Blood littered the streets. At least, that was what she saw. To any bystander, those last few humans that happened to be strolling about during these late- very late in fact,- hours, it would be gone, the pavement upon which she ran perfectly clear with no sign of the chaos that erupted so shortly before.
Not to her though. Oh no. The shinigami ran, breath hitching, her own uniform stained with the crimson that spilled from her comrades and her own injuries both. It was fresh, the metallic scent of it making her almost nauseous. Not necessarily because she feared it, found it sickening or disgusting. It was... impossible to comprehend, this thought that the partners with which she sparred, those companions who had her back for all those years in the academy, who she actually trusted...
They were all dead now.
And forward she ran, the humans that still lingered here and there ducking when the windows round them shattered, the screech of the creature after her so powerful it nearly made her lose balance. If she were any other but the impossibly stubborn bitch that she was, she would have, falling right into the awaiting jaws of that monster. But she wouldn't.
Pale eyes flickered back for only a moment and she stumbled, her foot snagging on a fallen bit of metal that was torn from place by the battle that had broken out. The woman found herself crashing to the ground, the rough texture of the road rubbing her skin raw. She winced, slowly opening her eyes before her situation dawned on her.
She whirled around, silver orbs wide in horror when she realized the gaze that was returned to her was from a spot far closer than what she believed. She stared back into those hollow black pits, the white fangs of the beast bare in wait, in preparation to tear into her flesh like it craved so badly. Her palms rose, as if in a last feeble attempt to shield herself from the upcoming attack when the thing lunged forward, another scream emitted from its throat at the ecstasy of having such a wonderful meal that night.
It was another moment before things went quiet again, the chilly air of the night still as the death that filled it.
"Team 2, is everything clear? Any survivors yet?" his fingers were clutched round the small communication device at his collar while the lieutenant advanced through the dark streets, a couple of his disciples following right behind. Getting the confirmation that things were indeed clear and no living soul was found his gaze returned forward, his eyes narrowed again, focus returning to the bloodied corpses of shinigami and several humans, the poor bastards just lucky enough to be caught by the crossfire.
It was just their luck to have gotten this mission. Normally it would be the last thing he'd agree to do, but... Captain Soifon was pretty damn scary when she was angry, and having so many of her people eliminated by some measly hollow sure got her that way. So here he was, working hard to sift through the bloodied remains, searching for a sign of life from those who somehow, miraculously survived such treatment.
From what they have seen already there was no such shinigami on the scene. The lieutenant frowned, brows furrowing to steel his already serious expression further, his palm constantly resting upon the hilt of his zanpakuto, form tense just awaiting the attack he knew would come. There was no doubt in it. The number of dead, was reported at two, the body of the last one nowhere to be found so far. Poor kid was probably torn up so bad the body simply no longer existed. The hollow that the deceased team was meant to take down however..
"Careful ya maggots. It's still around, there was no reports the hollow's been taken down yet." the words of warning that he had to share were cut off into nothingness when a scream replaced them, a wail so loud one could swear it made the earth under their feet tremble.
It took no longer than a moment for the group to follow the sound, but during that same small while the monster that had made such an inhuman sound disappeared, leaving behind no traces but the bloodied body that lay at their feet.
"Lieutenant," one of the officers spoke, crouching down next to this body as well, as he has done with the others. Though this time it was not to recognize the fallen victim, but instead to make sure of what the man believed he felt, placing a palm to hover a few inches above the bleeding form. "I-I think this one's still alive." he muttered, his eyes soon turned upward to receive order to proceed.
"Well what're ya waiting for?" Omaeda snapped, his arms crossed over his chest impatiently. Still, even as irritated as he was that one of these unlucky bastards survived, meaning nothing but more work for him, as well as more shouting from his captain in regards of his uselessness in rescuing the others as well... it was pretty curious that a new recruit like this one had lived past such injuries.
His eyes still remained on the bloody form for a second or two but eventually he stepped away, letting the member of 4th division begin his work, making sure the spark of reiatsu he'd felt wasn't extinguished before he got clearance to bring the bodies back to soul society.
It was a long and tiring night for the members of the fourth division, those unfortunate ones who were given the mission of assuring the sole shinigami that returned alive stayed that way. It was difficult for sure, the wounds suffered being quite bad indeed, many transfusions of blood and efforts put into the uphold of the life that threatened to slip from the unconscious one.
Eventually however they did get her condition to stable, enough so to finally say it was safe to step away and let the injured woman rest. And so they did, as always having others to tend to, namely those brutes of the 11th division, as they never did seem to be capable of holding back their violent tendencies. Somehow, even with the steady flow of injured shinigami returning from missions, various long term patients that needed care, the men from that particular division appeared to be their largest concern.
"So, at least she is out of danger now.." the lieutenant of the 4th, Kotetsu Isane muttered to herself, her eyes scanning the page she held for a moment or two before dismissing the exhausted staff members to return to their other duties, offering them a small smile of encouragement in thanks for their hard work before she too, retreated to finish hers.