Chapter Eighteen
It was only when no one had the energy to lift themselves from the sand that the impromptu free-for-all training session came to an end. To push one's self beyond the limits of one's endurance, one usually requires outside encouragement, and when both combatants finally collapse in pitiful wheezing heaps, that's the end of it.
Herald, Edward, Yylfordt, Erina, and Kitsune were all still down in the basement, either unconscious where they had fallen or trying to be, when Ryohime came to.
She sat up, wondering how long she had been unconscious. Her injuries had been healed, she noted, so either their combined efforts had locked away the black Hollow Dikayumi was becoming... or they had failed, and at least Erina or Kitsune had survived. Ryohime thought they must have succeeded, considering the building was still standing, though her friends' reiatsu down below did seem rather weak.
She got up carefully, then, convinced she was back in fighting order, and headed for the basement to see what was going on.
Kitsune was the only one who had the energy left to wave at her as she hopped down nearby.
"He-ey, nice to see you're up and about."
"What happened to everyone?" asked Ryohime, eyeing the Bakudos some distance away. The many layers made it impossible to see inside, but they were clearly intact, which was a good sign.
"We trained," grunted Edward, who was lying face-first in the sand. "All day."
Ryohime raised her eyebrows in surprise. "But Herald is here."
Herald groaned at her. Edward translated.
"We were feeling out of practice, so we decided to keep going until we dropped. Now we've dropped, and we're staying here."
"School?"
"Mod-souls can go."
"Patrolling?"
"That's what you're for."
Ryohime couldn't help but smile. "Fine, then. Though it seems you could be training your endurance now."
Edward looked sideways at her with a blank expression. She laughed aloud at his sand-covered mess of hair, usually brushed over just so. He grumbled incoherently at her and went limp in the sand again.
On the surface Karakura felt calm, a nice change from recent days... had it been days? Ryohime wasn't entirely sure what day it even was anymore and it confused everything. The morning was un-interrupted, though... she couldn't even sense any common Hollows hanging around. They had probably been scared away by the intense reiatsus that had been active lately. To some degree, Hollows were attracted by strong reiatsu... but there was a point when Hollows stopped trying to eat you and just got out of the way.
It was around midday by the time Ryohime sensed action. A Garganta, from the feel of it, which immediately put her on guard. She released Muramasa and asked him to warn the others that there might be another skirmish, then jumped off in the direction of the Garganta.
It wasn't much of a group this time, and from the feel of it Caro himself wasn't even present, so Ryohime thought that, for once, they might be in luck. Two figures stood in the opening of the Garganta, and as she drew closer Ryohime saw the smaller of the two actually turn and go back through before it closed again, leaving his companion alone.
A moment later, though, she jumped close enough to recognize that one figure, and her optimism drained away. It was the mad, animalistic Vasto Lorde thing Caro had brought last time.
It was standing on the air, looking down at Karakura Town as if trying to find its first target. Ryohime gritted her teeth; defending Karakura from collateral damage would be very difficult against such a powerful opponent. Fighting it alone, the battle would undoubtedly be long, drawn out... if she could even match it. Steve. For this particular battle, she needed Steve.
Muramasa stepped out of the air by her side, eyeing their opponent carefully.
"The others are in poor shape for a fight, they would have likely been more of a hindrance then a help."
Ryohime moistened her lips nervously, tightening her hold on her Zanpakuto's hilt. "We'll just have to take that thing ourselves, then. Ready?"
Muramasa flexed his fingers, his long, sharp fingernails clicking dangerously. "On your mark."
"Then let's go!"
The two seemed to vanish, Ryohime flash-stepping and Muramasa phasing in and out of reality as only he could. The Hollow whirled on them the moment they moved, as if it had been waiting for just that. Ryohime almost didn't see it when the Hollow Sonido'd towards her, but the blur of movement was just enough so she could jump awkwardly out of the way. One of the needle-like spikes sticking out of the creature's skin slashed her arm as it passed, and she let out a hiss of pain. The Hollow turned, skidding backwards through the air at the speed of its Sonido, but before it could charge Ryohime again Muramasa appeared behind it, driving his hand dagger-like into it's back.
The Hollow screeched that reverberating Hollow screech, whirling on Muramasa and backhanding him before the latter could react. The force of the blow sent Muramasa flying backwards, though he phased out of reality before he hit anything. Ryohime flashed above the Hollow and dropped down towards it silently, but it sensed her presence and jumped nimbly out of the way, grabbing her by the arm and flinging her with insane strength straight into the nearest roof.
Something cracked when Ryohime hit, though what it was (besides the roof) Ryohime couldn't tell. Pain hit a moment after, making the world flicker before her eyes. She gasped for breath, levering herself out of the wreckage...
The Hollow appeared directly above her, tail lashing, and pointed at her with deadly authority as an unsteady, jagged cero began forming on its fingertip. Ryohime had the chance to think, This building has people in it!, before her own hands were raised, the strongest Bakudo she could think of flashing through her mind. There's no time to do the chant.
"Bakudo no-"
The cero hit.
Ryohime!
Ryohime flung herself out of the blast, dropping to the ground and hastily rolling to smother the flames destroying her robes. Her skin was red with burns, but she simply gritted her teeth past the pain and flash-stepped away, trying to gain some distance.
Muramasa appeared next to her again, holding her Zanpakuto. She had lost hold of it in the building. "I was able to get a brief connection with his mind," he said as Ryohime hastily took her empty Zanpakuto back. "Just a moment, but I think he is actually more like an Arrancar then he is a lower Hollow. There is more in there then instinct."
Ryohime frowned, changing direction abruptly as the Hollow tried to intercept her. "That's hard to believe. Do you think it... is this his release form, an Arrancar Zanpakuto merge? Something you can work with?"
"It's worth a shot."
They had already determined that Muramasa did indeed hold some sway over Arrancars' Zanpakutos, their Resurreccións. Not nearly as much as with the more personified Zanpakuto spirits of Shinigami, but there had been far less of a chance to practice. This, however, would be their first real attempt under pressure. The fight at Seireitei had moved too fast for them.
Ryohime took a deep breath.
"Alright, I'll distract him."
Muramasa nodded and vanished, and Ryohime immediately began building a double incantation on the run. She was wary of clashing with that Hollow again head on; their brief exchange had been entirely one-sided. It screamed again, a kind of impatient roar, and a wave of reiatsu washed over the area. Ryohime missed a step, her Shunpo slipping for just a moment, but the Hollow noticed her and charged, rapidly closing the distance. Its gait was strange, it transitioned smoothly from running normally to a sprint on all fours, and back again.
The double incantation caught it a heartbeat from reaching Ryohime, a pair of Bakudos for restraint and immobilization. Ryohime hopped back away from its outstretched claw, instinctively slamming it in the face with a Byakurai kido.
It hardly seemed to notice, save for snarling. Ryohime hadn't had the chance to really see the creature up close before, but now, trapped as it was in her Bakudos, she had that opportunity. And, instantly, she felt guilty for that reactive Byakurai.
Everything about this Hollow was broken, and cracked, and sewn back together. It's hole looked like it had been torn out by hand, with a long jagged tear on one side. It didn't have a proper mask, at all, rather two cracked, broken halves from clearly different Hollows stuck together. She could see dead-white skin between the broken edges, with veins of an unnatural yellow sticking out dramatically.
It was an abomination, and Ryohime couldn't help but feel sorry for it. A lot of Hollows were victims of fate, anyway... this was pushing that misfortune to a level that seemed entirely, inhumanly cruel.
Even as she looked her enemy in the face for the first time, she was chanting additional Bakudos to supplement the ones she had. It had been a matter of luck that she had caught the Hollow at all, and she wasn't convinced she could do it again if it got out. Even now it was struggling against the kido ties, cracking and tearing them with brute force.
Muramasa needed time, though, to get into whatever inner world or Arrancar equivalent this monster might have. It made more sense now, seeing that broken mask, that the Hollow could be closer to an Arrancar, but Ryohime wondered what Muramasa would actually find it there. Making a Zanpakuto rebel wasn't an end-all for Shinigami if they practiced all the forms of fighting, and it wouldn't be for this beast either. They could keep it from becoming even more powerful, but dealing with it as it was... wasn't going to be easy, either way.
Her introspection cost her. Her concentration broke for just a moment, and the Bakudo fizzled away to nothing. With a curse she flashed away, hearing the final cracks as the Hollow smashed its restraints. It roared in angry triumph, and before Ryohime could build up enough speed to get away it intercepted her, yanking her out of the air by the throat. Ryohime choked, slashing at the Hollow's arm, but her empty Zanpakuto didn't even break the hierro.
The Hollow dragged her close and roared in her face, it's mad eyes glowing yellow. Hurry, Muramasa!
As if summoned by her thoughts (and in fact he probably was) Muramasa appeared again behind the Hollow, his expression clouded. Ryohime felt her hand tighten around air as her Zanpakuto vanished, reappearing in Muramasa's own hands.
The Hollow sensed his presence and was halfway through a turn when Muramasa plunged the Zanpakuto into its chest. It's claw loosened and Ryohime slipped down into open air. Muramasa flashed through the air and caught her, once again pressing her Zanpakuto back into her hands.
"It's time, Ryohime," he said grimly. "Our opponent is Vance."