Chapter 21: Menos Grande

The next day, Toshiro was sleeping at his desk when he sensed someone approaching. Opening his eyes, he watched as Ishida Uryu crept into the room and cast around, seemingly looking for something. There was another noise outside and the pale Quincy froze before diving under a couch.

Suddenly the black and white painted face of Kurotsuchi appeared around the door, 'Quincy,' he called out, 'I know you're in here,'

'Kurotsuchi,' Toshiro stood and walked towards the captain, 'What are you doing?'

'Tracking that Quincy,' Mayuri cackled, 'He hates it,'

'Well, since I'm trying to work,' Toshiro knew that it was dangerous to indirectly insult Kurotsuchi, but he continued anyway, 'Could you please leave?'

Mayuri just laughed and walked away, abruptly pausing after just a few steps, 'Ah, I was supposed to tell you that I'm currently researching the two zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki and Sode no Kurayuki. I was wondering if there was a reason for them being so similar,' yellow gold teeth bared in a grin, 'Goodbye,'

Toshiro, despite being interested in what the captain had said, decided that Kurotsuchi's 'tracking' hadn't been very important.

Uryu slid out from under the seat and brushed himself off, turning to the captain, who was just sitting back down, he said, 'Thank you,'

Toshiro took a calming breath, wondering why everyone seemed to have set out on missions to make as much fuss while in his presence as possible, 'What were you doing?'

He really actually didn't want to know.

'Hiding from that sadistic, maniacal, insane,' Toshiro tuned out as the list continued, refocusing only as the agitated teenager finished speaking, 'Excuse of a scientist and shinigami captain,' then he breathed in deeply and composed himself, 'I'm sorry if I disturbed you,'

Toshiro just nodded as he was left alone once again.

Rukia was sitting in a tree and trying to focus nothing. If her mind wandered for a second, she began imagining all of the terrible things she'd do to Renji or Ichigo is they dared show their faces here again.

Only yesterday they'd come to visit her and ended up destroying two screens and a table, and this morning, before the two of them left to fight some menos grande, they'd appeared only to leave five minutes later after insulting her.

Nee-sama doesn't approve of Ichigo, the shinigami thought as she leant against the tree trunk, But he does respect everything he's done for the Soul Society. And I know he respects Renji too, her eyebrow twitched, Except when he's being an idiot. No one in their right mind would think remotely about respecting him then.

'Rukia!' Orihime's cheerful voice made her look down, 'Hi!'

'Hello Orihime,' jumping from the tree, Rukia made her way over to her friend, then she paused, 'I know this might sound strange, but why did you come to the Soul Society in the first place?'

'We've been here for a few days or so and you only thought to ask that now?' Orihime giggled, 'We came because Urahara said,' she leaned forwards and spoke conspiratorially, mimicking the shopkeeper's voice, 'It looks like its pretty exciting there at the moment,'

Rukia tried hard not to let her amusement show, 'I see,'

'Anyway!' Orihime grabbed her hand and began dragging her away, 'Let's go do something fun!'

Ikkaku glared at Matsumoto as she made another weak joke about his hairstyle, or lack of one, and everyone else snickered.

A thrumming twitch was pounding over his eye and, at last, he shouted, 'I'm not bald!'

Yumichika, Renji and Ichigo all looked at him in amusement, then, in unison, they all said, 'Yes you are,'

Then, Yumichika, deciding that there really was only so much verbal bashing a person could handle in one day, commented, 'So Renji, what are we doing out here anyway?'

He looked over the empty expanse of land in east Rukongai that they were currently standing in – a large field surrounded by tall, dark trees.

'Menos Grande,' the Sixth Division Lieutenant didn't sound concerned, 'Shouldn't be a problem,'

As he finished speaking, a cero hit the ground a metre from him, causing everyone to jump.

'What?' Rangiku's eyes were wide, 'No reiatsu?'

Ichigo pulled Zangetsu from his back and cast around, eyes searching through the tall trees for any signs of the menos. Renji and Yumichika released their shikais.

Another red blast shot from the foliage and the five shinigami scattered.

None of them could see the massive Hollows, or sense them – it seemed like an impossible situation.

'Getsuga Tensho!' Ichigo fired off a blast through the trees and there was a muffled noise as if it had hit something.

'Bankai!' understanding Ichigo's strategy – which wasn't a strategy at all, more like 'yay! Let's fire dangerous blasts of energy in random directions and hope nobody gets hurt' – Renji released his zanpakuto, 'Hihio Zabimaru,' turning around, he yelled, 'Hikotsu Taiho,'

A bolt of red energy flew from the snake like jaws of his bankai and there was another muffled sound.

Matsumoto had been jumping up through the branches of the tallest tree nearby, and now she turned around to see if she could locate the menos. As the woman did a full revolution, his eyes widened slightly and a feeling of hopelessness began to tug at her.

There weren't just a few of the mammoth Hollows as they'd originally thought – beyond the thin ring of trees, hundreds of menos moved slowly towards them. Already they were moving through the trees, the ones with smoking mouths presumably the ones who fired the ceros, and she also noticed that two were injured. She realised that Kurosaki's 'strategy' would be the most effective, as wherever they aimed, they would be certain to hit a menos.

Reaching for the communications device she carried, Rangiku spoke into the microphone, 'This is Matsumoto Rangiku, Lieutenant of the Tenth Division, requesting immediate backup,'

'Are you serious?' Renji sounded shocked, 'We should call for reinforcements,'

Rangiku cut him off, 'I've already done that, they should arrive soon,'

'Right,' Ikkaku stretched, 'Let's get a move on then!'

Without waiting for anyone else, he leapt towards the trees, vanishing. There was silence for a moment, and then a crash as the first menos was felled.

Yumichika didn't hesitate before disappearing after his friend.

'Ichigo,' Renji glared at the orange haired shinigami, 'If you die, I'll kill you in Rukia's stead,'

Rangiku couldn't help but laugh at the two of them, and she found Ichigo's blank expression especially funny, so she kept chuckling even as she released her zanpakuto.

The ash flew out as she jumped up into the sky, surrounding one of the menos. Making sure that the Hollow had been covered well, Matsumoto jerked on the hilt of Heineko and the ash tore apart the white mask.

Ceros and reiatsu blasts went off randomly and the whole area was chaos.

'Hyaaaah!' the five shinigami paused in their attacks when a harsh roar sounded and a wave of gold reiatsu sliced four menos grande in half.

'Zaraki!' Ikkaku turned around from where he was and used shunpo to arrive near his captain, Yumichika not far behind.

'What a good gathering,' resting his zanpakuto on his shoulder, Kenpachi Zaraki grinned widely, 'This should be fun,'

Matsumoto found herself surprisingly relieved when the fearsome captain of the Eleventh Division appeared and hoped that, despite the multitudes of menos, they might be able to win.

'Are you the only back up they could afford to send?' Ichigo yelled as he slashed through another Hollow.

Zaraki's grin was menacing as he shot forwards, zanpakuto missing Ichigo's head by millimetres, 'You're in my way!' he shouted as he cleaved two more menos in half.

Ichigo almost swore as he used shunpo to remove himself from the area directly around Kenpachi.

Then the air around them turned red as all of the menos grande, who had gathered tightly around the circle of grass, began charging their ceros.

Five pairs of eyes widened in horror as everyone except Zaraki, believed that maybe they wouldn't be as lucky as they'd previously thought.

Author's Note:

Death by cero . . . not something I'd want to experience . . .