時間は進む Time Skip
(Jikan wa Susumu)
Written by 剰余, 覆面 (Joyo, Fukumen)
"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them" – Albert Einstein
Chapter 1: Betrayal and RevelationIt began as a simple mission. Hollows were never really a big threat; however, there has been an unusually large amount, even in places where there is low spiritual awareness. In response to this predicament, the Seireitei has sent several teams to the world of the living, each headed by one lieutenant. The cleansing, as it has been dubbed, has been going on since the beginning of the week. Today is the fifth, and perhaps, the last day.
There were two groups, the first headed by the lieutenant of the 2nd division and leader of the Onmitsukido or Stealth force, Minoru Shihoin (四楓院, 稔); the second headed by the lieutenant of the 4th division, Mutsuhito Sato (佐藤, 睦仁). The two lieutenants were to meet, along with another lieutenant who has already finished his job, Kawamaru Tamaki (玉置, 孝美), of the 5th division. It was a cold afternoon, and the sun was about to set. The woods echo with footsteps of the military men, though it is still unusually quiet. It would be in these woods that the last three groups would meet to be sent back to the Seireitei. Even though the mission has been successful, there is still something ominous lingering in the air.
"It's good to see you again" Minoru waves, addressing Kawamaru with a timid smile, quickly turning his head to look at his friend. "Same here", he says, "but what about Lieutenant Sato and his men?" Minoru put on a more serious face to reassure Kawamaru, "I'm sure he'll be here." As soon as the lieutenants begin to get comfortable, a mysterious wind blows, accompanied by a somewhat familiar sound. "What was that?" Minoru scanned around like an owl, before a stifling level of reiatsu revealed itself. Whatever it was made a buzzing sound. Clang! Minoru was quick to unsheathe his zanpakuto, blocking a strange, fairly tall man, covered in armor made of some kind of bone-like material, appearing like an exo-skeleton. The rib cage is open, revealing a hole, much like that of a hollow. A white, also bonelike material appeared on the man's right jaw, with a semblance to a dinosaur's jaws, slightly covered by a red scarf. His blade was double edged and very thin, with a leather grasp, lacking a hand guard, in contrast to Minoru's own weapon, which was a katana, the tsuba taking the shape of a cross, curving downward into Minoru's hand, the hilt itself wrapped in a jade green material, ornate with the image of a golden oriental styled dragon. "Could this be a hollow?" Minoru thought. The hollow hole made it obvious, but there was no way this man could be own.
The mysterious man chuckled sinisterly. "If you assumed I was a hollow, then you're wrong", he smiled, "as there is no way my kind could be grouped with such primitive insects! No… we have evolved far beyond that." His words were dark, making Minoru slightly nervous and afraid. "Ha! No need to be so frightful, shinigami" the man addressed, "it'll be over very soon." He disappeared, leaving behind a buzzing sound. He appeared once again over head, inside a tree, his weapon holstered back in his belt. The mysterious man held his left arm out, holding his wrist with his right, charging a blue ball in it. "Cero", he yelled, blasting a blue wave from his palm, toward the two shinigami. Their men scattered throughout the woods, afraid of what might come, and oblivious of what had happened. Just as he was about to once again attack his prey, another man showed up, wearing a shinigami's uniform, a lieutenant's badge worn directly under his left shoulder, showing the insignia of the 4th division. "Nope", he cried out, with a smile on his face, his blade pressed toward the stranger's neck. His zanpakuto had a broad glimmering steel blade, the back slightly darker, showing its make. The tsuba appears like a circle, with five evenly spaced arrows pointing outwards from the blade. The hilt itself is completely black. "Nice to see you finally, Lieutenant Sato", the two yelled. Mutsuhito only smiled back. "Scorch, Kaji-Kashi (火事華氏, Blaze Fahrenheit)!" Kawamaru unsheathed his blade, which quickly appeared to light on fire, revealing a double edged broadsword appearing to be completely made of steel, with a ruby at the center of the cross guard. "Slash", Kawamaru said, swinging his sword at the strange man. A wave of flame shot forth from his blade in an X shape, just barely canceling out the blue wave. The stranger struggled violently before placing his right hand over Mutsuhito's head, charging a gold ball, which shot toward the lieutenant at break neck speed, forcing him off, and making him fall to the ground. The stranger laughed maniacally, "so, I take it that was your shikai! It was much weaker than I thought!" He laughed again, looking at the ground beneath himself. "Look down, look at your men. See how they run", he commands, "like ants, they are." It is now Minoru's turn. After a short while, high levels of reiatsu can be felt in the area, the next instant, pressurized spirit energy surrounds his upper body, to turn invisible the next second. "Shunko", he whispered, disappearing into a tree, reappearing over the strange scarfed man, doing a backflip. Backwards in front of the man, Minoru cocked his sword arm, and brought it forward to cut the man. The stranger appeared to be cut, though Minoru was dead wrong. It was a clone. Minoru recognizes such a move as utsusemi, though how could someone outside the soul society ever learn to use it?
Mutsuhito, regardless of being a member of the fourth squad, is a master of both kido and zanjutsu, with skill enough to almost match a Kenpachi. The stranger surrounded Minoru. The speed of the attack makes it appear as though he is in multiple places at once. Mutsuhito heals himself enough to seal off the burn marks, and uses shunpo to get close to the mysterious stranger, placing his zanpakuto in the way of the speed clones. Regardless, he hadn't the strength of a Kenpachi, and his blade was knocked out of his grip, just barely stopping the speed clones. He is kicked down by the strange masked man, next to where his sword fell.
The man, with his right forearm now bleeding, attempts to hold out arm toward Minoru, making another cut in his palm, somehow with a smile. "Brace yourselves shinigami!" he says. Through his hand, a ray of blue energy shoots toward Minoru at a near impossible speed. Just barely, Minoru was able to dodge it. A large crater was then created where trees once stood by the incredibly powerful blast. "What was that?" Kawamaru asked. Neither of the lieutenants could respond, as neither of them truly knew what had happened. A rain of dirt and plant material fell from the sky. The stranger smiled, "Gran Rey Cero". Cero- but how; only high leveled hollow are known to use such a technique, especially at such a caliber. "…That was… a cero?" The three were left speechless, watching the stranger with eyes wide open. He tore off his scarf, revealing a large hole on his neck- one that only a hollow should have. Over the hole at the back of his neck, is the number 5. "You see", he says, "I am an Arrancar-more specifically, an Espada, the fifth one. I am Veloz Huelga." Mutsuhito smirked, "Well, nice to meet you. I'm Lieutenant Sato, of the 13 court guard squads." Minoru gasped, trying to hide, as Kawamaru kept his poker face. "Bakudo number 4, Hainawa!" A rope of yellow crackling energy escapes from the tip of Mutsuhito's Zanpakuto, running towards the Arrancar. "You think this will hold me?" Veloz Huelga mocks, "hunt, Depredador!" His features seem to change, as the Arrancar shifts into a shape more reptilian. The metamorphosis ends with him appearing in the form of a large raptor, with its head covered with a white exoskeleton. In less than a blink of an eye, the Arrancar in his new form disappears, with a bite mark appearing on each of Mutsuhito's shoulders. It took him a while, though he finally realized the pain, and falls to the cold ground.
A hole opens in the sky- a garganta. Through it, something with the physiology of a human woman steps through. Her hair is long and red, matching her greenish eyes. A white ivory-like collar wraps around her neck. She is wearing what appears to be a latex suit, in which the sleeves and legs are cut. The suit is also cut in a triangle at the front over the woman's stomach, revealing her hollow hole. Under the hole is the number two. Various vials were lined on her waste.
"Ah, Hilda, you're finally here", says Veloz.
"Stop playing with your food and eat it", she says, her voice smooth, though her tone, rough, "on second thought," she pauses, "you there, shinigami." The woman points at Kawamaru, "You desire our power don't you?" Kawamaru nods, still not saying a word. "Good, then come with us. I don't want to hear a word about it, Veloz" she says, right as the male Arrancar was about to present his opinion. She was superior to him, or at least so it seemed. She opened a vial of greenish liquid, and poured it over the lieutenant, healing his wounds. "Now, come with us, and we will make you strong" she says, in a sultry voice. The three walk through another garganta. "Wait…" Mutsuhito says weakly,
"reconstruct, Meiji (明治, Meiji)." The handle on his zanpakuto grew to match the length of his blade, changing materials into something which appeared more like obsidian, rounding at the pommel. Weakly, he held the handle closer to his other hand, and pressed his palm over the blade. He shined with a white light. In a flash, his wounds were healed. "Alright, Kawamaru, I'm coming for you", he says, jumping into the garganta. "Lieutenant Sato!" Minoru screamed, but was too late. The portal had already closed.