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Part 1[]
Seireitei, Thirteenth Division Barracks. Dusk.
The Soul Society, despite the many trials and tribulations it endured, was finally in a state of relative peace, being at it's calmest in years, having no notable threats apart from the standard Hollow skirmishes and the occasional outburst of Rukongai citizens either complaining or making a ruckus. The entire world of the souls was in a state of calm and harmony, all apart from one place. The heart of the Soul Society, the Seireitei, where the death gods called Shinigami operated, was still fraught with troubles, some troubles being more about the mundanities of the jobs at hand more than the seriousness. Despite the good standing of peace in the Soul Society, the Shinigami were still faced with the still flowing pile of Hollows and aggressive Souls that accompanied the rather boring paperwork and work that was required to keep the regulations of their world in check.
The Thirteenth Division Barracks were quite silent, due to the late time most of the Shinigami had either turned in or were doing paperwork in doors, leaving but a few individuals outside either partaking in some limited relaxation or still doing their last remnants of labor work. Out of the individuals that were outside, one such Shinigami was on the roof of the nearby building, laying down with his arms propping his head up as he quietly gazed at the clear sky, looking at the stars twinkling above him, his black hair spread out messily as he did so while his grey eyes slowly scanned the heavens. While the young man was doing this however, another Shinigami had approached the building he was relaxing on.
"Hey Kei! You done that paperwork we were given today?", the Shinigami asked rather brashly, Kei, who wasn't fazed by his colleague's loud voice, merely closed his eyes in response to him as he opened his mouth.
"No.", he replied firmly, his abrupt answer leaving a rather awkward atmosphere between the two Shinigami.
"Erm, then shouldn't you get onto doing it rather than lazin' around?", the Shinigami asked, his voice slightly shaky due to Kei's rather blunt answer beforehand. Upon hearing the other Shinigami's question, Kei loudly sighed so as to signify being slightly annoyed before replying.
"It's perfectly feasible to do at night, isn't it?", Kei aksed, his voice tinged with annoyance as he resumed starting at the sky.
"I was only asking a question, you don't have to snap at me man!", the Shinigami angrily said before going away to continue his duties, muttering under his breath as he did so. Kei ignored the Shinigami as he continued staring at the stars, feeling the cool air breeze past as he lay there. Once again, the young Shinigami was approached by someone, a young woman who had long, reddish orange hair tied up in a ponytail, as she jumped up onto the roof of the building and started to walk towards Kei, Kei himself glanced at her sideways before slowly getting up into a sitting position.
"Hey Kei.", the woman greeted Kei with a friendly voice before beginning to sit down next to her fellow Shinigami, surprisingly, Kei didn't object to her company but instead observed her sitting down.
"Hey Chiyoko.", he replied bluntly, keeping the same amount of coldness in his voice as he did with the other Shinigami he talked to.
"How you been doing? You know, apart from all of the paperwork." Chiyoko asked him, Kei lay back down again before replying.
"Nothing really, yesterday I was on patrol, that was it.", Kei answered in a bland tone, his eyes moved from Chiyoko to becoming affixed onto the sky.
"So, the same as me then huh?", Chiyoko sighed in a exaggerated way, chuckling as she saw Kei's eyes flit back towards her for a second before returning to the now cloudier sky.
"Hey, I heard from Hideo that you were shouting at him for some reason. What's that about?", Chiyoko asked. Kei got up again and turned to her, her voice signifying that she was curious rather than trying to shout at him about it, Kei sighed lightly before replying.
"He wanted to know if I had done today's paperwork, I said no and then he accused me of being lazy, then I threw a remark at him about how I do my work at night and he went away, that's all.", Kei rushed out, relaying the story as quick as he could while making it sound natural, Chiyoko sighed as she listened to the story before lifting her head to to meet Kei's eyes.
"Huh, I see then, he said you shouted at him about it rather saying you just give him the cold shoulder. Ah well, he probably exaggerated a little, that's all.", Chiyoko said, shrugging at the idea, "However you shouldn't snap at someone when doesn't know how you do your work.", Chiyoko added, forcing Kei to accept defeat.
"I was more annoyed at his manner but fine." Kei admitted, raising his head to look at the now overcast and darkened sky, he got up as he looked at the still sitting Chiyoko.
"It's getting late, I'm turning in.", Kei said before jumping down from the roof of the building and walking off slowly, Chiyoko followed suit before stopping and turning back to Kei.
"Night Kei! Let's hope we get an assignment that's a bit more exciting tomorrow huh?", Chiyoko said joyously, waving at the young Shinigami as he slowly walked away.
"Mmhmm.", Kei hummed in agreement, lifting his hand and giving a lazy wave while continuing to walk away, Chiyoko merely shook her head slightly in a comic fashion before turning back to her own path, smiling slightly as she did so.
Kei proceeded towards his own barracks, heading for his own quarters when he finally reached them, closing the door behind him as he entered. He got some water from the kitchen before sitting at the table, as he drank his drink, Kei eyed the last parts of the paperwork that he needed to finish, it was about some pointless squabble in one of the more civilized areas of the Rukongai, with some rather well known locals, and while Kei thought it was truly meaningless, a small number of his Division was handed paperwork regarding the case along with instructions to write down each of the citizens recollections of the incident. As he finished his drink, Kei thought back to his chat with Chiyoko while staring at the mundane paperwork, an small wry smile appearing on his face.
"Let's hope."
Part 2[]
Seireitei, Thirteenth Division Barracks. Morning.
Kei walked into the main hall of his Division with the collection of papers that was the Rukongai incident paperwork he was assigned, all of it finished. The young Shinigami approached another Shinigami, a woman with long brown hair and bright blue eyes, she was wearing a bronze looking badge with the Division's insignia on it, a sign of her position as Lieutenant.
"Here is my paperwork Lieutenant Kobayashi.", Kei said in his best polite impression, still sounding slightly disinterested despite his effort.
"Thank you 6th Seat Hirata-san. I will have these filed right away.", Miyuki replied with an enthusiastic vigor, which Kei picked up on, the Lieutenant was always particularly enthusiastic about her work, most likely due to her pride in rank, which helped her get along with most of the Division, Kei merely seeing her as a good Lieutenant who did her job. As he started to move away from Miyuki, she instead called over for him again.
"Wait Hirata-san.", she called out, Kei turned around, his face painted with curiosity.
"Yes?", he asked in response.
"Your schedule has changed for today, last night we got reports of Hollows in the outer Western Rukongai, killing numerous Souls, so Captain Iwasaki has chosen you along with 5th Seat Mori, 4th Seat Sugawara and 3rd Seat Hanamura to investigate and kill the Hollows if they are the source of the problem. Additional orders for if the cause is something or someone else is to capture them for imprisonment.", Miyuki explained.
"Question, isn't Rukongai jurisdiction the 7th Division's forte, why our Division?", Kei replied in response to his mission briefing.
"Truth be told the 7th Division are also dealing with other Hollow related cases and are short handed in skilled combatants, our Captain volunteered for us to assist.", Miyuki replied to Kei's question, Kei merely turned around at her explanation of the situation.
"I'll be meeting up with the others then.", Kei finished bluntly, walking out of the hall.
Leaving a slightly annoyed Miyuki Kobayashi, Kei left the hall and proceeded to find the small group that was Chiyoko, Ren Sugawara and Eiji Hanamura. Ran was the 4th Seat of the Division, with her main strengths being blindingly using brute force to senselessly beat Hollows into the ground, she herself was brash in both accent and demeanor but was overall relatively nice, while her antics annoyed Kei quite a bit, both he and Chiyoko didn't mind her competitive nature much, with the latter of the two being nearly as bad as the 4th Seat. Eiji was the 3rd Seat of the Division and was the appointed field leader of the Division, he was strict, determined and had good leadership and communication skills, which also led him to being somewhat cocky at times, with his insistent commands often angering Kei quite a lot.
"Ah, so you finally arrived Hirata-san. We shall be heading off in a short while.", Eiji stated firmly, his posture flawless and strong as Kei walked past him, taking minimal notice to the superior officers words as he headed over to the two other Shinigami of the group.
"Hey Kei, guess we got our wish then eh?", Chiyoko said joyfully laughing slightly at her comment while Kei made a small nod to notify his agreement with her.
"Hey Kei, you got picked for this to then eh?", Ran shouted out loud, "Hope we gonna get some strong ones so we can finally let loose!", the energetic Shinigami followed, cracking her knuckles in anticipation.
"For once I share that unbearable enthusiasm, I too want to actually do what a Shinigami should instead of do bloody paperwork all day.", Kei replied, his backhanded comment going straight over Ran's head. As the trio finished conversing Eiji moved towards them, giving them all a look of determination that he usually wore.
"Let us move out.", he said strongly using Shunpo to lead the team, with the rest of the following suit.
Western Rukongai, District #75, Orimugi (織り麦, Weave Wheat).
The 4 Shinigami that were Kei, Chiyoko, Ran and Eiji arrived in the District that was apparently targeted by the Hollows, despite the job being a rather boring one the prospect of a potential Hollow fight kept all but Eiji, who was still focused on his duty, excited.
As they walked down the road they noticed all the residents cower into the planks that were their houses, only a few, toughened citizen stayed outside, however they nary moved a muscle in the presence of the 4 seated officers. Suddenly two figures moved from a small huddle of citizens, walking out and facing the shinigami with cold, menacing eyes, the two individuals were men, with a rugged and battle worn look to both of them. As the two parties came closer, Eiji took the lead and started to converse with the two citizens.
"We are the-", he began, however he was interrupted by one of the men.
"We're not retards! We know who you are dumbass, you should know who we are to.", he bellowed, showing off his confidence in front of the 4 death gods, Kei merely sighed while Ran and Chiyoko didn't react in the slightest, Eiji's eyes narrowed as he continued.
"Yes we do...let's get to business then, firstly-", Eiji was interrupted again, this time by the other man.
"Hold on. We didn't agree to just give you the information, we want something in return.", he jeered at Eiji, showing his yellowed teeth. While Eiji and the two women didn't respond to him, Kei gritted his teeth angrily, a vein popping on his forehead as he withheld his anger by a margin.
"Where was the location of the Hollow attack?" Eiji asked, ignoring the request of a payment, as expected, the Rukongai citizens piped up again.
"We want a reward for the nice things we're doin' for yeh spoiled Shinigami! We're not spillin' if you're not givin'!", the man shouted, spitting at Eiji who merely took the demand head on. Kei, exasperating as he did so, stepped forward as he confronted the two men.
"Fine, we shall give you a reward for this information.", he seethed in a grave voice, his anger suppressed and restrained, but noticeable in his tone as he spat his words at the citizens.
"Your reward is your life, understand. If you don't help us, you, and this District will die by this Hollow we're trying to pursue, if you do, we shall grant you a gift of life.", he explained, his harsh words piercing the group that was around him,
"Hirata. Enough.", Eiji stated strictly, Kei ignored him as he waited for a response.
"Who the fuck are you, we want a proper reward now!", the citizen barked at Kei, and with that, Kei's fuse burnt out, the young Shinigami swiftly drew his blade and positioned it in a way where he could slash at the man's throat.
"If you value material goods over your life maybe I should take your lives, scum like you don't deserve it anyway.", Kei murmured into the man's ear, the 6th Seat was oblivious to the outcries of his allies and the man's cohort, he stared directly into the scared citizen's eyes, waiting for a response.
"T-The Hollows showed up in the f-f-forest, killed a buncha guys, r-real strong.", the man coughed up, tripping over his own words as he did so, as he spluttered out the information Kei removed his sword from the man's neck, leaving a thin, long cut on it as he sheathed his Zanpakutō.
"We'll kill the Hollows if they show up at this location.", he confirmed before walking off with the 3 now bewildered Shinigami Officers in his wake.
"Hirata! What the hell were you thinking, you could of cost us the mission! This is being reported when we return!", Eiji bellowed behind Kei, who ignored him.
"Damn Kei-san, I know that guy was a dick but ya didn't have to do that to 'im.", Ran said in a relieved but anxious voice, she wasn't used to seeing the normally stoic and silent Kei snap so violently.
"Hmph.", Kei responded, his grunt signifying what seemed to be a weak apology of sorts.
Chiyoko paused for a second before speaking up, her eyes looking at the back of her friends head as if trying to read his emotions from it.
"Kei, let's just do this mission now, we'll talk about this later.", she said in a serious but concerned tone of voice, Kei didn't turn around to face her, but did respond.
"Right.", he said coldly.
Part 3[]
Western Rukongai, Orimugi Forest.
The group of Shinigami walked into the forest, still perturbed by Kei's actions in the village, they kept quiet as they entered a clearing, the 4 of them started looking around in silence for the Hollows, however, as they did so a figure was fast approaching the group, ready to ambush the clueless Shinigami.
"Ya feel anything you guys?", Ran shouted across the clearing to both Kei and Chiyoko, who both turned around at her voice.
"No, we haven't found anything yet.", Chiyoko replied, some vigor in her voice as she enthusiastically turned back to search some more, with Kei merely giving the 5th Seat a puzzled look.
"Are you trying to find the Hollow's first?", he asked in a straightforward manner.
"I wanna beat Ran-san!", Chiyoko confirmed Kei's beliefs, while she was down to earth Chiyoko liked her competitions, regardless of the seriousness of her situation. Just as the two stopped finishing though Eiji signaled them all.
"It's here-", the 3rd Seat began shouting before an explosion flung him across the clearing, landing near the two bewildered Shinigami that were Kei and Chiyoko, Eiji quickly got up and observed with his fellow Shinigami what just hit him.
"Are you okay Hanamura-san?", Chiyoko asked, shocked at how the commanding officer of their group was just flung straight across a forest clearing. Eiji, with a grunt of pain, forced himself up and got into a fighting stance.
"Get ready! It's coming.", Eiji replied, ignoring Chiyoko's words of worry and instead focusing fiercely on the spot from where he was thrown from, from the shadows, a large silhouette made itself known, Kei, who had motioned towards Ran, stared at the beast in a state of mild awe and indifference.
The Hollow towered over them, being nearly twice the size of what a normal Hollow would appear as, it's large frame somewhat resembling that of a fur-less bear with a grey skin, it's back and the majority of it's long arms was covered in a number of flat, plated spines, all of which seemed to be in a constant state of moving, as if they had a mind of their own. The Hollow's legs were also devoid of any hair, however it's skin was a darker shade than the rest, the legs ended with feet that resembled the feet of an elephant more than anything else, it's mask was a complete, ivory white, it's shape being fairly angular and bulky, the teeth of the mask were blunt and extended across the mask, it had circular eye holes and large horns protruding from the sides where they angled downwards past the chin. Finally, the Hollow's hands were replaced with rocky, grey club like appendages which were most likely the cause of Eiji's trip across the clearing.
"So that's the Hollow that is the cause of the killings.", Kei stated, the Hollow seemed to roar in response, slamming one of it's clubbed hands into the ground, causing the earth to quake slightly.
"Let's get goin' then!", Ran shouted, setting off towards the large Hollow with no regard for her own safety, she used Shunpo to boost herself to it's position, to which the large Hollow responded by preparing to slam it's club like hands down on her, Ran, seeing through the telegraphed attack, performed an athletic back-flip in order to dodge the incoming slamming attack, landing on one knee in preparation for the quake that the Hollow's "fists" caused. The 4th Seat then shifted around to the Hollow's side and attempted to deliver a powerful kick to it's abdomen, however, much to Ran's surprise the Hollow managed to rather skillfully turn and counter her attack, delivering a weak, but still fairly forceful sweep with it's arm which managed to block her attack and throw the Shinigami back a fair distance.
"Tch, smarter than he looks.", Ran grumbled to herself, back across the clearing, Kei held his Zanpakutō ready to draw it, causing Chiyoko to look at him in a confused manner.
"I'm going.", the 6th Seat stated bluntly, speeding off at the Hollow before Chiyoko could make her voice heard to him.
Kei shot towards the Hollow exceedingly quickly, despite not using Shunpo to do so, he reached the beast and performed a initial slash at the Hollow, drawing his sword in a horizontal fashion, aiming to slice it's torso section in two. However, the large Hollow once again somehow managed to respond to the attack coming towards it in time, using it's free arm to bat the sword downwards before raising it's other arm to punch Kei.
"Kei!", Ran shouted from behind the colossal Hollow, Ran ran up to the Hollow's behind and kicked the backs of it's legs as hard as she could. The Hollow reacted to the kick, it's balance disrupted temporarily by Ran as it thrust its body forward in order to right itself, allowing Kei to take the chance given to him by his fellow Shinigami to perform an upward slash, hitting the Hollow directly in the chest, however, despite his attack making a solid hit, only a small and rather benign cut appeared on it's chest, bleeding lightly as the Hollow roared once more and threw it's hammer hands down heavily, causing a shockwave which managed to blow both Ran and Kei away from it, the two of them slamming into the ground heavily a short distance away.
Chiyoko stared at the sight that was taking hold in front of her, shocked at seeing her friends getting rather effortlessly thrown aside by the Hollow. Eiji, having recovered from his own run in with the Hollow, came up beside Chiyoko, his Zanpakutō drawn and his eyes fully locked onto the massive beast.
"We're going to have to all attack it at once in order to do anything, Mori, use your Shikai to hold it's attention while me and the others attack.", the 3rd Seat explained to Chiyoko.
"Roger! But what about Kei?", Chiyoko asked, knowing that her friend would most likely ignore Hanamura in spite of their situation, however Eiji shook his head in response.
"It matters not, his objective is the same as ours, and if push comes to shove he can act as a distraction.", Eiji explained his thought process to Chiyoko, who merely gave a confident nod as the 3rd called out to his colleagues, "Hirata! Sugawara! Regroup!".
Ran, who had since recovered and started preparing to counter attack, heard her name being called out by Eiji and subsequently changed her objective, using Shunpo to move back to Eiji's and Chiyoko's position. Kei however, merely looked at his superior with an aggressive face, supporting himself on one knee, he waited for a couple of seconds before moving back to their position, turning to face Eiji when he got back.
"Yes?", he asked in an annoyed tone, the 6th Seat flitted his eyes back to where the Hollow was, who had stopped roaring and pounded the ground, finally setting it's sights upon the group, however it only decided to move slowly towards them, at no faster than walking pace. Eiji snapped Kei out of his observation as he was explaining the plan.
"We can't damage this Hollow ourselves, so we're all gonna attack it at once. Mori will distract it with her Shikai so we can all get hits in without it retaliating before we can get them off.", Eiji explained, to which Kei sheathed his Zanpakutō, turning to the Hollow.
"I'm just gonna attack it, alright?", Kei finally replied before running off to the right. Eiji placed his hand to his face, sighing before turning to Ran and Chiyoko.
"Let's go!", the 3rd Seat finally commanded, both him and Ran following Kei into the front lines while Chiyoko drew her blade and held it by her side.
"Ignite, Moesashi."
The Wakizashi that Chiyoko had been holding started glowing, before changing shape and morphing into what looked like a chrome plated gauntlet, fitting perfectly over her right hand, a burning, orange Reiatsu covering the weapon as Chiyoko herself ran into battle.
The Hollow made a guttural roar as it noticed the four Shinigami approaching it from all sides, Kei had merely charged for it directly while Eiji and Ran both used Shunpo to quickly move to the beast's side, Chiyoko, also using the high speed maneuvering technique, zoomed past Kei and reeled back her armoured fist in order to punch the Hollow. She threw the punch just as the Hollow threw it's own, she wanted to hit it's armoured hands, the best place she had to create the sparks she needed.
The two attacks collided perfectly, Chiyko's gauntlet slamming into the naturally armoured hammer hand of the Hollow. Unsurprisingly the Hollow's blow proved to be too strong in terms of raw power in comparison to Chiyoko's attack, causing the young Shinigami to get knocked back by the force created, however, before she landed, Chiyoko performed a skillful flip before landing on both feet, her unarmed hand already raised as she snapped her fingers together as orange sparks floated around the Hollow, created from the clash that had just happened.
"Kogasu."
The Hollow was engulfed in flames as the sparks exploded into a small fireworks show, each individual ember igniting to swathe the almost pitiful Hollow in flames, causing it to reel in pain and seemingly shock as it instinctively tried to bat the fire away, despite it being a futile attempt. Eiji waited a moment before calling out his order.
"Now!", he shouted, gripping his Zanpakutō as he rushed towards the dazed Hollow, however Kei and Ran had struck first.
The two Shinigami, now next to the still flailing Hollow, drew back their weapons and both attacked it simultaneously, with Ran pulling back her blade in order to stab the beast while Kei held his Zanpakutō in a horizontal position in order to bisect the Hollow. The two of them performed their attacks, while Eiji, who had been lagging slightly behind, jumped up and brought his blade down onto the Hollow's head, aiming to split it down the middle and him and Kei quarter the beast in one fell swoop.
However, as all three swords came crashing down onto the Hollow, they all were met with extreme resistance as it was struck, however the blades started sinking into the Hollow's flesh and caused it to howl in pain. Promptly ignoring the less painful fire in order to quell the more immediate pain it was suffering, the Hollow start swinging it's arms madly in order to throw of the three assailants. One of it's clubbed arms managed to fly upwards and connect solidly with Eiji's stomach, flinging him out of the air and into on of the nearby trees, the strength of the blow being suffice enough to allow Eiji's momentum to snap the large trunk as if it was merely a twig, causing the tree to collapse and fall down next to the 3rd seat while it's other arm slammed down on Kei's back, sending him straight to the ground next to the Hollow violently, his body reeling as he lost consciousness due to the impetus of the blow and the heavy landing he had received.
"Shit!", Ran blurted out in a state of panic, she immediately drew her sword out of the Hollow's chest, quickly picking up Kei and retreating backwards, so as the 6th Seat wasn't in immediate danger to being pummeled. Chiyoko, who had remained on standby, merely watched in horror as she saw Ran carry her unconscious friend away and Eiji still on the ground near the edge of the clearing just as the 4th Seat had arrived with Kei in arms.
"How can one Básillian-level Hollow be this powerful?", Chiyoko asked, her voice shaking as the Hollow's form became clear to see. It had taken rather severe damage from the combined might of the three Seated Officers, with Kei's and Ran's attacks having made large gashes and wounds that were bleeding profoundly while Eiji's strike on the Hollow's mask had cracked and broke part of it off, but little else. The Hollow clutched it's head in pain before angrily setting it's sights on the two remaining combatants, it's body fatigued, but still easily able to fight.
"I dunno, but it looks like we're gonna have to go all out if we're gonna kill it, eh Chiyoko?", Ran said, panting as she recovered her stamina to face the formidable beast once again.
"Bring down the hatchet, Kemono'o!", Ran exclaimed, her Katana morphing into a European Longsword/Battle Axe hybrid. The 4th Seat performed one heavy slashing maneuver with her weapon, it's weight and overall feel comfortable in her hands as she gripped the leather Ricasso on her blade, glancing at Chiyoko briefly, only to get the same glance back as a notification of their assault.
Chiyoko used Shunpo to dash up to the Hollow, throwing a punch with her gauntlet of a fist directly at the Hollow's face, however, rather unexpectedly, one of it's rocky fists suddenly collided from Chiyoko's right side, knocking her balance and her attack off course, sparks flying as it did so. Instead of faltering though, Chiyoko used the momentum generated from the Hollow's counter attack and flipped over it's shoulder, kicking the cracked part of it's mask, which duly caused it to cry in pain as it diverted it's attention to protecting the damaged mask as much as it could.
"Kogasu."
The ember like sparks that were dancing around the cowering Hollow once again erupted into a geyser of fire as the Hollow was consumed by the searing flames, lowering it's arms in pain and shock as Ran came up to the Hollow, her Shikai raised and ready to come down onto the Hollow's head. However, like before, just as her blade was approaching the Hollow the Zanpakutō's impetus was hindered once again, as if it had been plunged into a viscous liquid before hitting the Hollow. However, unlike before, Ran saw a odd blueish grey glow emanating from the Hollow's body, while she was observing the odd occurance, the Hollow came to it's senses as the blade came down, it moved to the side rather athletically and punched Ran out of the way, her embedded Zanpakuto, being yanked out of the Hollow's shoulder as it recoiled in pain for a second.
Ran landed a fair distance away, landing on the ground and rolling before stopping, she had been hit hard by the Hollow, her ribs having been broken at the very least. She staggered onto her knees but stopped after feeling a rather sharp pain in her side.
"Shit, looks like it got more than just by ribs.", Ran spluttered, a pained expression on her face as she collapsed onto the ground.
Chiyoko wasted no time worrying about Ran, she couldn't in this situation, she was the last of her team standing, everything they had done up to this point had only injured the Hollow, but hadn't downed it, she only had one chance. Using the element of surprise she had gained from Ran's intervention, Chiyoko drew back her armoured arm and threw her strongest punch, landing it directly in the middle of the Hollow's back. A visible shockwave shot through the masked beast before it flew an impressive distance before landing heavily, however, despite her best efforts, the Hollow once again recovered, staggering up with some difficulty due to it's robust hands.
"How?", Chiyoko said, she wasn't fully fatigued, but she wasn't particularly in top fighting shape at this point either, on top of that her limbs had started to ache because of the tough hide of the Hollow. As the Hollow stood up, it turned to face Chiyoko, moving at a quickening pace in order to pummel her, Chiyoko got into a fighting stance as it approached, sweatdrops rolling down her forehead as she prepared to dodge the Hollow's attack.
"Rend, Hyōjin.", a disembodied voice spoke out, followed shortly by a burst of Reiatsu as the figure reappeared next to the Hollow, the blade of his Zanpakutō clashing with the Hollow's hammer hands. The Shinigami jumped to the side as Chiyoko stared at him, a relieved look already painted on her face since she heard his voice and saw his stony, but serious expression.
"Kei!"
Part 4[]
The Hollow stumbled back in response to Kei's attack, while Kei himself jumped back to where Chiyoko was. He appeared to be fine at first glance, however after a second Chiyoko noticed that her friend had a rather jarring head wound, his blood having come down his face while Kei himself had a pained expression.
"Kei, are you alright?", Chiyoko asked, she was relieved that he was up, but her voice still shook from the sight of the 6th Seat's injuries. Kei, not turning to look at Chiyoko replied to her.
"I'm fine, we need to concentrate on this Hollow.", he said, however, instead of his usual cold and blunt tone, Kei's voice was strained, making it obvious that all his injury had placed more strain on his body that he had cared to mention.
Chiyoko gave her friend a worried look as she submitted to Kei's thought on the situation, this Hollow needed to be vanquished.
"Alright then, let's go.", Chiyoko said, her words rang for mere moments in Kei's ears before the sound of rushing wind drowned them out, the 6th Seat having already made his way back to the Hollow, who had since recovered and had once again put it's sights onto the Shinigami. Having gained the initiative, Kei leapt up to meet the Hollow at face level, his released blade already in position to start descending and guard against the Hollow's incoming uppercut.
"Nokogiri."
As the Hollow's "fist" connected against Kei's blade heavily, however instead of easily knocking the 6th Seat off balance, the Hollow found that it was it's own arm that was being pushed back, it's clubbed hand being forced back by the now extremely fast rotations that the spikes on Kei's Zanpakutō were making. As the spikes clawed at the Hollow's hand, paired with Kei's strength, the blades finally managed to knock the Hollow off balance, creating a small and relatively benign slice in it's hand, however, despite not being noticeably damaged, the Hollow was now completely open to the armoured fist that was Chiyoko's Shikai, the burning gauntlet striking the Hollow in it's side, causing it to get flung into a couple of the trees at the edge of the clearing. As the trunks snapped and fell, Chiyoko landed next to Kei, who had moved away from the Hollow just before the 5th Seat had attacked.
"Did we get him?", Chiyoko asked out loud, looking toward the area where they had just sent the Hollow flying. Kei however, instead of replying to her, raised his blade before plunging it into the ground as he closed his eyes momentarily.
"Mekai no Kiba.", Kei muttered. Kei's blade vibrated violently as it split open, forcing the soft soil apart as new spikes started running across the blade, however, just as they came, they suddenly all started plunging into the wound Kei had made in the ground. As the Shinigami raised his sword out of the ground, a howl of pain was heard from the Hollow, it's figure coming into focus as it started to struggle against what appeared to be the spikes from Kei's Zanpakutō, the small blades binding the Hollow to the ground, preventing it from getting up.
"Now!", Kei exclaimed, his voice carrying a twinge of urgency as he took off to attack the Hollow once more. Chiyoko, not needing to be asked twice complied, using Shunpo to out speed Kei and reach the Hollow first. In a flash, Chiyoko punched the Hollow directly in the chest, causing a small shockwave to surge through the beast while sparks flew all around him, with the now retreating Chiyoko in the sky.
"Kogasu."
Once again, the Hollow became bathed in flame, still being held down by Kei's technique as it slowly cooked in the heat of Chiyoko's fire. The Hollow writhed and squirmed as it tried to break free of it's shackles, the spikes from Kei's Zanpakutō springing free as the Hollow started to break away from them, however, despite it's best efforts the Hollow's struggle had all been for naught as Kei's blade was raised and ready to be brought down upon the beast, both of the 6th Seat's hands grasping the hilt firmly as the blade created a magnificent yellow glow.
"Ryōdan!", Kei shouted, his sword came careening down on the Hollow, it's edge slicing the torso of it's hide cleanly. There was no resistance met. There was no scream of pain from the Hollow's mouth. The moment Kei's blade met the Hollow's skin played out in a single, silent, second. Finally feeling the blade carve into it's flesh, the Hollow cried in pain, it directed it's full attention to it's massive wound, a single, clean cut extending from it's shoulder to it's abdomen as Kei jumped back to where Chiyoko was standing, a look of extreme pain painted across his face as he dropped his Zanpakutō before kneeling on one knee.
"Gah, hah, shit.", Kei spluttered, his breathing had become labored as his right arm hung limp at his side. Chiyoko immediately came to her friend's side, however before she could speak, Kei explained himself.
"I...put too much power into it.", he gasped out. He had thought that would've been enough to finish the Hollow off, however as the 6th Seat saw the Hollow fumble over it's new injury, he could see that it wasn't nearly enough.
"That's enough. Hirata, Mori, I'll take this from here.", a voice had suddenly rung out from behind the two Shinigami, causing them to turn around, only to see Eiji walking slowing towards them. He was in a rough shape due to the heavy blow he suffered from the Hollow, his Shihakushō's obi had come undone, exposing his torso, which had a large, red impact mark on it from when the Hollow had punched the 3rd Seat, however, the most striking thing about Eiji was not only the bleeding from his mouth and head, but also a large gash on his shoulder, the teared fabric of his Shihakushō revealing a large would caused by what could only have been a part of the trunk Eiji had been slammed into. However despite his grievous injuries, Eiji walked on as if he was relatively okay, a stern but pained expression on his face as he reached Kei and Chiyoko.
"You both did well, let me handle this now.", he said calmly, both Shinigami didn't reply as their superior continued his walk towards the Hollow, who had finally recovered and stood up, looking at it's new opponent cautiously, watching Eiji's blade as he rose it above his head, before finally pointing it's tip at the Hollow.
"Petrify, Fushoku."
The barbaric looking Hollow hardly had any time to properly react to Eiji, who had proceeded in using Shunpo to appear in front of the creature, his attack collided with the Hollow's arm, but instead of it being overpowered, once again, the force of a Shinigami's Shikai caused the Hollow to get shoved away. Managing to keep it's balance in spite of Eiji's blow, the Hollow tried to execute a counterattack on the Third Seated officer, however, instead of it's arm moving in response to the Hollow's instincts, it instead twitched briefly before refusing to move, the Hollow glared at it's arm to see that it had been turned into what appeared to be a stone or some sort, it's joints stiffened by the effect that Eiji's Zanpakutō had inflicted upon it.
"How in the....", Chiyoko gasped, stunned at how the Hollow's arm had miraculously turned into rock from seemingly out of nowhere. She turned towards her superior, gazing upon the weapon that he wielded and piecing together the answer that she had been wondering. Eiji, noticing the 5th Seat's initial confusion, took the time that he had gained from the Hollow's own curiosity with it's now earthen arm to explain himself.
"My Zanpakutō's ability allows me to morph one's bodily structure into stone for a short period of time.", Eiji said, still looking directly at his opponent while he described his Shikai's functions to his subordinate. His once elegant sealed blade has transformed into a rather primitive looking club of some sorts, it's handle extending to around 60cm with it's flattened end covered in metal plating, which was stretched down halfway to the handle.
The Hollow meanwhile started tapping his stone arm with his unaltered, but nonetheless robust club like hand. Upon hearing the sound it's arm made as well as the texture of it, the great beast roared in frustration, turning toward Eiji and charging towards him, causing the Shinigami to prepare himself once more. As the Hollow bore upon Eiji, it's clubbed hand already making it's way towards his face, Eiji ducked out of the way attack, his head mere inches underneath what would have been a crushing blow as the air around him was swept away. Having seen an opportunity present itself, Eiji used Shunpo to disappear and reappear behind the Hollow, his club already in motion as it struck it's target squarely in the back before it got flung away from the strength that was put behind the blow. The Hollow roared in protest as it recovered from the assault, the middle portion of it's back now transformed into the same kind of stone that was it's arm, it struggled to get up due it it's back being locked in a hunched position, forcing it to use it's locked arm as a supporting brace for it's weight.
Undeterred, Eiji moved into action once again, employing his Shunpo to move back towards the struggling Hollow, this time not sparing it any mercy as he brought his Zanpakutō down upon the Hollow's head, the weight of the strike both cracking the Hollow's mask as well as causing it to solidify into rock. Screaming in pain, the Hollow instinctively lashed out at the Shinigami for damaging it's one major weakspot, however, instead of being impeded by the ability of Eiji's Shikai, it instead managed the connect a solid blow against Eiji's stomach, it's previously entrapped arm now being free of it's restraints.
"Gyah!", Eiji spluttered as he flew away from the Hollow, managing to flip backwards into a kneeling position, clutching his abdomin as he did so, grunting in pain from the Hollow's counterattack. Chiyoko, having observed the exchange from afar, prepered to once again go into battle to assist the Third Seat, however, before she was able to respond, the Hollow opened up a Garganta and leaped into it in an attempt to flee from them, leaving the now destroyed clearing along with the battered forces that it has come up against.
Part 5[]
Seireitei, Fourh Division Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho. Late afternoon.
The world around the Seireitei was approaching sunset, the capital of the Soul Society being bathed in a deep, orange glow as the sun crawled towards the horizon slowly. The last rays of the day seeping into an open window of one of the 4th Divison's many wards, illuminating the room as many of it's residents were in their beds, recuperating from whatever had placed them in their situations. however, The three beds closest to the window were still in a flux of activity, with a small group of people huddled around them, one of them bearing the badge of a Lieutenant.
"5th Seat Mori, your injuries have been taken care of, you can go back to your barracks now.", the Lieutenant said, his tone was matter of fact, yet it had no animosity or anger behind it. Chiyoko yawned due to fatigue before replying to her superior.
"With all due respect Lieutenant Yamaguchi, I would rather stay until my co-workers woke up at least.", she explained, her voice responded in a way similar to the Lieutenant's own, Chiyoko knowing that the 4th Division's second in command picked up clear messages best, despite how cold sounding they were.
"Very well, you may stay for a while longer until they wake." he replied, not taking his eyes off Eiji, of whom he was currently working on while his subordinates were tirelessly working on both Ran and Kei due to the less severe natures of their injuries in comparison with the 3rd Seat's.
It had been what seemed like hours since his last thought, all that Kei could remember was being exhausted and having a searing pain in his head, a pain which had persisted up until the moment he began waking up. Slowly and weakly, Kei fumbled about, moving his arm up towards his head as he groaned in a mixture of tiredness and pain as he began to open his eyes before being hit in the chest by an unknown force.
"Wha th-", the still groggy 6th Seat exclaimed as his eyes opened, his eyes adjusting to the light, he saw himself to be in a hospital ward, taking quick glances around at the still hard working Sadao and both Ran and Eiji's seemingly unconscious forms before moving his head to bring Chiyoko into view, who has hugging him before letting go after realising he was fully awake.
"I'm glad you're awake.", the 5th Seat said happily, a relieved look was plastered upon her face as Kei gave her an uncharacteristically bemused look.
"Chiyoko...", Kei began, however he was interupted by the gentle opening of the ward doors as someone walked into the room, her white Haori trailing behind her as she did so. She had brown hair that was neatly swept to the side, her hair framing her face perfectly while her brown eyes flitted towards the group of Shinigami that were Kei, Chiyoko, Sadao, Eiji and Ran.
"Ah so I see one of our patients has awoken, how are you feeling Kei-san?", the Captain said in a calm voice, smiling as she did so, Kei let out a small gasp of pain as he righted himself in his bed before responding.
"Tired, and my head hurts...", he responded
"I see, you should get some more rest Kei-san, you should feel better in no time.", the Captain said in a kindly tone, Kei, not wanting to argue, lay back down, his eyes still open as he gazed at the 4th Division Captain and her Lieutenant as they began conversing with each other.
"How are both Sugawara-san and Hanamura-san Saodo-kun?", she asked in a quiet voice, not wanting Chiyoko or Kei to listen in, despite their attempts to do so.
"Captain Sugiyama.", Sadao responded to his Captain with a swift bow before answering her question, "Sugawara had compound rib fractures and Hanamura had internal bruising and a flesh would from impacting into a trunk in the forest, I have finished with Hanamura and all he needs is rest, but Sugawara's injury is still being worked on, it seems she was hit awkwardly.", Sadao explained, both Kei and Chiyoko looked at each other as Maki took a look at Ran with a concerned expression on her face.
"I'll assist you in healing her, however it is getting late, I know you want to be near your friends Chiyoko-san, but the other patients need their rest, you can come back tommorrow whenever.", Maki said to the 5th seat, who nodded as she turned to Kei, who was staring at her, she gave him a wry smile before turning her back on him.
"I'll see you later Kei.", she said in what most would assume to be a cheery voice, making her way towards the ward's door while Kei tried murmuring his goodbyes, however his attempts were foiled by his fatigue.
Seireitei, Fourh Division Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho. Morning.
The 4th Division's medical wards were bustling with activity, despite the Seireitei's peaceful disposition, many Shinigami procured injuries during the course of their duties, whether it be from Hollow skirmishes, training or simply from accidents, Shinigami, both weak and strong, were being tended to by the Gotei's devoted medical forces.
The receptionist's area of the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho was particularly busy as the officer on desk was greeted by Chiyoko, who was adorned with a number of plasters in order to let her more minor injuries heal. The 5th Seat approached the receptionist and gave them a brief smile before introducing herself.
"Hello, 5th Seat Chiyoko Mori, here to see Kei Hirata, Ran Sugawara and Eiji Hanamura.", she said in a straightfoward manner, eager to see how both Ran and Eiji were doing
"Just sign here 5th Seat Mori, both Hirata-san and Hanamura-san are well enough to have visitors, but Sugawara-san still needs her bed rest.", the receptionist explained. Chiyoko bowed slightly before heading off towards the wards, quickly finding and going into the ward that Kei, Eiji and Ran occupied. She made her way to the back of the room, to where the three beds that her colleagues occupied, the curtains on Ran's bed having been pulled in order to keep others from observing, Chiyoko rationalised that the 4th Seat was having a medical checkup and instead looked upon Eiji's and Kei's beds, which were only occupied by their resting bodies.
"So you're here already.", Kei's voice rung outwards as Chiyoko approached the 6th Seat's bed, Kei was sitting up in his bed, waiting for Chiyoko as she got to the bed, sitting down on it's edge before looking at Kei.
"I wanted to get here early so I could see how you, Ran and Eiji were doing.", she said, giving her reasoning for coming over so early.
"Well Hanamura is still asleep and Ran is being checked on by the Lieutenant, so you got here too early.", Kei explained, his dismissive tone once again becoming prominant as Chiyoko gave him a wry smile.
"Well at least I didn't get here too late, did I?", she playfully argued, not taking notice of the tut that came out of Kei's mouth as she did so, "So, how are you feeling?", she asked, Kei scratched his head and yawned before replying to her question.
"I still have a headache and my joints are aching but overall I'm fine.", he said, giving of an air of weariness that indicated that he had only just awoken from his sleep.
"It'll pass soon, hopefully.", Chiyoko chipped in, before straightening up, catching Kei's eye as she did so, "I had to file in a report about the incident, and Captain Iwasaki found it to be a big enough case as to bring it up in a Captain's meeting, I don't like the sound of it.", Chiyoko muttered as she finished what she had to say to Kei, who had took in the information stoically.
"I'll agree on that, 5th Seat Mori.", a voice called out from Chiyoko and Kei's right, grunting slightly as it's owner adjusted their positioning.
"Huh, ah 3rd Seat Hanamura, I apologise if I awoke you.", Chiyoko hurriedly blurted out, spinning to face Eiji, who had got up out of bed and was facing the two Shinigami.
"I was half awake, so I overheard what you said, and you're right, I doubt this will go away any time soon, that Hollow was able to put three Seated Officers in hospital, and it's still loose.", Eiji pondered as Chiyoko gave him a worried look before replying.
"Well the Captain wants all of us to report to her for a breifing once you, Kei and Ran have been disharged from hospital.", Chiyoko explained, only to be interrupted by Sadao opening the curtains to Ran's bed, showing her to be sleeping soundly, the Lieutenant seemingly listening in on what was being said.
"Both 3rd Seat Hanamura and 6th Seat Hirata can be dismissed after they have had their check ups this afternoon, 4th Seat Sugawara needs one more day of bed rest before she can be discharged.", he explained, causing Chiyoko's face to brighten up, she turned to Kei, however, before she could say anything, the 5th Seat stopped and looked at her friend's face. Kei had his eyes closed, looking as if he was in deep thought, before opening them and turning towards Eiji, who cocked his eyebrow in intrigue.
"Hanamura, I want to say, t-that I am....thankful to you and Ran for....protecting me when we were against that Hollow.", Kei spluttered out, he cleared his throat before leaning back in his bed, leaving both Chiyoko and Eiji with bewildered looks, having heard Kei Hirata, an individual who had up until that point, seemed to almost despise most of his colleges, thank Eiji for his and Ran's help.
"Kei...did you just?", Chiyoko started off, however, in a her bewilderment, she was cut off by the equally confused Eiji, who after regaining his composure replied to the 6th Seat.
"Well, both me and Sugawara-san were just fulfilling our duty but you're welcome...Hirata-san.", Eiji replied in turn, wiping his head before laying down in his bed, getting a grunt of a reply from Kei as he did so.
"Heheh, looks like you can be nice after all, Kei.", Chiyoko jested, laughing as Kei clenched his eyes before giving out a halfhearted angry glare at Chiyoko.
"Don't you have paperwork to do? Do that instead of making me waste time resting.", he snapped before closing his eyes, a semi-frustrated look painted on his face as he did so. Chiyoko smiled slightly before standing up.
"I get you, alright, I'm going, see you later Kei, and you too Hanamura-san.", she said as she walked towards the exit, with Eiji giving her a small nod as he too got accustomed to his pillow.
Chiyoko smiled to herself as she exited the 4th Division Barracks, the words of gratitude that Kei spoke ringing in her mind as she left for the 13th Division's quarters.
13th Divison Barracks, Captain's Quarters, Evening.
The candle that currently light the room that Tamiko Iwasaki resided in flickered slightly as the doors to her abode slid open, revealing the Captain's trusted Lieutenant, Miyuki Kobayashi, who was coming in to hand in the last reports that she had written up before retiring for the night.
"Here are the last of the reports for day Captain.", Miyuki said, placing her reports on the desk before stifling a yawn, Tamiko cocked her eyebrow slightly as she observed her Lieutenant's apparent weariness.
"Was your day long?", Tamiko asked politely, causing her subordinate to pause briefly in mild surprise before responding in turn.
"Huh? No, not really, just the reports on the incident in Orimugi took up more time that I anticipated, so I guess I just overworked myself a little.", Miyuki replied, dismissing her tiredness while scratching her cheek. Tamiko, her eyes having been drawn to the pieces of paper that Miyuki had just given her, gave her Lieutenant a brief glance before returning her gaze to the paperwork.
"That would explain it, such a case isn't one to be disregarded so easily, I'm sure both you and 5th Seat Mori will need rest after having to do all that between the two of you. Go get some rest, it sounds like you need it." the Captain ordered, her voice lightening up as she said so, despite her eyes not breaking contact from the words on the reports she was given. Miyuki bowed as she made her way to the doors of the room, however just before she reached them, she stopped, taking her hand off the door handle and turning around.
"Yes Kobayashi-san?" Tamiko asked, looking at her Lieutenant intently, as if the Division Captain knew what her second in command was thinking at that exact moment.
"I know I shouldn't be asking you this, Captain Iwasaki, but, what is our plan of action against this Hollow? I mean, it took out 4 highly skilled Seated Officers and is still on the loose. What would happen if it decided to attack the World of the Living? Any patrolling Shinigami would have no chance against it, and the potential for collateral damage and Human death is high too-", however, before she could get all of her concerns out, Miyuki was cut off by Tamiko clearing her throat as she stood up, causing Miyuki to raise her head to meet the taller woman in the eyes.
"Miyuki, I understand your concern but I cannot discuss the events that have partook in the Captain's meeting, you know this, but don't worry, we'll go over what is going to happen tomorrow, for now, just get some rest, it's been a long day, for both of us." Tamiko reassured Miyuki, yawning as she finished, causing the younger Shinigami to chuckle slightly, her worries having somewhat melted away due to her Captain's words.
Bidding farewell, Miyuki left Tamiko's room, closing the door behind her. Tamiko, rubbing her eyes from tiredness, walked back towards her desk before sitting down in her chain, sighing as she put the reports Miyuki gave her away.
"Looks like there's going to be a lot of work around the corner.", she mumbled to herself, reaching out to the candle that was lighting her room before snuffing it out, putting her in complete darkness.