"Hollows…?"
The shout rose through the breaking morning, a frantic voice, one filled with fear. A ripping sound and the voice was cut off with shriek of pain. The pale morning mist that had hung over the outskirts of the Rukongai surrounded the young recruit and despite her desperate searching, she suddenly couldn't find her other comrades, the nine other fresh recruits or their training instructor. For some reason, it seemed to be becoming even thicker and more dense, as if to make her efforts even more futile. The blade had become heavier in her hands but she clutched at it, keeping her zanpakuto raised in the defensive guard she's been taught at the academy. If it was true and there were real hollows around, it was all that would stand between her and death.
Hurried footsteps from behind and she whipped around, blade raised above her head to cleave down on any ambushing enemy that tried to get her turned back but the figure that stumbled through the mists was another recruit, Sousuke-kun. He was bleeding badly, one bloodied hand clutched to his chest where a monstrous claw had rent deep cuts into his flesh. He stumbled and fell, slipping on a patch of morning dew still fresh on the ground. She hurried over to help him when a shape burst from the mists, fangs, claws…and a howl that sent shivers down her spine in an instant. Her eyes widened as the mask appeared, a bone white skull, mouth curled in a cruel grin…a hollow mask.
Her breathing was becoming faster, her heart beating more rapidly with every passing moment. Fear gripped her limbs and forced her muscles to work. Her fingers curled around the grip of her zanpakuto and with a scream, she lunged, swinging the weapon with all her strength. The hollow was so close. She could see the malevolent intelligence behind those yellow eyes. Then her blade struck it in the centre of its mask…and kept on going, carving through hollow flesh and bone before it exploded, shattering into pieces. Almost immediately, a second came bursting out of nowhere behind her. She spun around, zanpakuto slashing through the air. It sank into the creatures skull at it collapsed, dissolving as well. And then there was silence once again.
"Sousuke-kun!" She sheathed her zanpakuto and hurried over to her team mate, rolling him over and checking his condition. He was starting to turn pale, his black shihakusho was slick with blood. She had to get help or get him to a relief squad station. She looked around. There was no one coming to help. Why did this have to happen? This was just meant to be a training exercise. Where did the real hollows come from? The sounds of more approaching figures. The recruit looked up, furiously brushing her sweat streaked blonde hair out of her face. "Is someone there…? We need medical assistance now!"
"No…"
The curtain of mists drew back just a fraction to reveal the newcomers…more hollows, five, six, more…? Her eyes flickered back and forth, desperately seeking a way out but they were surrounded. She reached for her zanpakuto and reached down to grab a fistful of Sousuke's robes but a bloodstained hand reached up and caught her by the wrist. "Get…out of here. Leave me. You'll never escape…carrying me with you." Her fellow recruit spat out a mouthful of blood as he struggled to sit upright. His weakened voice shook with the effort just of remaining conscious.
"I'm not leave you, you idiot. Shut up while I save you." She rose, holding her zanpakuto ready. She could do this…she had to or they were both dead. A rumbling seemed to reecho around her as if the hollows were chuckling at her situation. She gritted her teeth, knuckles whitening on the grip of her blade. If they came, she'd kill them. She was not going to let herself and Sousuke-kun die here. Her gaze switched from one masked face to another, eyes narrowed in concentration, watching for a sign of which would come at her first. Silence…no movement…and then they came all at once, the creatures surging forward as one. Closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to see death right in her face as it took her, she lashed out at the nearest Hollow, a last desperate strike of defiance before the end.
The sound of cleaving Hollow flesh, many times over. And the rending talons she'd envisaged tearing into her never came. 'What…?' Hesitantly, she opened her eyes slowly. A ring of slain Hollows lay all around her, bisected widthways. Before her, stood a taller figure, clad in the same black shihakusho as her. Long black hair fluttered out behind her as the newcomer sheathed her own zanpakuto. On her arm, she wore the insignia of a lieutenant, the marking of the Tenth Division emblazoned upon it in. The figure turned to face her. A beautiful face looked down on her, a young woman, piercing eyes alive and delicate features set in an expression of concentration. A single vertical line ran down through her left eye, a distinctive mark upon her face.
"Lieutenant…?" The word slipped from the recruit's lips before she passed out, sliding into the blackness and falling towards the forest floor. She felt hands catch her and lay her gently down on the damp earth. Then she knew nothing more.
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Hollows here…and attacking his recruits. The air froze all around him as he advanced through the forest, his cold fury affecting the atmosphere around him as Captain Shiro Matsumura drew his zanpakuto from his back. His white haori billowed out behind him as he gathered energy to himself, destructive power building up within him. Word had reached him moments after he had felt the disturbance in this area of the Rukongai district. Why had no one detected this before now? Usually alarms would have been raised long before they could penetrate this near a Gotei 13 controlled training area.
Weapon in hand, he'd gathered his officers to him in an instant, heading out without delay. If it had been anyone else, he might've organised his troops first but the recruits were the most vulnerable members of his division and he'd just have to wing it this time. As soon as they'd reached the forest, he dispatched them all to split up and try and rescue as many recruits as possible and then meet up back at the rendezvous point. He set off alone to deal with the source of this sudden attack. Through his altered sight, he could make out a blaze of energy between the trees, a figure ahead which commanded the Hollows here.
A pack of Hollows bounded out of the mists at him. A casual swing of his zanpakuto and they fell in pieces. More and more came, drawn by his greater spiritual pressure. They were wasting his time. He could sense a more powerful being ahead, probably the leader of this small horde. He brought his zanpakuto up in a two handed grip, the cold metal resting against his forehead. His words came out as a whisper of chilled air on the early morning winds. "Shatter…Shiroiken."
The temperature dropped all around him as he unleashed his shikai. The huge blade of the great sword he wielded became sheathed in a layer of ice, the metal flashing with an inner burning blue flame. Whipping it around him, he lashed out, left and right, charging forward and driving into the ranks of the Hollows with a roar of fury. Everywhere his blade struck, the enemy froze, ice stabbing through their bodies and engulfing them in ice. Bursting out the rear of them, he stabbed his blade into the ground, not bothering to turn. As one, the massed group of hollows burst apart in a shower of glittering shards, their remains scattering across the earth and then melting into nothing.
"Impressive…"
Before him, situated in the middle of a clearing, stood the source of the greater spiritual pressure. It was a Hollow…but far larger, humanoid and standing on two legs. It had a powerful, muscular body, its arms ending in great claws still drenched in blood. Its eyes gleamed with intelligence, far more than normally seen in a Hollow. Its mask resembled a human skull, distorted into a wicked smile. It was an Adjuchas class at least…but strange. Its spiritual pressure had an aura to it that he had never felt before. It didn't matter. It had to die. He levelled his blade at its head.
Then the Adjuchas moved. One second his weapon was at the Hollow's throat, the next it was on his right, claws slicing for his face. Matsumura managed to raise his zanpakuto in time, the claws ringing off the broad blade. He dodged two more swipes, twisting his body aside to avoid them and slashing down. It bit into the Hollow's carapace but refused to cut through. A fist caught him in the face and he flew backwards, rolling in the air and landing, bringing Shiroiken up in time to stop talons being driven into his chest. The second claw came up but his fist caught it before it could reach him. Muscles strained as they stood locked together. Frost coated the creature's hands but it continued to resist. With a snarl, they burst apart, landing a few metres apart and crouching in battle stances, weapons bared.
"You came quicker than expected, shinigami. I thought I could enjoy toying with your recruits a little longer but you had to come and ruin the fun. Now I have other plans. You can just die here." It raised a hand and Hollows began to emerge from around them, tens, hundreds. Alone they'd be nothing but all together…they could be challenging to him. The Adjuchas' smile seemed to broaden as it lowered its arm in a chopping motion, signalling the Hollows to charge as it drew back.
"You're not getting away that easily…" Matsumura raised his zanpakuto in both hands. He ignored as the waves of Hollows came pouring out of the trees all around him. He just focussed on his blade as he gathered reiatsu to himself, sharpening his will into it. Then, he inverted the blade, holding it point down and drove it into the earth. The ground shook all around him as if an explosion had erupted from the point of impact. The temperature rapidly dropped all around him, ice creeping outwards in an expanding circle from where he stood.
"Bankai… Senamatsu Shiroiken…"
Hollows that lunged from all sides suddenly stopped in their movements, some crouched low, others bounding through the air, claws extended…but they couldn't come any close. Thousands of blades of ice punched through the ground at their feet where it had become frozen over, driving through their hardened skin and bursting out their backs, tearing them in half. They were held there, transfixed for a moment, before the ice blades exploded, shattering into a storm of razor-like particles. Raising one arm like a conductor, Matsumura thrust forward with his sword arm. The storm of ice followed his movements, driving forward under his influence.
Lesser Hollows standing between him and the Adjuchas were ripped apart as the storm descended upon them. The leader of the Hollows disappeared as it too was engulfed in the attack. Through the dense cloud of ice shards, the two yellow eyes of the main enemy blazed and then they were gone. With a ripple of cold wind, the concentrated mass of ice burst apart and scattered away, falling all around the captain as he sheathed his zanpakuto across his back. The enemy was gone. His task here was done now. With a last glance back to where the Adjuchas had stood, he turned and marched off, heading to meet up with the rest of his Division and see how many recruits they had managed to save.
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"Four wounded, one critical and already on his way to Captain Unohana. He should make it if they get him there in time. Overall, no fatalities." Fifth seated officer Keisuke Nakamura yawned widely as he crumbled up the parchment he'd been reading off and tucked it back into his shihakusho, leaning back against the wall of the meeting room and folding his arms, looking ready to drift off again before he could be called on to do anything else. A swift crack across the back of the head forced him to sit up. Tucking her sheathed zanpakuto back into her sash, Yugito Kosaka, his senior by one rank, continued to glare at him until he sat up straighter, in a false attempt at looking attentive.
"Do we have any idea how the Hollow got this far into Soul Society without any warnings going off. There were meant to be shinigami posted all around the training area to make sure something like this didn't happen. The recruits aren't ready to face Hollows without support, especially not that many. I'm surprised none of them were killed, all things considering." At Matsumura's side, his third in command, Kiyoshi Maeda's heavily scarred face was composed in its normal serious frown, staring into the small fire burning in the centre of the meeting room. He looked around at the captain, as if expecting him to know the answer to this.
Matsumura shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine in this. Unfortunately the Hollow died too quickly before he could say anything though I hope that puts the situation to rest. With any luck, it was just a fluke and security will tighten in that area from now on to ensure it doesn't happen again. Either way, I've already passed on the message to the 12th Division. Kirio-chan…Captain Hikifune is going to take her team and look into it in this evening before the traces get washed away during the night. She'll report anything to me if they find anything and I suppose I'll relay it to you people if it's important."
"That should be all for now. Dismissed." He sighed and rose to his feet, shaking out his captain's haori and reattaching his zanpakuto across his back. The three-seated officers did the same, following his lead. They started to file out one by one, waving their good nights and disappearing off to their rooms, leaving him alone with the remaining occupant of the room. "Shouldn't you be getting to bed too, Rei-chan. It's been a rather exciting day for all of us. You should probably get some rest. Who knows what we'll have to do tomorrow."
"Alright then." Lieutenant Rei Mikihara brushed a loose strand of dark hair aside as she turned to look at the captain, concern written on her face. "Today was too close, Captain. If we'd been a minute or two slower, our casualties would've been a lot higher than they turned out. If I'd arrived a few seconds later, we'd have two dead recruits on our hands."
"Well we'll find out how this happened and make sure such a thing never occurs. Don't worry about it now. They all made it back and the situation is diffused for now." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, steering her to the door. They stepped outside into the courtyard, opposite the 10th Division barracks. The evening air was cool and calming now. It was hard to think that earlier that day, they'd been racing through Soul Society as fast as possible to stop Hollow attacks on the training grounds.
"Besides…from what I've heard, the recruits performed quite well despite the circumstances. Managed to fend off the Hollows long enough for us to get there and drive them off. Considering they've only faced simulations before, it's not bad. Especially that girl you brought back. What was her name again…?"
Rei folded her arms across her chest, staring out onto the slowly rising moon. She seemed to be thinking back to earlier that day, arriving just in time on the scene to find the young girl facing off against the pack of Hollows attacking her as she defended the downed body of a comrade. "Matsumoto. She's called Rangiku Matsumoto."