Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or it's Characters. Bleach (c) Kubo Tite

Chapter 20

"This is an emergency!" Ukitake shouted into a strange device. "There has been an appearance of a menos grande in my location! I am requesting a release of the power limit for myself and my vice captain Kuchiki Byakuya!"
"That request will take 5 minutes to process, sir!" A voice said from the device Ukitake was holding.
"Five minutes? Damnit, that might take too long!" Ukitake said angrily.
The menos grande continued moving forward into the world. Ukitake could only watch and wait until is power limit was lifted. Until then, he could be no help.
Byakuya continued his attacks on the menos. He had also casted several kido spells, but the seemed to have little effect. Five minutes until he could be at his full power, could he wait that long?

--
I was on my way to take down the menos. I made sure to stay behind it so I would be more safe. It was walking for a bit but suddenly stood still. Did it notice me? It didn't turn at all. But I could see some red energy forming around it's head. Was it going to cero? If it ceros in Byakuya and Ukitake's direction, they're done for! I should take my oppotunities as they appear. I stood still and held Rei with both arms over my head. I closed my eyes and began to form a large ice shard. The largest I had ever attempted to create. I could feel it grow larger and larger. I levitated it in the air with my power, but it was becoming troublesome with it's weight.
I had to send it up and strike the menos's head quickly and strongly. I formed a tornado around the large ice shard to help move it through the air. With all my strength and energy, I shot the ice shard directly for the menos's head! It traveled so fast, I was worried the icicle would break apart before reacting the target.

But it hit. It pierced all the way through the skull of the giant. Did I really do it? Did I win? I fell to the ground suddenly. It was almost as if all the energy was diminished. No, that's what really happen. I was lying face down on the ground. I tried to look up at the menos as well as I could. It was nodding back and forth and finally started to fall. In my direction!
I couldn't move. I couldn't get up to get away. I was face down on the ground, my zanpakuto still clutched in my hand. Does this seem familiar or what? Am I going to die the same way I did in life? No, I can't. I need to escape. Rei. Rei please! Do something please.

"I can't. I only have as much energy as you, Hisana-chan." Rei told me in a quiet voice.
I closed my eyes as the air became heavier. It was hard to breathe now. I felt like the pressure of water was all around me. I was going to be crushed. My body suddenly felt very light. The ground felt normal. There was dirt in my mouth. I sat up and spit it out. What happened to the menos? Wasn't going to fall on me and crush me? I looked above me. The menos's body was melting away into the air. It melted before it got the chance to crush me. I am the winner! I tried to stand up but fell down. I am the winner that cannot walk!

I rolled over and sheathed Rei. I was feeling tired and hungry. The meat of the fish I ate was definately gone. What would happen now? Will Byakuya and Ukitake find me? Or had they already? No, no way! They're too tough to die. A lot better than me. Of course they're ok, I'm the one that's paralyzed on the ground.
I smiled to myself and left out a few coughs. It wouldn't be a problem if I just fell asleep here, would it? I rolled over to my ride side. My left side still ached from my injures I suffered earlier. I closed my eyes, and started to nod off into sleep.

"Kazehana-chan? Kazehana-chan!" Ukitake yelled directly into my ear.
"You don't have to be so dramatic." I said in a frail voice.
I opened my eyes and looked straight up into Captain Ukitake's eyes. He looked like he had tears in his eyes. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak.
"Kazehana-chan! You're alive!" Ukitaked exclaimed as he scooped me into his arms and gave me a tight hug.
"Captain... my ribs.. are bruised... I'm in a lot of pain...so-" I stammered.

Just when he heard what I said, he released me and I fell to the ground with a thud. Ouch. I gave him an annoyed look as he reached over to pat me on the head. He smiled widely.
"You did it Kazehana-chan." Ukitake said happily.
"That was reckless." Byakuya said as he was walking towards us. He seemed very upset. "What would you have done if you missed? What would have happened if there were other hollows nearby? You used up all of your energy to perform that one attack. You are defenseless now."
"I'm sorry if I had made you worry Senpai." I said. I could barely lift up my head to look up in the eyes.
"Vice Captain Kuchiki." he reminded me in a cold tone.
"Vice Captain." I corrected myself.

"Ok, I see we're all very tired here tonight. Let's try to get some rest." Ukitake said trying to change the subject.
Ukitake picked me up and carried me on his back. Byakuya walked quietly behind us. Man, his mood changes quickly. First he's cold, then his tender to me, and he repeats in that cycle. I don't get it. I took care of that big bad menos. He can't even say, "Good job Hisana-sama. Do as your heart desires! Leap freely into my manly bosom!"
"He'd never say that no matter what you did. He's right you know. If another hollow was nearby, it could have easily eaten you. You would have been defenseless." Rei said sarcastically to me.
"You don't know that for sure." I replied.

"Um, Kazehana-chan? Who are you talking to?" Ukitake asked me nervously.
"I'm having a minor dispute with my zanpakuto." I scoffed.
"Oh?" Ukitake murmured.
"She's saying it was pretty irresponsible what I did back there. That I left myself defenseless if another hollow tried to attack me." I quietly said.
"Your zanpakuto is correct." Byakuya uttered. "It's not very often a zanpakuto is so much wiser than the owner."
"My zanpakuto is just as irrational as me!" I protested while shaking my fist at Byakuya.

"Are you really, sticking up for yourself, Kazehana-chan?" Ukitake asked me in a confused voice. "Oh, we're back at the campsite so soon?"
The tent was just as we left it. Ukitake set me down in front of the tent as he began digging around in his backpack. He pulled out some short poles with some string and some paper charms. He walked around the tent, sticking the poles in the ground while tieing the string to them. After he had finished surrounding the tent with six poles. He tied paper charms to the strings.
"What's all this for, Captain?" I asked him.
"This is a little security technique. In case a hollow attempts to attack when we're sleeping." He said with confidence.
"I see." I said while looking in the tent. I was very interested with that futon.
I had enough energy to crawl inside the tent. I removed Rei and set her down at the side of the tent. Ukitake entered the tent and sat down next to me. Byakuya did not enter. I peered outside, he wasn't anywhere around the campsite.
"Where did the Vice Captain go?" I asked.

"He probably is going on patrol again."
"He hasn't taken any time to rest at all." I said kind of sadly.
"Don't worry, he knows when he reaches his limits. He'll rest soon enough." Ukitake said reassuringly.
"Ok. Good night Captain Ukitake." I said to him.
"Good night, Kazehana-chan." He said as he padded me on the head again.

--
Byakuya walked silently through the dark forest. His hands were clentched in fists. How reckless, he thought. It would have been so easy for a nearby hollow to attack Hisana-chan. She did not need to bother with attacking the menos. It would not have been long for the power limit to be released, and the menos would have been taken care of quickly. Why was she so impaitent?
Byakuya found himself at the river's edge and sat down besides it. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the rushing water. He still had it in his vision. The sight of the menos's mask cracking and breaking. The sound of wind and the shattering of ice. The low moan the menos made after it was struck mortally. Byakuya felt Hisana's spiritual energy fall till it was barely detectable. It frightened him. He rushed out to look for her.
And he found her, begin held in his Captain's arms. That was the first time in years, Byakuya had felt the heat of jealousy. It wasn't even the normal rival kind of jealousy he had felt in the past. It was a deep, dark jealousy that sickened him. Ukitake did drop her to the ground absentmindedly when she said she was in pain. But he still felt enviousness of Ukitake's smile when he had his arms around her.

However, Ukitake was the sort of man who embraced anyone he cared for, even a little. Yes, he was an affectionate man towards the people he cared for, especially those in his division. It was less than a month ago when he had to bury three of his comrades and he had been depressed since then. Having Hisana suddenly join the division had brightened his mood.
He was impressed that she had enough power to strike down a menos. But she only had enough power for one strike. She did lose a bit of her stamina fighting the first hollow she encountered. He had been silently watching her fight with the hollow. Watching her tactics and her reaction to it. She did have a decent fight, considering it was the first hollow she had ever confronted. When she was knocked away by that hollow, Byakuya drew his zanpakuto before he realized he was holding it.

Her wounds weren't truely severe. They might have been painful to her, but not really all that damage to her body. He really only meant to apply ointment to her back and arm. And haver her arm bandaged only. But sensing her bruised ribs, he decided it was in her best interested to have that taken care of aswell. If his mother and father had found out about his personal treatment of Hisana's injuries, they might have just cheered him on. They were aloof parents that were more interested in him finding a wife than focusing on their own duties. Byakuya shook his head to himself.
Ukitake rekindled the campfire. He was making himself a pot of tea. He spent a few minutes earlier admiring Hisana's sleeping face. She was sleeping tranquilly, but her breathing was laborsome. There was some tension in her face. Ukitake felt warm feelings towards Hisana that caused him some concern. He had only recently met this odd young woman, but she had the kind of charisma that he found himself drawn to. But deep in his heart, he knew his affections were forbidden.