My wood soled sandals clattered noisily against the corrugated metal roof of the warehouse I ran across, most of the clatter being lost to the din of the busy dock that surrounded me. I skidded to a halt and took a brief scan of my surrounding. Heat ripples rose off of everything, fouling my senses. In this oppressive temperature I couldn't make out anything at a distance nor sense any Reiatsu. I briefly wondered if that was the reason this particular Hollow hunted in broad daylight, but I quickly quashed that idea in favor of keeping moving.

A Hell Butterfly floated down near my ear, tiny wings fluttering to keep up with me. From it a sharp, clipped voice issued forth that said "I found it! Westerly edge of the warehouse district, near the Hospital!"

I cursed inwardly, knowing that I was almost two miles away from it. This particular Hollow was canny. He knew when he was outmatched and shied away from it, rather than simply charging at the nearest and strongest source of spirit energy. He picked his targets, and in this case it decided to go after Kaito.

I Flash Stepped that direction, ignoring the disorientation that came with moving so suddenly. I had my direction, so I didn't need to focus on looking anymore, just moving. I managed to cover the distance in under a minute, an exertion that left me breathing heavy and slick with sweat.

I touched down in the plaza outside a hospital and scanned my surroundings. The others were already milling around the site, assumingly waiting for me.

I stomped over to them, weeding my way through a group of humans looking on at a smashed out ambulance, I hoped it was from the fight I'd just missed. Mitsuko's crouched over Kaito's body, already pale from blood loss. Her hands worked relentlessly, trying to force life back into him. Jiro stood guard over her, hand firmly on the hilt of his Zanpakutou.

I looked at him and said "Report."

"The Hollow hurt Kaito, then ran off to the east." He pointed.

I nodded, appreciating the fact that Jiro was never one to mince words. "Alright, you stay here and keep watch over Mitsuko and Kaito. I'll go after it."

Jiro grunted and said "I should come with you. We'd stand a better chance of finding it."

I shook my head "No, stay here. If I don't catch the damn thing it might circle back here to finish the job. If that's the case you'll need to protect Mitsuko and Kaito."

"Understood." He nodded at me and I wordlessly Flashed away, gliding across rooftops and gutters at a speed that I would be uncomfortable with under normal circumstances.

This particular Hollow had been running amok across the Jinshan district for the better part of a month. We'd dubbed it Tricorn, mostly for the odd formation on the top of it's head that resembled a Tricorn hat. Ironically, Kaito had been the first one to notice that particular quality.

Tricorn wasn't smart, just possessed of a predatory cunning that made it all the more difficult to catch. Dangerous to the extreme, Tricorn had already consumed more than half a dozen souls in the last month, each time leaving little more than tattered shreds of Spirit Stuff to tell the tale. This was the first time he had come after a Shinigami so brazenly; it would also turn out to be the last.

I followed the trail of ichor Tricorn had been leaving behind for about half a mile before I was able to easily sense the thing's corrupted reiatsu. I found him hiding in an alley, growling in pain.

Masking my reiatsu, I dropped down from above it and almost slipped on an assemblage of trash and refuse in the alley. Part of me was glad no one was there to see that.

Tricorn extricated itself from it's hole, bringing itself into full view. It was mostly humanoid in shape, with three arms protruding from it's sides, as well as the stump of what used to be the fourth. It seemed Kaito had made a good show of himself before he went down.

I pulled out my Zanpakutou, an unadorned piece that was normal in every way aside from a grip that gently curved forward and away from me. I rolled my wrist a few times, measuring its weight as I liked to do before a fight.

Tricorn rushed forward, letting out a long roar at it did so. I ducked under the first swing and sidestepped the second, flicking up my sword at the offending arm and removing most of the fingers in the process. Tricorn recoiled and hopped back, clutching at his new stumps.

Not willing to let it get away, I extended a hand and launched a Shot of Red Fire that arced harmlessly over Tricorn's head and blew up a trash can at the other end of the alley. Pretending that that was my plan all along, I Flashed at it while he was momentarily distracted and buried the length of my katana in it's side, reversed my grip, and sliced it out in a spray of gore and viscera. Tricorn screamed in agony and fell to it's knees, gripping it's side.

Tricorn started skulking away, his few remaining good claws pointed at me menacingly. I charged it and slashed it's leg, neatly severing the limb at the knee. Dodging back out of the range of his spasms and arterial spray, I chopped my sword up and hacked off one of the thing's few remaining good hands.

I won't try and deny it, I was dragging this out. Thus far there had been at least a dozen chances for me to kill Tricorn, but I wanted the bastard to suffer. Kaito was a good friend of mine, and one of the few people I had regularly seen in the last decade, and this Hollow had torn him apart. What I did was cruel and unnecessary, but I won't shy from it or hide it.

It was a solid five minutes before I finally ended Tricorn with a quick thrust to the back of the head, it's body fading to nothing in seconds. I Flash Stepped my way back to Jiro and Mitsuko.

Jiro was in the exact spot I left him, obeying my request as literally as possible. Mitsuko was on the ground leaning against the hospital wall, hugging her knees. Kaito was still on the ground, not moving.

I looked at Jiro. "Kaito's dead?"

He nodded "Yes."

I sighed, taking a moment to cast a lingering look at Kaito's twisted corpse. Kaito Shibuya was a former teaching aide of the Soul Academy, a quick witted sort with a flare for Kido. He'd been a boon companion to me for ten years, always ready for anything or anyone it seemed. It hurt to see him like this.

I lightly stepped over to Mitsuko, saying nothing. I stood and waited for her to speak.

"Did you kill it?" She spoke in her tiny, crystalline voice made hoarse with sobs.

"I did." I spoke quietly while cleaning blood from my Zanpakutou with a cloth.

"Good." She started to get up, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. Mitsuko Kisaragi was the only person in our little group who was an actual seated officer, the 19th seat of the tenth division in fact. Her positioning with us had always been something I was confused about, this post usually being used as a place to stow away screw ups. If she let that little inconvenient fact get her down even in the slightest, I could never tell past her usual demeanor. From the moment I'd met her Mitsuko had been a smiling, bubbly hug on two legs. Seeing her like this was heartbreaking to me, but understandable in retrospect. Mitsuko and Kaito were… involved with one another. I'll leave it at that out of respect for Mitsuko's modesty.

Mitsuko looked up at me bleary eyed and said "Where's Kouta?"

"Good question. Hey, Jiro." I shouted at the man, still standing directly where I left him. "Where's Kouta?"

Jiro simply shrugged at me in response. A man of average height, looks, build, and overall appearance; Jiro Busuji was my best friend, and had been for a long time. I'd known him for going on three decades, and in the whole time he'd never really changed. He's unimaginative, stoic, loyal to a fault, and doggedly literal in everything he did. It was only due to my many years of knowing him that I was able to pick up the thoughts and moods he hid behind a thick wall of indifference, and I could tell he was upset about Kaito's death far more than he would ever let on.

"Get things set up here, contact Soul Society and arrange a pick-up for the body. I'll find Kohta." Mitsuko and Jiro nodded as I set off.

Kohta was the very first place I looked and the absolute last place he should've been; tucked away in his bungalow in a lower suburb near the shore. I forced open the door to behold the sight of Kohta asleep in his bunk, snoring loudly with a Hell Butterfly flitting about him, broadcasting Kaito's last words and waiting for him to dismiss it.

Upon hearing Kaito's voice I snarled something incoherent and lashed out with a foot, tearing up the bed entirely and sending Kohta's form tumbling into the wall. He sputtered something in his slow drawl before I pressed my forearm against his throat, pinning him to the wall.

Kohta Tashibon was the youngest of the people I worked with by a wide margin. A younger member of a minor noble house, he goofed off during his time at the Soul Academy, resulting in him being stationed with us. Lazy and disrespectful, his only real saving grace was his own impressive intellect, something that he should have used more often. I suppose I could say that his good looks were a merit, but they're what allowed him to get away with being the way he is, so I'd actually call it a handicap.

"Good morning Kohta." I calmly stated before burying my fist in his stomach. The air blasted out his lungs and he started wheezing for breath. "Do you know why I'm here?"

He drew in a single gasp of air and coughed out "Cuz you wanted to see me without my shirt?"

That was another thing about Kohta I forgot to mention; he was an intolerable smartass.

I tightened my grip on his throat "No you moron, it's because of this!" I pointed over my shoulder at the Hell Butterfly and it obliged by playing Kaito's message again. "He sent that more than ten minutes ago."

I dashed Kohta to the floor, knocking a table over as he slid across the sawdust packed floor. "Gah! So, what's the big deal? You took care of it, didn't you?"

"Kaito's dead!" I shouted, fresh anger coming with the words.

Kohta struggled to his feet and stammered "W-what?"

I growled "Kaito Shibuya is dead." I started to step forward "He died three blocks away from here, alone, because you were too damn busy sleeping to get off of your lazy ass and actually DO SOMETHING!"

Kohta was sliding his back down the wall, face slick with fear-sweat, terror in his eyes. "I-I didn't know, you have to believe me!"

I loomed over him, jaw clenched in anger. "Bullshit, you knew Tricorn was at large, and you knew that Kaito couldn't take him on alone. And what did you do with this knowledge you may ask, you slept through a Hell Butterfly message for ten straight minutes."

Then, he said something that made it all worse "I'm sorry!"

I gritted my teeth in anger "Sorry?!" I grabbed him by the neck "You're sorry!" I hauled him up and slammed him against the wall "YOU'RE SORRY!" I snapped out my arm and slid a knife out of my sleeve, pressing the tip to his Adam's apple "You let a fellow Shinigami die and all you can say is you're sorry! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He shouted the phrase like a mantra, hoping it would do him some good.

I seriously considered gutting him like a fish right then and there, but ultimately decided against it. I let him down to the ground roughly, sliding the knife back into my forearm mounted sheath as scrabbled away from me. I flatly stated "Kohta."

"Yeah?"

"Four things. One; you are very, very lucky that Mitsuko likes you for some indecipherable quality. Two; the five of us entered into this pact for mutual protection and aid, not so you could slack off and let other people worry about your ward. Three; you're the one who's going to have to explain why Kaito died in your protected territory while trying to do your job. Four; if you ever let anything like this happen again I will kill you with my bare hands. Is all that understood?"

He swallowed "Crystal."

I nodded "Good, have a nice day." And I walked out.