No Warning

This is a warning: You'll probably find this a bit OOC. But I'll tell you now, this is a vent oneshot. Created for the purpose of letting my frustrations out. So any OOC is intentional and I apologize for it now. Forgive me for what I'm about to write. I also am sorry if my quality of writing is shitty. No names are mentioned.

This is a disclaimer: Kusari (myself) does not own Bleach, nor will he ever. He does not even own the rights to a single character. Believe you me, if he did, shit would hit the fan.

This is a summary: I can hear your voice. And it's soothing.

What exactly went wrong, nobody could figure out. They only knew something went awry and the end result was anything but beautiful. There was no way to fix this and just no explanation. Either way, it was lose-lose. It was best at that point to try and forget about it because since they could do nothing, someone else would. What that someone else did would probably be horrid but for the best in the long run. Threats such as this could not be paved over and ignored. That's how people got killed. Can't have that, now can we? No. Most certainly not.

It's sad to watch someone, a friend, fall into such a bad way like this. How is one able to cope with loss when you don't have an explanation for it? Fixating on it will only drag you down and ruin your life. But moving on right away will eat at you slowly until you're driven mad. The best you could hope to do is keep the person in your thoughts just enough to allow for ample grieving. Then let your memory of them drift until you're in the safely sane zone again. Would the sufferer want you to suffer as well, at their expense? Of course not.

The drone of pleasant voices was cancelled out and replaced only by a biting call to madness. Something in my brain kept telling me to panic and revolt but it was all for not. I'm slipping closer to that insanity that the driving force is instilling. My soul is going numb and pure instinct will soon rule over any rationality I have left. Things feel so dark right now. I can't see the light of the way out. The bleached white bone-like mask has shown itself and keeps everyone else at a distance. I'm not seeing through my own eyes clearly.

I can barely hear anything on the outside anymore. But the sickening growl that seems to be coming from me comes in loud and clear to my ears. The ones watching me take a hardy step back and quiver in unknown anxiety. I'm not a threat, I'm not. That is the lie I kept telling myself even though it was obviously so far from the truth. From the looks in their eyes, which comes in so blurry now, I can tell they obviously perceive me as some horrid creature out for blood.

This isn't how it's supposed to be. Some kind of echo, lost to the infinite blackness of the soulscape.

Feet move without a command from the brain supposedly controlling them. Can I even call them feet anymore? They feel like the talons of some kind of sinister avian on the prowl for dinner. Covered in more bone-like whiteness. Very inhumane, just like the mask. They match the glove-like arm coverings hiked halfway up my arms, which end in razor-like claws. Flexing them sends a rush of adrenaline throughout my body for some reason. The calling to use them on something beckons. Be that something alive or dead, it mattered not.

I'm in the Rukongai, so I've been told. Or at least that's all I can remember hearing while my ears were still functioning properly. Memory serves to tell me it was a routine Hollow extermination. What went wrong? The question buzzed angrily around in my headspace but would not get a proper answer. All of my unwilling being was fixated on the souls standing before me, cowering in fear. Trembling like wet dogs caught out in the downpouring rain. Holding back from going at them is becoming an invalid option.

There is an instant sensory blackout. My vision is the first to go, until everything is shut off and it becomes comfortably numb. There is no pain. My mind can't exactly process what's happening let alone send my nerves signals that should be pain. A flash. Everything is switched back on into high gear. The scents of the surrounding area rush to my olfactory receptors. Hold on a second, the false wind of recovery brings with it a new smell. One could only describe it with a single word: Human. The scent of man.

All goes still as the scene around me progresses. Anyone not in the cornered crowd has retreated to safety to avoid any happenings that might take place here today. There are no starving dogs on the streets, no homeless children. Just the individuals who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They beg and plead to go on their way but my body language quickly convinces them to stay put. Something sinister is going on right now and it is beyond words.

Then a distant sound catches my attention. Or perhaps, as close as a district away. The echo in my ears cannot ascertain the exact location of the thing barreling towards this place. "Footsteps?" Instead of in a calm tone, the one word inquiry comes out as a heinous growling that sounds like it should be in a horror movie. My head swivels as my gaze travels in the direction the footsteps come from. My restored vision works perfectly but my eyes feel fooled. They catch something foreign-feeling in my field of vision.

A beak the color of sooty ash.

I'm not un-used to a beak being fixed to my face as that is all part of the horrible mask. But this time, it is a strange color unlike that of which I've become accustomed. Like that of a common corvid from the Living World. Curiosity gets the better of me and my gaze shifts downward. There is nothing pleasurable waiting for my approval. Just bird-like legs the same ashen color as the beak. Ending in literal crow feet tipped with the talons of a hawk. Gripping the earth beneath me as if it were a tree limb. Talons dug deep into the dusty dirt.

So transfixed am I with all these changes that I do not take notice of the new arrival. A Shinigami no doubt, the one who was headed here so obviously. A grunt from the person and then an accompanying gasp is what catches my attention. It snaps my gaze to the person and their eyes catch mine. She seems at a loss for words at the unfolding sight, as if it's truly unbelievable. Something must be terribly amiss yet my brain is unable to register that fact.

"What...the hell is this?"

"It's insanity!" the cry emanates from a trembling man.

I don't understand much of anything that is going on here and from the look on her face she doesn't either. How could a friend turn into such an unstable force? It made no sense at all. But something told me I had no time to stand and ponder. It assaulted my soul with the forceful urge to move forward and strike. Not her, but the original targets. My eyes averted to them and and one of the younger individuals gulped audibly. In his head he probably knew his number was up.

Focus, focus! And go forward!

The voice left me no choice but to obey. And the onlooker who had arrived too late was too unnerved to make a move. Talons gripped the earth forcefully then pushed my entire form forward with a thrust of my legs. There was no resistance from Mother Nature. Simply a clear-cut path from me to them. Until something red and electrifying slammed right into my side. Next thing I knew, I was lying in a heap on the ground five feet away. Everything went black again.

Eyes adjusting to the change of light upon awakening, I was nothing but confused. Upon surveying my form there were no obvious changes or alterations. They'd left me as-is and thrown me in what appears to be a stone cell. It's cold and dimly lit. There is no one else around save for what seems like the same person from before, in the cell next to mine. We're separated by a thick slab of rock. But my ears can hear the words she's mumbling somehow. They're faint and disbelieving.

"This is a disaster."

That clear statement hits my brain and suddenly I'm up against the adjoining wall, trying to hear more. This mask has ear slits like that of any bird, that's all I have to work with. But I press the right one to the cold stone wall in a desperate effort to hear more. Something about that voice has captured my full focus and attention. No other bold words are uttered. So in an effort to catch her attention, I attempt speech. It comes out as a throaty snarl loud enough to echo.

"What the hell was that?"

It obviously worked, her attention is now on me. And every word of hers is like some kind of haunting music being played on an unknown instrument. I cling to the sounds mentally for reasons beyond my understanding. The driving force of madness has quieted down now and I am allowed control of my actions ever so slightly. So I scratch at the wall with the claws attached to the bird-like gloves over my hands. It's a painful sound yet I was driven to keep scratching. Begging for more words.

"This is your fault, what the hell went wrong with you?" Her tone is angry but calm. "You went out on a routine Hollow hunt and turned into some kind of twisted monster. Am I missing something, Captain?"

Oh yes, that's right. The formalities always come first. She hadn't rejoined the 8th but chose to stick around for a while for the sake of nostalgia. When I had a chance to interact with her, she stuck to using my formal title instead of casually using my name. Part of me was hurt over the gesture but I understood why it happened. Higher-ups commanded respect from subordinates.

"You got me thrown in here too. Once I explain what happened...I'll be able to go. But you, I heard them say you're going to the 12th. That Captain Kurotsuchi is going to have free reign in experiments. You'll be a lab rat."

That madman Mayuri was to be my Fate? Somehow, even in this altered state, I do not feel surprised by this notion. His plans probably already involve dissection and other such horrors. I won't live long. Nothing that I could do now would spare me the gruesome Fate that had been ensured ever since the kido blast hit me.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way."

The reveling in her voice was brought to a screeching halt as someone dressed mostly in white entered the chamber. Something about him reeked of Squad 12. My hazy memory says I met him once, others called him Tai. And he was most likely here to set my company free to return to the 8th. This drove something in me mad. The driving madness kicked in again and I clawed fervently at the stone walls. It was to no avail, because rock is far harder than whatever my claws were made of.

"You're a disgusting Hollow, just like the rest. Unfit to be a Captain." It was Tai, his tone was oozing with hatred.

Something about the man set off another switch in my brain and I rammed my whole body against the stone door to my cell. It only served to send me crashing to the floor a failure. But a whisper from the driving force forced me back onto my feet and gave me a terrifying idea. The beak on mask eased open and hot dribble worked its way to the floor, leaving instantly-evaporating drops of steam in their wake. Reiatsu was building from every portion of my soul and body. A little violet light was forming at the tip of the bottom half of the beak.

"A cero will do no good." Tai spat.

How wrong the man was. This 'cero' thing built to its most powerful of proportions and fired beyond my will. The stone door was blasted down with absolutely no effort. Tai had a look of sheer horro on his face as I stepped closer to him. His back was against another wall, leaving him with nowhere to escape. He dared not bolt for the chamber door he entered through, it would be futile. My companion said nothing as she watched in startled awe.

Claws slashed down, aiming for Tai's broad chest. They hit the mark evenly and bright red blood splattered in every direction. My clawed 'gloves' were covered in the droplets but I was not done. I lunged at him with all my strength and he was on the ground in an instant, the weight of a former Captain pinning him. The beak on my mask was driven effortlessly into his left shoulder and he screamed. More red splashed onto me, not stopping the endless assault. His nearly-severed shoulder was just not enough.

"STOP!" his cries seemed in vain.

Again the beak was driven into his flesh, this time his midsection. Blood and saliva bubbled up from his throat and painted the floor as well as my gloves as I used on 'hand' to cover his mouth. The force at the back of my mind shivered in sick satisfaction as I seemed to be ripping this man to pieces. It brought horrifying joy to me, watching him scream until he passed out from the damages. A quick claw swipe across his neck did Tai in once and for all.

But we weren't alone anymore. Other men in white from the 12th burst in, seeing the carnage. One of them looked like that 3rd seated officer, Akon. Another drew his sword and drove it forward. There was a scream from my caged companion and then the world went black one final time.

Walls of deep gray stone were spray-painted crimson that day.