Kim

"Both of you are idiots."
Arms crossed and reprimanding these two for their awful behavior, I was quite as fed up about them as Kasumi was.

"What?!" They both exclaimed at the same time. Rolling my eyes and getting out and feeling the fresh air hit my face, the boys also got out and bickered.

"You two just don't get what a car trip is do you? To think we're going out of the way and getting you home…and you complain about a car ride?" Both looked absolutely guilty when I said it this way and they looked where Kasumi stormed off to. "Be grateful she has a big enough heart to leave her company and leave it in someone else's hands while taking you two home. Though we're taking this as a vacation, you two are ridiculous complaining about it."

"Sorry…" not knowing which of them said it and heading to the restroom myself, I saw Kasumi sitting on the bench opposite of the building just staring at the trees. She was taking a moment for herself, probably calming down before ripping their heads off.

"You good," I called out to her and she waved back with a weak smile as her answer. Before walking inside the ladies room I happened to catch something moving in the trees. Thinking it was just the wind playing tricks on me, I stared a little harder and my ears picked up that strange screeching sound from last night. What Renji called a Hollow. I felt my body go rigid in seconds though as my instincts kicked in and felt my head start humming.
"KASUMI!"

It happened so quickly. Nothing prepared me for it. It came out of the trees and lashed its tongue at Kasumi, sending her flying out of the bench and to the ground. The tongue lashed above Kasumi for a moment more as if grabbing something but failed to grab anything as it returned to it. Running towards her only to have a trunk fly towards me, I leapt out of the way and hid behind the wall of the building for cover. The bark flew all around as it crashed and splintered into shrapnel. A sight never thought to be seen apart from movies. I staggered around the corner to run to Kasumi's side when I saw the creature coming closer and closer into the encampment. She was still on the ground, barely hearing an audible voice coming from her as she groaned in pain from the impact.
Diving in and sprinting towards her to hopefully grab her and run for it, she winced and coughed up a bit of blood before panic set in me.

"Kasumi…oh god please speak to me!" Seeing the Hollow still inching its way closer towards us, her hand gripped my shirt and I turned to see her trying to speak.

"Kim?" She held her head and was dazed. Eyes were dilated, meaning she hit her head hard.

"We need to move!" Getting her up and running away back to the car I watched as both Renji and Grimmjow ran past us towards the Hollow to fight it head on. My priority was getting Kasumi to safety, so I didn't look back and just got her into the car. "Are you ok? Did you bite your tongue? Your lip?" Checking the damage and seeing what was done, she winced when I touched her mouth and I saw the cut on the lip. "Nothing too serious, that'll heal. I'm more worried about your head and whatever might be broken from that hit you took."

"Where are they?" She looked around and realized the boys were not here. "Grimmjow and Renji, where are they?" Wincing painfully as she tried sitting up, coughing a little blood in the moment, I laid her back down.

"Their fighting that thing that attacked you…they can handle it." Keeping most information to myself knowing Renji and Grimmjow battle those things regularly, I was ready to move out and leave them if necessary.

"What do you mean?" The look of horror on her face as she tried opening the door to get out, I slammed it back shut and faced her seriously. There was no other way around it, she'd go out there and run to them if it wasn't for me here.

"They fight those things on a regular basis…Renji told me about them. Trust me, they can handle it." She was frightened about the whole thing—which I don't blame her—but as soon as I went to see out the window I watched as Renji was running back here to the car yelling something. I opened the door slightly and heard him.

"GET OUT OF THERE!"

In seconds the roof of the car was crushed by something. A tree perhaps, but something caved the roof of the car and pinned us in it. I could hear Renji screaming a battle cry, and another battle cry coming from Grimmjow as he rushed to our aid to get us out. Perhaps another Hollow came through the roof of the car, it took Renji a few minutes before Grimmjow was able to get in.

"SHIT!" He took a quick look inside the car and saw how crushed it turned out and that I was pinned between the seats. "Can you move?!"

"I can try…" moving just a little at a time and having his help getting the seats to move, I managed to crawl out with only a few scratches and a twisted ankle. "Kasumi!"

"This…hurts…"
I peered into a horror scene. The roof of the car had her pinned into the seat and her legs crushed. Her head was bleeding and she was looking at me with the most frightened expression she's ever worn.

"Stand back," Grimmjow ordered. I did so and watched as he placed his hand inside the car and tried moving the roof back up.

"You can't do it without a tool, we need the jaws of life to pry the car roof off her!"

"Shut up!" He was gritting his teeth and groaning from the strain. He looked at the tree on top of the car and managed to move it off without anyone's assistance! He was strong, but not strong enough to move a damn tree with such damn ease. "Kasumi can you hear me," he leaned into the car by her and propped his back onto the roof and got himself situated to do something. "I'm getting you out of this, just keep your eyes open." Hands on the roof and pushing with all his might, the metal frame bulked and popped with the pressure of him pushing and I witnessed something incredible.
I knew now what Renji spoke of with them not being human…he wasn't lying. Seeing Renji fighting the creature with his sword and holding it off, I was faced with an unknown feeling in my chest. I couldn't protect Kasumi from these things…I'm scared…I can't fight them off.

"Kim, get somewhere safe, I'll bring Kasumi out of this." Grimmjow managed to move the roof enough to sit up and he was working on the seat pinning her legs in. Not really in a position to argue and moving towards the restroom building, I could hear Renji yelling at the creature and fighting with all he got.

Kasumi

Everything is happening too quickly for me to figure out what happened. I was talking to Kim and the next thing I knew the car started crushing me. My legs are screaming in agony…I think both of them are completely shattered…I can't really tell. That, and my lungs feel as though I'm swallowing glass…I'm scared. Something feels off too…I don't feel so good…am I dying? Please…I'm scared, I don't want to die!

"Kasumi," hearing Grimmjow and barely opening my eyes to him looming over me, he was sweating a lot and seemed determined to get me out of this mess. "I got you…stay with me." Encouraging words that seem so alien of him to do, I held onto those words and could only groan to respond. "Thatta girl…I'll get you out of this."
He gently shifted my body into his and I screamed when my legs moved.
"Shit, your legs…bite my shoulder, don't release."
Hugging me so I could try and wrap my arms around his neck and doing as he asked and biting his shoulder, he moved fairly quick and I screamed while biting down and breaking skin. Blood trickled into my mouth making me want to gag but I refused to release as the pain was horridly unbearable.
"That's it…just do that until I get you out of this." Unfazed me biting his shoulder this hard, probably the most reassuring thing I could ask for right now was his calmness.

"Mmffh…" crying—more like sobbing—I clenched onto him as he moved me from the car and I opened my bleary eyes to seeing Renji fighting something grotesque. "Wha…"

"Don't talk."
He hurriedly placed me down and started examining me when I felt my legs pulsate with pain.
"Shit…this looks bad…"
He covered his mouth and was trying to figure out what he could do but knew not where to start.
"I'm no medic…I can't even numb the pain." He berated himself as though there was somehow a way for him to do so before.

"Grimmjow," hearing Renji coming with a sword in hand from nowhere, he was exhausted and looked at us with grimace. "Damn…where's Kim?"

"Told her to hide," he answered sourly.

"I sense more coming…but why are we only just sensing them now?"

"Fuck if I know!" Furious, Renji said nothing more and went to grab Kim. "Dammit all…those things wouldn't stand a chance if I was—" gritting his teeth as he looked away, I was noticing something odd on his face.

Blurry at first, as though there was a mirage forming, but I was clearly seeing something like teeth appearing on his face? Watching with awe and horror as the teeth was more profound like a jaw, he seemed to have caught me staring and reached for his face and his eyes widened.

"My mask?"

"Grimmjow," Renji had Kim and was coming back when he noticed him. "Your mask returned? What of your reiatsu?!"

"…don't know why it's happening now, but this will feel really good." Standing up and walking away from me, Kim ran to my side as we both watched them stand ready for another fight. "They be coming faster now…looks like your zanpakutou is sticking around."

"I was able to bring it out briefly, but it vanished in minutes as though it couldn't retain its form."

"Well then let's kill these fuckers off and ask questions later." Popping his knuckles and neck ready to fight them off, he was grinning like a serial killer.

They were like completely different people when they fought the monsters. Renji wielding his katana with such precision as he hacked several monsters in two was unlike anything I've ever seen. Grimmjow's wild prowess was feral. He held no weapon but his hands as though he had claws form. Leaping high into the air and spinning down in quick motions, slicing the creatures and hearing them wail as they dissolved into nothing. Perplexed to what I was seeing and not knowing what was going on, even Kim seemed more frightened then I've ever seen of her.

"What the hell…" shaking from fear from the scene, I didn't know what to think.

"Kasumi…I don't think they were lying about not being human." She was speaking softly as not to have them aware and I couldn't have agreed more for the caution. "There's no way we could doubt them after this…"

"They…they won't hurt us…" telling myself this rather than making it a statement, she agreed anyhow and held my hand tightly. "I need to get to a hospital…" remembering my own condition after the shock settled, the two turned back our way and there was something more alarming forming on Grimmjow that had me gasp. "Your stomach!"

He looked down and touched the gaping hole that appeared there and seemed familiar with it. There was no blood, but how is he fine with a hole in him?!

"Told ya didn't I…I ain't human." As though saying it again to have me accept this fact, he wasn't lying.
The mask as he called it was slightly jarring to me, but so was the hole he had in his stomach that has no blood or scarring around it. He kept looking at me though…his features more profound as the day I met him, I never noticed that he seemed older?

"Grimmjow I'm starting to feel reishi gather here…" Renji turned away and held out his katana at nothing when something started glowing? "A senkaimon! Grimmjow we can return home!"

"Well we're taking them along and getting them treated."

"Of course." He sheathed his katana and approached us both while holding out his hand to Kim for her to come. "We'll take you to the Soul Society where the best medic will tend to you both."

"…this is the place you keep mentioning and wanting to go back to…right?" Kim asked.

"Yes," tentatively speaking, Renji took hold of Kim's hand and waited for Grimmjow to come towards me when I couldn't stop staring at his new appearance. "I can numb the pain long enough to reach Captain Unohana," kneeling down quickly and a vibrant green glow emanated from his hand that subsided the pain almost immediately!

"What the—was that magic?!" He shook his head with uncertainty and nodded to Grimmjow. "Wait Grimmjow my legs—" he swooped in and picked me up rather quickly but there was no pain with my legs dangling the way they were. "Whoa…"

"Before this gets out of hand let's head through." Grimmjow seemed like a different person as he carried me through the gate and into some dark void of space that frightened me thinking we were going to fall into nothingness. "Don't worry, my reishi control is back to create a path."

"Path?" Looking down and seeing a white bridge of sorts that even Kim was able to walk on while clutching onto Renji, this was unbelievable.

"…I'm sorry about your legs…" he spoke softly. "I'd take your place if I could."

"This…this is definitely going to hinder my work when I get back home." Trying to joke about it, lifting the heavy atmosphere, he glanced at me but didn't speak. "So this is your mask…you've mentioned it several times before, even fiddled with your face a bunch of times…this is it?"

"Yeah…I'm an Espada…but before that I was something less with the form of an animal more or less before being created to what I am now."

"Created huh…this is really confusing, you know that?"

"Heh…" tension eased, there was a light at the end of this strange darkness and I could almost see buildings on the other side! "Almost there now."