air. Once it had confirmed its own use it dove after Kagashi baring large claws to slash at him from his position on the street. ‘Going to take more and with its speed even being able to move through the air myself I won’t be able to keep up with its speed in a proper fight…’

He had little time left to think as the bird hollow charged after him forcing him to shunpo to avoid the attack. The hollow did not give up quickly finding him again to make another run at him. It continued forcing Kagashi on the defensive not able to have enough time to make a swing with the speed it was moving at him. He had come into a close call with the attempts that he had made leaving rips in his shihakusho, but no wounds. ‘I’ll have to try a different approach…’

The battle soon took a bit of a change as Kagashi moved himself a little out of range of the hollow that was coming to swoop down on him. In the end range did not mean much, but it gave him the extra time needed to release another ice column from his sword striking the wing piercing it once more. It broke almost immediately as the momentum carried it on, but he had been able to hit it. The hollow did not seem to be affected by it continuing to make attacks on him and Kagashi kept making futile attempts to bring it down with his ice. All that he had managed to do was cover parts of it in ice that it was unable to shake off. The last run the hollow had made on Kagashi had succeeded in creating a thicker column, but it was free. It hovered above in the air keeping afloat until it suddenly came crashing down to the ground.

Kagashi began walking forward seeing his opportunity to finish it off. “Flying certainly proved difficult, but you didn’t think about all that ice on your wings. You reach the point where they were too heavy with ice to allow you to keep you in the air as well as the flexibility required to move them properly to keep lift. It’s over…” He charged forward just as the hollow opened its beak shooting out another cero blast. Kagashi expected it as he used shunpo to avoid it appearing front of the hollow bringing his sword down to cut the mask in half. “Time to see how the others are doing…”

Debris. There was so much debris in the city. Havoc wreaked throughout the area before the main star, Shino Shiozaki appeared in the moonlight. The stream of light stroked her body like a lover as sweat dripped from her body. A scream and a flash of light consumed the scene as a hollow fell to the floor, a huge gaping hole left in its head as the impact sent a roaring sound into the air.

The young woman ran her finger along her brow and through her scruffy hair as the giant body dissipated into dust.

“Heh.” The single word was all that escaped from her lips as she crossed her arms and smirked at the camera.

“Oi, Shino! Stop show boating and help us out here!” the rest of the group seeped through her world as the screen shattered and brought her back to reality. Tamashi had held the hollow's body in place with his shikai as her buxom sister Mai in all of her barely clothed glory strutted ahead and deflected its attacks with but a simple wave of her hand as binding kidou prevented its arms from penetrating her personal space.

Long, sharp nails extended from her fingertips and dripped with a mysterious liquid. She leapt up into the air and dug her nails deep into its body and rent its insides with her deadly poison. She landed back onto the ground and bounced as a sadistic giggle left her lips as she swiped the entrails and liquid from her nails and dragged her tongue along her thumbnail.

The hollow waned and shrieked in suffering as its body lost movement. Fukumi ran her fingers along the blade of her shining green sword while her lips mumbled a chant while her body faded into multiple projections in a circular surrounding of the hollow. All five forms moved in unison. Her feet spread apart as her fingertips held the tip of the blade as she crouched. In less than half a second, all five forms vanished as they closed in onto the hollow.

Fukumi appeared in the exact spot she began the chant in the very same position. She sheathed the blade into its scabbard, and as it snapped shut, one slash after another appeared until all five of them dismembered the hollow. As its head remained, Shino dashed in and kicked it like a ball and caused it to burst into dust.

Haku nodded, more to himself and turned to go. “Don’t disappoint me.” He creaked back over his shoulder. Even in his heart, he wished Steph well. “I’m no prophet, Whitestone. Something bad is happening…or about to. Don’t let it happen to you. It would reflect poorly on me.” He hoped that the sense of altruism, young Steph had just put on display wouldn’t hurt him in the end. Haku tapped the pommel of his sword twice, making a brass sound and walked slowly northward. “Haruka, come. We’re leaving.”

‘A cup of tea sounds nice.’ He thought, before bracing himself for a strong shunpo. He felt it build in the ankles of his feet and release. It wasn’t guesswork, but Haku headed north. A black presence was there, surrounded by grayer forces.

It was Haruka who had done far more with her Shunpo than Haku managed. She had always been more adept at speed and footwork. There was no pride in the ten steps it took him to reach the site. A warehouse with open cargo doors, was laid out... without power. Ducking into the vast open space, Haku noticed it was a warehouse for the distribution of packaged Onigiri. A blasphemous roar made the previous observation totally frivolous. Haku looked up to see something drop from the high rafters. A large foreleg landed right before him, clicking it's over-sized claws on the concrete. The hollow before Haku dwarfed even the titan he had assigned to Steph. ‘Fate and Irony are always the two most frustrating lovers.’ He thought.

A shriek of metal rang as he drew Mayanaka Naru. The fear once again stung his arm, like an insect bite. Haruka had loosed her zanpakuto and they both watched in amazement as the hollow held it’s hand to it’s mouth. It started a hacking cough until it spat a clot of black blood into it’s hand. Flinging the substance to the ground, it promptly grew into a small version of itself. It was able to so expel three more copies before Haku had removed it’s arm. The limb thudded to the street, only to form yet another doppelganger.

“Keep them away from me.” Haku croaked.

He flipped up, his zanpakuto dead set on the thing’s osseous mask. It thunder smacked it’s remaining arm in Haku’s direction. He would’ve been struck down and sent flying like a comet, but he removed that hand as well. The escape was short-lived as it head-butted him from the air. As he looked up he saw they were now surrounded by six copies and the original. The original roared and it’s mangled limbs regenerated.

“I can see where this will be a problem.” He muttered, grimly.

The thing laughed victoriously as it sent another massive slap at Haku, like he was some unwanted mosquito. Haku was driven into the asphalt and he felt his body compact. He was able to force it’s palm off him and he rolled away.

Peeling himself off the road, he looked at the demon for what seemed the first time. Spinning away from it’s next attack; he pointed it out.

“I know you.” He grinned, hatefully. “You killed my mother. You threw me down mount Fuji. You’re that same hollow.” It raged and rushed him. Haku leapt to it’s hand and wound through it’s fingers. A kido left it’s claw in flames. “You’re the hollow that killed every single man, woman and child that have been killed by hollows. The same mask.” It reached frantically for him, but Haku was always able to twist around and away from it’s grasp. “The same hunger.” A charged punch from Haku sent the thing backward. “Do you know why? Because…in the end, you’re all the same. You’re just like every other hollow.” Mayonaka Naru flew from his hand like a javelin bolt of lightening and sunk definitively, into and past, the hollow’s mask, banishing it into oblivion.

Haku turned, expecting his victory to be pronounced, but all of the physical copies still lingered. His eye twitched slightly as he flash-stepped to retrieve his zanpakuto and help Haruka.

Haku had given Steph his approval to fight alone. Steph gave a parting smile to them as they left. He was not about to let them down and he hoped that if they were able to find the real hollow all of the fakes would disappear. So it was just a delaying tactic and his shikai would make him perfect for this. They already seemed eager to fight him ignoring his departing comrades. He narrowed his eyes in determination and shouted out to all of them. “Alright! Let’s do this you hollows! You won’t stop me from my path!”

Steph focused his mind knowing the concentration that he was going to need for this. The longer that he had to maintain it the more taxing it was on his mental state. However, there was no room for him to complain. His Zanpakuto began to glow pink along with the spiritual pressure building off of him. “Strip bare my beloved, Adeyaka-Sakura!” The entire blade shone bright pink as it burst free shedding like skin from the blade to float in the air. He quickly dispersed the dozens of petals with his spiritual pressure and lowered down into a defensive stance.

The hollows were already in motion as he had released his shikai. Six of the near twenty fakes present immediately were marked in detection. He could see the paths in his mind and swung in a perfect dance six times dodging and striking the hollows to dust. These were weak fakes that did not require much striking force to kill. Numbers and the real physical nature along with agility were their own advantages. However, in his web nothing could sneak up on him.

Another wave of hollows charged after him, making their inherit intelligence to be surprisingly low. ‘I guess they just copy and act autonomously. They have a hive mind linking their actions, but beyond that… I guess for a relatively low level hollow having control over so many copies would be beyond it’s power.’ The only strength was its replicating abilities, which could wear down Steph if it dragged on. Those killed were already back lining up for their chance. Steph dispatched the second wave as smoothly as the first. It seemed that there was a pause in their actions seeing that their strategy was not working for them. ‘If this was a normal hollow I could just go on the offensive and strike while they’re waiting, but I need to conserve my strength if Haku has trouble finding it.’ Steph waited to see their move.

Reflecting their level of tactical skill, a dozen of the hollows charged forward on all fours attempting to surround him with numbers to prevent him from being able to react to all of them in time. However, Steph changed his stance to offense and shunpo behind the encirclement. They did not have enough time to respond as they were all clustered together with Steph already finishing a chantless kido. “Haduo #33 Soukatsui!” The blue ball of energy released from his palm engulfing all of the hollows immediately. ‘Behind!’ he exclaimed to himself as he reflectively turned his arm back to stop claws from digging into him. His Zanpakuto’s blade rattled from the awkward angle.

There was already several more leaping upon him to take advantage of his undefended state. ‘Smarter than I gave them credit…’ Steph pushed through the hollow that he was holding off killing it and narrowing escaping several swipes of claws. He had planned to finish off those behind him, but they had sent another wave at him forcing him to shunpo out the way. The staggered attacks began to wear on his defenses as he was not able to kill all of the fakes that came after him. It did not matter that he knew when they were coming with so many that he could not handle at once. They had realized that weakness and were make great use of their numbers.

The defensive battle dragged on for several minutes starting to leave Steph a little fatigued. They were not allowing for any breaks. Constantly being on the guard and mentally using his shikai was leaving its toll on him. However, he suddenly noticed that the numbers of the copies seemed to be fewer than before. In the next wave that struck at him, he was able to confirm his suspicions. ‘There aren’t anymore being created after I kill them. Haku must have found the hollow!’ He tightened his hands around the hilt charging towards the remaining dozen hollows. There was a resurge of strength in him as he cleared out the remaining with swift shunpo movements. When the battle was ended he sheathed his sword sealing it once more. “I haven’t had to actively use it so thoroughly…”

Steph began to walk off preparing for shunpo when something suddenly jumped out the shadows at him. It was another one of the hollows having kept itself hidden until he let down his guard. The hollow raked its claws along his left arm digging deeply before it leapt off. “Another!?” Steph did not have much time to react as it turned around planning to finish him off. “Hadou #4 Byakurai!” He had raised his finger up soon enough that he touched the mask of the hollow as the kido went off drilling through its entire body before disappearing. His right hand quickly moved from casting to his wound checking it as he knelt to one knee. “Careless…”

He was able to perform a healing first aid on his wound that sealed up the wound, but left the pain still throbbing. Healing kido was not best performed on one’s body as he had been repeatedly told. The only reason he managed to get away with it was the regenerative nature of his own spiritual energy. Even still, it proved to be a band-aid to the problem rather a real fix. The bleeding was stopped and that was all he was worried about, deeper wounds as such even through self healing were too much. “Well I had better be joining them.” Steph flexed his left arm and squeezed his hand to check the strength. The sharp pain awoke again forcing him to bite through it, but otherwise he would still be able to fight. He used shunpo to follow his senses to where Haku was, not sure what he was going to find when he arrived.

Haku wiped away two copies with a drawshot and it’s re-chambered slice. A third presented attack, but his weapon was off target. He prepared a tuck and roll, but was saved the effort by a blitzing coup de gras by Haruka. Smug words of thanks froze between his brain and his lips as he saw something break the pattern of shadows that laced the back of the warehouse. The thing’s appearance evoked an odd expression of disgust and scorn from Haku.

The hollow, as that is what it undeniably was, was more or less in the basic form of a man, slightly taller. It’s head was merely a continuation of it’s neck, the continuation was seamless as it’s neck and head were the same thickness, something like a tube capped off in a white osseous mask with bleak eyes. It had ridges that folded and lumped on it’s shoulders like the rugose poise of a cape bunched up and pinned. It’s hands were spade like claws that showed their sharpness, even from far away.

As Haku saw it and felt it, he could recognize danger when he saw it, he drew his sword. Mayonaka still gave it’s fearful prick of terror that seemed all the more potent when staring this thing down.

“Go get Steph.”

Haruka nodded. Haku felt gratified that she hadn’t offered to stay and help. She trusted him, he kept telling himself.

“HEX.” The thing hissed.

“Your name, I presume?” Haku tacked on a soft laugh for effect. “Fancy that, a hollow with a name? What useless detail will you all think of next…” Haku saw it move, but it was at his side already, hand buried in his sides. “You’re quick.” He said, appreciatively, before punching with his left hand, sending the hollow yards away. His left hand went to his side, instinctively. ‘Not too bad. This thing can flashstep… This will be a fight.’

It had returned with attack, but was quickly denied twice, before Haku’s riposte trapped it as overbalanced and it reappeared behind him. Haku had Mayonaka over his shoulder, covering the length of his back, denying the third attempt. It re-engaged in a frontal attack using both hands, but Haku stopped one and spun the blade around it, forcing it to deflect it’s other hand. Another punch brought the hollow to one knee. Haku made an extension who’s soul purpose was to skewer the unhappy thing like a shish-kabob. It tried to block with it’s hand, but the blade simply punctured straight through it. Haku freed his blade with a massive swing, tearing the corner of the hollow’s hand off.

“Byakurai.” Haku murmured, extending his forefinger on his right hand. The blast struck the hollow full force and sent it spinning backwards into the patterned darkness of the warehouse’s background.

Haku had no time to prepare for the charge that the thing brought against him. It hurled itself at full speed at him in a tackle. The impact sent him back into the steel wall behind him. The hollow seemed larger and was breathing heavily. Its hand was red with blood.

“SHINIGAMI BLOOD, HEX. RED AND WARM.” A blasphemous tongue licked the blood from it’s remaining hand. Haku peeled himself from the wall and shook his head.

“Something of a strain.” He muttered. He held his left hand up. An unsightly gash marked the bottom of his palm. “I never learned healing spells and for my lack of study, I’m apportioned with scars.” He remarked. His hand began to glow black and Haku‘s pressure began to slowly double.

The thing lurched again in such an impossibly fast succession of blows that it would be unlikely to block. But Haku felt the rhythm and it was an easy beat to follow. They all glanced off him, pinging like rain against a tin roof. Haku made a single blow that it tried to block. His pressure alone sliced it’s hand clean off, his continuation cut it off at it’s midsection. One last upward slice, clove up through the thing‘s remaining torso, wreathing it in dissipating reishi as it vanished completely.

“What a total bother.” He hissed. This was all starting to seem more and more like work.

The night had grown lighter as morning was slowly trying to arrive. All of the fighting had left a dense smell of reishi throughout the air. Distant roars could be heard echoing through the city as hollows still remained roaming. Even with the teams that were present it did not seem like the numbers of hollows was coming to a foreseeable end.

Steph focused on the spiritual pressure of Haku and Haruka to rejoin them with his job done. He was still feeling fatigued from the battle, but nearly all of his spiritual energy had been restored. This was a benefit that he sometimes hated since if his body was too exhausted to do anything all of the spiritual energy would not do him any good. However, he remained focused on his task in front of him. There had only been a few steps to reach them, but Haruka suddenly arrived with a sense of urgency in her eyes.

She came to a stop on the roof of a house catching Steph as he was approaching. Haruka was about to speak when Steph interrupted her with a kido spell, that for a moment that she thought was coming towards her. The spell nearly burned her with the proximity. A deep roar of pain burst out behind her from a hollow that had just popped up. It disappeared leaving the air tense and they suddenly both detected several hollows. These were different from before, but still fairly weak for them.

They stood back to back keeping the hollows in their sights unsheathing their Zanpakuto. The half dozen hollows crawled along the roof the house or hovered in the sky inching their way towards them. A quiet check between the two signaled their attack. It was a short minute later that the hollows were vanishing and a moment of peace received.

“They’re getting more aggressive…” said Steph trying to hide his fatigue.

Haruka nodded to him quietly. “We need to hurry!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Haku’s fighting a strong hollow alone.”

“And you left him alone!”

“He wanted me to get you…” she said giving her excuse. “…He can handle himself.”

“Then why you sound so urgent?” questioned Steph trying to read her. He was seeing hesitation and something underneath, but she was refusing. All he could give was a momentary narrowed eye before letting it go. “Well we should hurry back then.” Steph jumped into shunpo along with Haruka following Haku’s presence.

They leapt out into the air finding Haku alone. It had seemed the hollow that he had been fighting was dead with the relaxed appearance Haku had. Both landed on the ground next to him, Steph scanning his body for his condition. He did not see anything from a brief glance, but it looked like he was concealing his hand. “How you doing?”

A few minutes passed between them as they conferred before they were suddenly interrupted by a strong spiritual pressure. It weighed over the area, nothing like a Captain’s reiatsu, but it filled the three of them with dread. Unlike the previous hollows, this reiatsu was strong. As the presence approached two distinctive pressures could be sensed. They were nearly equal in strength, making them the strongest hollows that they had faced on the mission. ‘A hollow with the spiritual pressure of fifth seated officer…things just keep getting worse…’

(OoC: I left a gap in there for you to fill in the conversation with whatever you want Sinister.)

Haku looked to his left and right as Steph and Haruka finally arrived. Steph took immediate notice that Haku was favoring his left hand and Haruka seemed oddly distant. Haku wiped the blood on the inside of his black kimono and straightened. His eyes crept to Haruka, who slowly looked away.

“How you doing?”

Haku looked back over to Steph, his eyes narrowing.

“Hungry, but fine.” He creaked. “But things are getting worse, all the time.”

“Something on your mind?” Steph asked, prying.

Haku secured Mayonaka Naru back into it’s sheath. “Yes. I already told you, I’m hungry.”

“This is serious, Ishikawa!” Haku looked over at Haruka with mild surprise and an expression one might characterize as ‘hurt;. Haku brushed it off and tore a patch from the elbow of his uwagi and wrapped it around the palm of his left hand, surreptitiously binding his wound.

“We’re staying in a group from this moment on out. I don’t want a single one of us away from the group.” There was a rumble that came from above. “We‘re not very far from being in over our heads, you know?” As if to validate this, a blast of reishi weighed down upon the room and closed in, until the skylight of the warehouse shattered.

Haku had to dodge to the right to avoid being crushed by the great lithe tangle that dropped from the ceiling. He quickly released Mayonaka in an artful swish. The thing hit the ground with a hissing thud and began to unfold. Two great serpent hollows, monolithic in stature, rose to full height and twisted in anticipation.

“The two of you, keep one of them away from me.” Haku had done the mental math. Taking the both on would be a chore, even handling one would be unpleasant. As he watched the bleached bone mask crack forward as if it were the tip of a whip, he could see they weren‘t terribly different from him in terms of power. Haku watched on, disenchanted as both beasts twisted and separated two sickle like arms each, from their sides.

He disappeared behind himself, attempting a difficult shunpo. He clumsily managed to move fast enough to visibly appear to still be standing from the starting point of the shunpo. So when his hollow’s two scythes were brought down, they lodged into the concrete. Haku was behind the hollow and began a drawshot only to have it caught in mid-performance. Yet another limb had birthed from the snake-like body and caught his zanpakuto, while a sword-esque appendage shot forth like a spear. Haku jumped over his sword and used the counter-leverage of his caught sword to yank himself down onto the newest limb. A blast of kido liberated his blade. He stopped for a split second to check on Haruka’s progress when the thing caught him in his shoulder. A newly added weapon-arm had slipped in the front and exited under his shoulder blade causing a sudden rush of red pain. Haku grunted and clove the newest limb off and flipped back from the beast.

It was adding more and more bodily features as it fought. It freed it's hands from the concrete floor and now looked like a snake that had grown limbs that had been systematically pruned. It was heaving itself around on it’s belly towards Haku in an obscene way. Haku had no way of knowing how fast it could generate weapons from it’s body, but as he lowered his center of gravity and raised his sword, he bet he was faster.

The sledgehammer over the entire area pressed heavy with the mixing reiatsu in the air. There was a long tense moment when the new hollows arrived. However, it was quickly dismissed by the anxiety of imminent battle. It had left Steph wishing that he had been more pressing about healing Haku’s injury. Time was gone now and Haku’s stubbornness was not something that he could focus on with the new enemy.

The problem that he had was that Haku was insisting on staying together, which he did not disagree with him. He just knew that it would mean having to keep his Zanpakuto sealed during the fight. It would have to be kidou that he would focus on against the hollow. Teaming up with Haruka against the hollow he hoped would be enough, Haku was going to have a hard time alone.

There was little time left for debate with Haku already engaging his hollow. The second serpent-like hollow looked more interested in Haku than them, but Steph did not allow it try to get close enough. His raised palm released a quick kidou spell at the beast hoping to hit it to grab its attention. However, it had detected his spiritual energy and swiftly moved out of the way letting the blast put a hole in the warehouse wall. The original intention had still been accomplished though as the hollow quickly covered the distance charging against them with its bladed limbs ready. No time to react with shunpo was possible for them as the speed took them off guard. Their Zanpakuto caught the attack made at them, but the force sent them through the wall of the warehouse putting two holes into the metal. A victorious roar from the hollow sounded as Steph and Haruka landed painfully against the cement outside.

Steph coughed through the small dust cloud around him trying to catch his breath. The heavy ringing of the hollow from the warehouse still weighed on him. ‘It’s pressure is strong…I could barely move through it… Can’t believe I was that unprepared…’ He looked over towards where Haruka would have landed trying to see if she was injured. “Haruka? Can you stand?”

“Yeah…it was just faster than I expected…” she commented as she pressed her sword blade against the ground to stand up. It was clear that the continuous fighting was taking a toll on her.

“We have to keep that thing off Haku,” Steph said tightening his hold on his sword’s hilt before he used shunpo. He appeared at the top of the roof looking through the opened roof skylight seeing the hollow that attacked them trying to focus on Haku once more. “Hadou #4 Byakurai!” The beam of lightning shot from his finger piercing the roof aimed for the hollow. An almost skillful dodge from the hollow managed to escape the kidou mostly leaving only its limb to be pierced. The damaged limb proved to be insignificant to the monster as it roared and leapt up to break through the roof as Steph shunpo out of the way.

Behind it, Haruka arrived looking to take advantage of its off guarded position. Her blade barely managed to pierce the skin before a new limb bent around at her. Its bladed arm lashed out at her leaving a deep cut in her right shoulder as she fell backwards away from the hollow. Steph was still in transition trying to reach her, but could only catch her from her fall seeing that he had arrived too late. They landed on the ground staring up at the hollow that turned its upper body around unnaturally towards them. “It’s too fast,” said Haruka holding her wounded shoulder.

“We have to keep focused or its spiritual pressure will overwhelm us.” The hollow quickly slithered down the warehouse coming at them again with even more armed appendages than before. It forced the two to break and split up trying once more to attack it from different sides. However, each attempt that they made only went to prove how strong the hollow was. Steph was still feeling the fatigue from his last fight making his strength less than he was used to. It only continued to serve to slow its offense and defense.

Another swing from the hollow sent Steph flying backwards crashing into a neighboring building. It left a small crater in the wall. His body was stuck for the moment with Haruka franticly trying to fend off the hollow while losing ground. The wound on Steph’s arm began to bleed once more as his first aid had become undone. He could feel the renewed pain in his body stabbing at him. ‘This is getting us nowhere… It dodges my kidou and its too quick for my Zanpakuto…’ Steph watched Haruka be flung away from the hollow building his strength back. Charging at the hollow through shunpo, Steph arrived to keep it away from Haruka, but was deflected back by its limbs once again. As he sailed through the air he fired off another kidou spell that it managed to evade and follow through to chase him.

Steph stood his ground barely parrying the first wave of swipes at him. The next was hammered down on him sending vibrations through his back. It felt as though his muscles were going to burst from the strain, but he held somehow. ‘I’ve got to buy time for Haruka!’ He took the next violent barrage finally snapping his defenses. The hollow’s blade knocked away his Zanpakuto and buried into his left shoulder threatening to cleave him into two were not for his hand. In mad desperation, Steph’s eyes glowed momentarily as his hand came up grabbing the bladed arm bare handed quickly soaking his hand in his own blood from the sliced palm that gripped the blade. There was a moment in the hollow’s deep empty eyes where it paused in confusion before roaring as Steph unleashed an upward slash from his Zanpakuto leaving a stretched wound across its belly. It made the hollow back up twitching for moment in pain as Steph felt like he was going to collapse.

However, the hollow was far from being finished. The attack by Steph was deep, but there was still plenty of fight left in it. In fact, the wound did not seem to be slowing it down away as it came charging at a weakened Steph.

Haku Ishikawa had no luxury of splitting his attention. He was oblivious to the rave and frantic violence around him that did not encompass the hollow before him. He had reached out, dividing his concentration to see Haruka and had paid for it. The vicious thing had run him through and now his shoulder splintered with pain. He had a true scar now.

The nagging need to expand his reishi as he did in the fight before was pawing at him. To expose himself as such a freak before a subordinate and moreover before Haruka was unacceptable. It would be better to die. And yet, he had no Shikai that would come to his rescue. It was this blasphemous hollow versus purely his skill with kido and a blade. Repelling six successive blows reminded him that he was faster than the hollow now. For how long would that remain the case?

His vision was still blurry from the drop in blood pressure and his lightheadedness was peaking. He tried focusing, spinning his head towards swordsmanship tactics. ‘Forms, Haku. Forms, baka!’ La Verdadera Destreza, Bolognese, Dardi, Cavalgar, Mordhau, Langort, the names literally rang in his head as he smacked away attack after attack. This was not conventional blade-to-blade engagement! None of the masters could repel this violence…

Straining to deny the endless gamut of weapon appendages distracted Haku from the whip of the beast’s tail. There was a sonic crack as it swatted him back at an impossible velocity. He had time to summon an unspoken blast of Shakkaho, Hado 31, as he flew backwards into a tangle of metal rebar. The blast of the hado impacted the hollow, flinging it back similarly into the warehouse walls. The very collision seemed to completely test the building’s stability.

Haku groaned. He could literally feel where he had impacted the rebar and it had wrapped around him, tying him up in a Gordian knot of steel. Haku had to scrape at the last little bit of resolve not to expand his reishi and crush both of the hateful things like insects. He was making a poor show for a fifth seat. Haku squeezed his blood from the upper shoulder of his uwagi and pushed up from the steel. The bars bent easily as he stood. He cut the remaining ones away with two fluid slashes. It was pleasant, at least, to see that his opponent was suffering along with him. The thing was pitifully scrambling and wrenching itself free from the wall.

Haku brushed the rubble from his tattered and stained uwagi. His hair was in a complete state, partially speckled with blood and blown back from around his face so that his black-circled eyes were perfectly visible and squinted with pain. He had consequently broken several fingernails and was marked with filth and slivers of metal. Blood had run down his leg and soaked his tabi and stained his geta.

He was incredibly hungry at the moment. A salad or maybe some fried rice sounded best until he thought of a big plate of Buddha’s delight and a cup of Gunpowder green tea. He would’ve even let Haruka stuff his mouth shut with one of those greasy baozi again. Perhaps it was the thought of comfort that spurred him on and made him realize that he would no longer hold back.

What happened next was nishkarma, a flash of genius that wasn’t a reaction or a plotted battle plan. It was action without thought. Tensing his last penultimate wind at fighting, Haku seared across the battlescape, traded his sword to his left hand as it flared black for only a micro-instant and dramatically severed the hollow in two equal halves. The tradeoff was catching it’s scythe-like arm in his back, dipping into his flesh, disconnecting muscle.

As the thing violently died, screaming and thrashing, Haku had but to wonder… Had they noticed the quick spike in his reishi? How could such a display be normal…fighting to a standstill until he suddenly wiped the foe away in an instant? Where was the Buddha’s delight? What about his cup of tea, now? Could he help the others? Could he even keep standing? Haku felt sore with pains both dull and sharp. He doubted he could aim a kido correctly or even swing a sword. He was okay, or he would be in a minute. ‘just need to sit down for a second. Just one more scar.’ He thought, as he slid down to the wet concrete. ‘I am okay…’

There was little strength left him at that point. The attack that he made felt like it had drained everything out of him and yet the hollow was still persistent. Steph was not certain if he could even move to evade the charging beast. It drew closer to him with its bladed arms shining under the moonlight looking thirsty. He tried to test his body lifting up his Zanpakuto, his left arm was not moving for him. His right hand hefted the heavy sword making for a weak defense as he could almost feel the air being displaced from the charging mass. ‘Is this it?’ wondered Steph trying to keep his eyes focused on the enemy.

The blades were surrounding him as the moments squeezed by for him. His body tensed up trying to brace for the imminent attack and the pain that would soon be coming. An immense roar from the hollow reverberated through Steph and the area. He kept waiting for the attack. Waiting, it never came to him and then I saw Haruka. She was on the back of the hollow, missed the head, but managed to dig a deep wound across its back with her Zanpakuto halting the hollow in pain before it could finish off Steph. Haruka was holding on to her sword with it still embedded into the beast, left to be tossed around.

“…Haruka…” Steph said softly being caught partly in amazement.

She was flung off the back of the hollow with her Zanpakuto soaked into the dark blood of the monster. In its most recent memory Haruka was the enemy and so it turned around furious from the attack. Haruka looked far more alert and ready to fight than Steph, so she encouraged the hollow to chase her. The two wounds that it had taken were slowing it down and reducing its strength. It was becoming a more manageable fight for her, but it was still very strong and she remained fatigued from the previous encounters. They parried and ran about the street leaving destruction in their wake.

After it had all passed through Steph, he had felt like he lost the strength in his body. It became even more difficult for him to move, but he pushed himself forward. “I’ve got to help, Haruka…” Once his legs sluggishly began to move he was able to remember how to walk. It turned into a run quickly and he began to follow them trying to come up with a plan. Unfortunately, the only thing he could think of was too difficult with how they were moving.

Their battle had come into a small side road with Haruka fending off wild flurries from the hollow. It was becoming desperate for her with her losing strength and the hollow seemingly becoming empowered by its pain. Steph arrived behind them raising up his hand hoping that he would be able signal Haruka. There was a long gap between, but he got her attention and they were able to silently plan between each other. She knew what she had to do. Haruka pulled in the hollow leading it in further into the road until it was nearly boxed in. It was there that she stood her ground holding the position and setting in her defense as the hollow pounded on her sword repeatedly.

Steph focused his mind through the exhaustion to clear away the fog in his mind. He pointed his fingers at the hollow feeling the kidou beginning to be formed. “Bakudo #61 Rukujyoukourou!” Six flat triangles of light appeared around the hollow quickly thrust in at it restraining its movements. Haruka saw her opportunity and jumped up to meet the hollow’s head. Her Zanpakuto flashed brightly leaving a deep wound in the face of the hollow with the mask cleaved in two. It was soon disappearing leaving Haruka and Steph exhausted.

Haruka being the one in a little better shape than Steph, helped to support him as they walked back to the warehouse where Haku was. They could not sense the hollow he was fighting any longer, so they assumed it was dead and he had won.

Haku lifted his head at the approaching forms of Steph and Haruka. A simple spasm of relief made his head reel as he stood. Haruka’s empathetic eyes were sharp. They seemed to want to say: “You were hurt, you idiot.” The look reminded Haku that he was drenched in blood. His pain had seemed to have faded away though. Haruka was supporting Steph as the both of them formed a pitiful huddle inside the warehouse.

“You both did well.” Haku said, using his tone to make the compliment as inconspicuous as possible.

“Are you alright, Ishikawa-san?” Steph managed.

“Perfect.”

“You don’t look it.” Haku shot Haruka a mild glare for the comment, but it lasted only a second. Her eyes gave her an unfair advantage at glaring and Haku couldn’t compete.

“I’m not the only one that looks worse for wear.” Haku creaked, with a cough. “This mission will not be anyone‘s last stand, is that clear? We will all suffer the embarrassment of retreating if we can‘t pull off our encounters more gracefully.” Haku stroked a persistent lock of hair that dangled in front of his right eye. He squeezed the blood from it and brushed it back. “Do either of you feel you can’t go on?”

“I’m perfect.” Haruka said, acidly.

“I’ll be okay, too.” Steph added.

“We’re agreed, then? We’ll tempt fate one more time.” Haku cleared his throat and looked away and then down. “I find that now is a good moment for me to tell you that I don’t have a shikai.”

“What?” Steph blinked.

“I’ve heard.” Haruka mumbled. “And if we run into something you can’t deal with?” Haku harrumphed, readjusting his uwagi. All of his emotions were uncharacteristically showing, he was amalgamated nervousness and arrogance.

“I said I didn’t have a Shikai. I didn’t say I was incompetent.” He wrung his hands. “But should you notice anything out of the ordinary about my fighting techniques, I will thank you for not spreading it around the gossip column. I hadn’t intended to use such…techniques, but…”

“What are you babbling about?” Haruka blurted out, impatiently. Haku made another pitiable attempt at glaring and let the subject drop. The awkward silence had hardly gotten it’s affairs arranged when a distant hum of spiritual pressure started to near. It felt like an approaching earthquake.

“But…” Haku persisted. “I have to.” His eyes surfed from Steph’s expression to Haruka’s and back again. “I’ll take the first round with this one.” Haku said, smiling.

“You can barely walk.” Haruka growled.

Haku walked past her and pulled his uwagi over his head. It flapped like a flag before it hit the concrete with a wet slap. Haku felt the cold plain air of Tokyo brace him. His upper torso was a map of sinewy and correct muscle, marked with scars. His skin was pallid and thin. Blood stained his back and the nasty wound the last hollow had marked him with, was still livid from shock and bleeding. Mayonaka Naru whistled from it’s scabbard and Haku winced with the fear of touching it, once again. The more mortal he felt, the sharper Mayonaka’s bite seemed to get. He felt the earthquake rumble closer. It was not a huge hollow, but a heavy one. It’s spiritual pressure alone was as subtle as a chainsaw and just as quiet.

Haku closed his eyes and he could feel it drawing near. It was something the captains and vice captains should be dealing with, if they could’ve been bothered. ‘This isn’t a salad day hollow.’ But thinking such thoughts only reminded him of how famished he was.

“It's too strong!” Warned Haruka. Haku smiled as his left hand shot up, blackening like it was in a fire. It was wreathed in a black vacuum and the meager spare reishi particles in the warehouse seemed to wink out of existence.

“Let’s go dark and see what we find, hmm?” Haku murmered, his usual creak sonorated like he was talking in a tunnel.

The wall of the warehouse exploded, making gangway for a hollow just slightly taller and larger than Haku, himself. Was it an arrancar? Haku knew it wasn’t. It was nothing so refined, but a plastic substitute. It had blade-like antler extensions atop a mask that looked like a court jester. It’s eyes were wickedly arranged so that they peered like black glass spies from within the mask. A shrill howl of laughter crackled through static reishi as it saw Haku standing against it alone.

In answer, Haku let his hand flare and the laughter died as his Reishi literally tripled before all witnesses. All their fights with three consecutive hollows of reasonable strength had left, in the air, enough reishi to reach and breach Vice-Captain level. He felt his reishi inflate and he had to hold it, much like holding one’s breath. Holding it this way for an entire fight was unthinkable, he would pass out. He consoled himself that all that was necessary was to cripple the thing.

He could hear the witch’s voice grow louder with the increased reishi and the hair on his neck stood in attention. ‘Please… PLEASE… Leave me alone, witch. Please…’ Haku’s zanpakuto was huming with power that every twitch of it’s blade sent a pulse.

“Does the Shinigami want to fight us?” It cackled. Haku assented with a whip of his zanpakuto. It rubbed it’s black fingers together. “We are Beltennae. And we are hungry.” To Haku’s astonishment, it produced a sword from it’s waist. ‘Impossible. It’s not an arrancar! That must be part of it’s body.’ It started rushing forward. The blades clashed and the warehouse rattled from the sheer pressure, as if to collapse. The blitzing riposte from the hollow surprised Haku. But he managed to deflect it into the concrete with a nice dodge and parry. The blade sank in and caught long enough for Haku to walk up the blunt edge of the sword, kick the hollow to the face and sever the blade halfway with a backward stroke of Mayonaka. As it flew backwards Haku could see a hairline crack form in it’s mask from the kick.

It was becoming more of a strain to maintain the tripled level of reishi and soon he would have to step down and let the others treat with the thing. Such a thought prompted a panicked flashstep and a follow up attack. He literally was sword-fighting the hollow as it flew backwards from his kick. The engagement was a disappointment, though, as it returned the two quick attacks he was able to make before stopping itself. It stood and snapped a piece of it’s sword off, making the end a jagged point that looked quite dangerous. ‘Not much left to parry, Haku…’ He warned himself.

It was in close in no time, making jabs and swift extensions with no real lateral movements, nothing to grab in terms of bladework. He dodged most of the attacks except for two hard punches to his stomach, leaving two deep bloody holes in his abdomen. If his reishi hadn’t been tripled the two wounds would’ve been instantly fatal. Haku flipped backward and presented faux attack, so that when the hollow's parry arrived, his sword moved from the pressure, letting the parry slip past. He gave it a brutal swordslash to it’s side, rechambered and took it’s left arm, leaving only it's weapon arm. It responded with a scream and a blast of fire from it’s mouth.

“Shit!” Haku cried, laughing as he dodged the main stream of fire. It charred his left side a bit, burning that side of his long hair. He retaliated with a quick blow to it’s chest, which gushed blood. He raised his hand. “That’s it! I’m done! It’s all yours!” Haku called out with a laugh and flipped back. His eyes tightened at the hollow. “Oh, by the way, before I go… Bow!” He held his left hand toward the hollow and let his reishi go with a fit of relief. The shockwave of free reishi brought it down on it’s knees. Haku bowed back and motioned to Steph and Haruka to it. He had to situate himself and keep from bleeding to death.