V
"You so did not win!" Tetsuya said insistently.
"I did too!" Takeshi argued.
"When are you two going to give it a rest!?" a frustrated Isao shouted. Hisoka couldn't blame him. Ever since their "historical" match two weeks ago Takeshi and Tetsuya had been arguing over the victor every time they were in the same room together. It had gotten so bad that at points Isao and Hisoka had just flat out left them to argue and gone about their own business.
"Seriously." Hisoka said when the two did not take Isao's hint. "You two have been at it for weeks. Besides, isn't there something much more interesting to talk about right now."
Hisoka's last statement broke through Takeshi and Tetsuya's stubbornness, if only for a moment. "Your right." Takeshi admitted. Tetsuya nodded in agreement and added, "So what do you think this is about anyway?"
Hisoka and Isao merely shrugged. Nobody seemed to know why Gengoro had called the four of them to his office out of the blue today. Whatever it was, it had to be important. In all their time attending the Shinoreijutsuin the boys had never known Gengoro to let them out of their practices. It was like committing a cardinal sin for him.
For most of an hour the four sat outside the office debating over what the purpose in their summons had been. Only when they had finally run out of ideas did Gengoro feel the need to open his office door and allow them inside. When the boys did step inside the office, however, they understood immediately what Gengoro had been taking so long for.
Inside the office, standing as noble as ever, was Byakuya Kuchiki. Beside him stood his loyal lieutenant, Renji Abaria along with another the boys had never met but recognized immediately as Byakuya's younger sister, Rukia. "Sit." Gengoro ordered as he shut the door behind them.
Doing as they were told the students took their seats along the back wall. "Boys," Gengoro said, "It has come to the attention of the school that the four of you have been making incredible progress. Your moving much faster than any of us have expected. In fact, one of you has already managed to cast an Eishohaki Kido and another has performed a Shunpo. Although the level to which these feats were performed was low, it was still well above an average Shinigami at your age. In fact, you boys performed acts that most of our third years have had trouble with and you are only in your first.
"It is for this reason that we of the Shinoreijutsuin have decided to consider advancing your training and accelerating you to a higher year. Although this is not exactly a rare occurrence, it does take time. In the meantime, we feel you deserve a reward of sorts for your efforts. Therefore, we will be allowing you to go along with the third years to their Hollow Cleansing observation. This will give you at least some edge over the others in your year as a reward for your success, as well as give us time to decide upon our course of action. Renji will now explain the process."
"Thank you sir." Renji said, acknowledging his old teacher with the utmost of respect. "First off," he said "I want to congratulate the four of you." The boys could see a grin pull at Renji's mouth despite how hard he tried to remain serious in front of his Captain, who did not tolerate nonsense. They knew that Renji truly was proud of them. After all, it was he who had stuck his neck out to provide for them this opportunity in the first place.
"Now, lets get down to business." Renji said, his face returning to a mask of focus. "As I am sure you already know, it is a tradition for the third year students of the Shinoreijutsuin to attend a true Hollow Cleansing in order to better understand the concept and how one is performed. The 13 Divisions have dutifully taken it in turns to lead this trip and this year the torch has been passed to the 13th Division, which you all know to be Captain Kuchiki's division.
"Captain Kuchiki, however, has elected not to lead the trip as is his right as a Captain. Therefore, the job has been passed down to me and one other member of the division of my choice. I have chosen Rukia Kuchiki as my assistant in this matter, so you will all treat her with just as much respect as you would Captain Kuchiki or I. Understand?"
"Yes sir." Takeshi, Isao, and Tetsuya instinctively shouted. Since their first day here they had been told to respond to a command or question in such a fashion. Only when they graduated and got accepted into a division could they relax a little with their responses, although how much depended on their superiors preference.
"Yes sir." Hisoka hurriedly said, although a few seconds late. Luckily none of the officers seemed to notice, save Gengoro who gave him a "watch yourself" look.
"Good. Now we leave for Earth in twenty minutes. You have until that time to gather any materials you may need, as this will be an overnight trip, and meet the rest of the third years in the courtyard. Dismissed." Renji commanded.
"Yes sir!" they shouted, this time Hisoka making sure to keep in unison with the others.
"Booyah!" Takeshi shouted as the boys rushed through the courtyard, heading towards the first year dorms. The four of them grabbed their belongings, anything they would need for an overnight trip, in a hurry. Their excitement seemed to distract them from the fact that they didn't have to be prepared for at least another 10 minutes, and didn't have to be in the courtyard for another 15.
As it was, however, the boys were packed and ready not five minutes after being dismissed from the office. With nothing better to do Takeshi and Isao headed out to the courtyard to wait with the third years, no doubt hoping some of their first year comrades would see them doing so. Hisoka and Tetsuya knew they would relish the chance to brag and show off their "reward".
With a sigh Hisoka sat on his bunk and pulled his Zanpakuto from its sheath. With precision and skill born from years of practice he began to sharpen and then shine the blade. This was the norm for him whenever he had spare time and nobody in the Shinoreijutsuin had ever seen Hisoka with a damaged, dull, or dirty sword unless he was in the midst of using it. His sword was his pride.
"I don't see how you wield such a thing." Tetsuya said as he sat on his bunk, which was located directly beside Hisoka's. Hisoka looked at his sword, at the standard silver metal and custom black wrapped handle. The only real difference between his sword and any of the other students, besides the way it was taken care of, was the length. Although it's width and thickness was average for a Zanpakuto his blade was incredibly long, reaching a full eight feet without including the handle. His sword was by all means longer than he was tall.
"You know I can't help it." Hisoka said with a shrug. Tetsuya knew it was true. A Zanpakuto's size was directly determined by the amount of its wielder's spiritual energy. It took a powerful, skilled Shinigami to control their sword size. That or a shikkai or bankai tranformation, which often caused swords to take their own unique forms.
"I know. Takeshi and Isao are the same way, except their swords are ridiculously large rather than long. Mine is somewhere in-between, not super long but not super large either. Much more wieldy in my opinion." Tetsuya said.
For a moment he was silent before asking what was truly on his mind. "What's up with you man?"
"What do you mean?" Hisoka asked, looking up from his task for the first time.
"I mean what happened in Gengoro's office. You messed up something as simple as a "yes sir"." Tetsuya said in a "don't try and hide it" tone.
When Hisoka only shrugged Tetsuya's face nearly split wide as a wicked grin slid upon it. "I know what it is. It's that Rukia girl. You find here attractive. You like her!" Tetsuya teased.
"Don't be silly. You know as well as I that she is a Kuchiki, a girl of royal bloodlines. A simple peasant like me is nothing before her. I was just distracted by thoughts of our trip." Hisoka argued, his voice calm and steady, not betraying how he truly felt; not showing that Tetsuya was speaking the truth about him. "Oh, and try not to act so childish." Hisoka added as an afterthought, slugging Tetsuya in the arm as he did so.
"Whatever." Tetsuya said as he rubbed the rapidly rising bruise on his arm. "We better go. It's getting close." he added.
It took all two hours for the group to reach their destination, a place hidden deep within the abandoned, frozen wastes of the country known as Russia. Once there Renji and Rukia ordered the students to set up the tents.
Once the tents, numbering a little over a dozen, were set Rukia called the students together. She then split them into groups of four and assigned each group a tent, making sure to keep the four first years together in one group. After being assigned a tent the groups were then given individual tasks to accomplish in order to prepare camp.
All in all, setting up the campsite took a little over 45 minutes. When the task was complete Renji once more called the students together, this time ordering them to sit. He and Rukia then spent most of an hour and a half explaining the process of a Hollow Cleansing, as well as what the group would be doing tomorrow.
They explained that they would be using a special type of bait in order to lure a few hollows to the area. Only a small amount of bait would be used, however, in order to attract the minimal amount of hollows. They didn't want to risk attracting something they couldn't handle while trying to protect the students.
When the hollows, drawn in by the bait, appeared Renji would perform a Soul Cleaning while Rukia guarded the students. The group would then discuss the event and then wait for a second batch of hollows. The second time Rukia would perform the Cleansing while Renji would watch the group. After that the camp would be packed up and the group would head back to the Soul Society.
Late that night Hisoka lay on top of his sleeping bag, unable to sleep due to his nerves. Tomorrow was going to be a one of a kind experience and he should be excited, yet all he felt was sorrow. His mind kept flashing back to times before his days at the Shinigami Academy; back to memories of the good times with his tribe, with each memory being cut short by images of their slaughtered bodies lying about their hideout.
Although he tried pretending that he did not know why these images were haunting him today of all days, he knew very well the answer. It was Rukia. Seeing her today had set his mind off and it had not stopped reeling. It was the way she looked, exactly like Lexi. Lexi, the girl he had loved and lost because he could not protect her. Because he could not protect any of them.
Knowing very well that no sleep would come to rescue him from his nightmares Hisoka stood up and excited the tent, eager for the warmth of the fire blazing outside. This, however, turned out to be a disastrous idea as he found Rukia, no doubt set on a pointless guard duty, sitting beside the fire all alone. Once more Hisoka's mind flashed back to Lexi's smiling face, and then to her bloody body lying cold on the floor. It reminded him that he had failed to ever tell her how he felt, had failed to even look at her body for longer than it even took to bury her. He was pathetic.
"You still awake?" Rukia asked, stopping Hisoka cold as he attempted to slip back inside his tent. Knowing he had been caught Hisoka sighed and stepped out of the tent, walking towards the fire as he did so.
"Yeah. Can't sleep." he said with a shrug, sitting beside the fire and placing his hands as close to it's warming flames as he dared.
"I can't blame you. I was just as nervous my first time attending a Hollow Cleansing." Rukia said sympathetically. Although Hisoka wanted to correct her, to tell her that it wasn't the thought of hollows that was making him nervous, he thought better of it and simply nodded his head in agreement.
The two sat like that, pressed close to the fire, totally silent for several minutes before Rukia finally spoke again. "So Renji told me about you and your friends. I'm sorry to hear about that."
The words she spoke hit Hisoka like daggers, cutting deep into his already bleeding heart. "Yeah." was all he could manage.
"I'm sorry." Rukia said. She then got quiet and silently scolded herself for her lack of tact in handling the situation. "I don't know if you know this, but Renji and I wen through the same thing." she said quietly.
"Renji mentioned something about it. But I never heard the story, and I didnt know you were involved." Hisoka replied, her admission having caught him off guard.
Rukia then proceeded to tell Hisoka the entire story of her childhood, of growing up in the 78th District and what life was like for her. She told him of her time in the Academy and of her adoption into the Kuchiki family. The two sat like that, talking for hours about their pasts and their experiences.
"I'm telling you, being rich isn't as good as it sounds." Rukia argued, a smile betraying her faked anger.
"And I'm telling you that your lyi–" It was as far as Hisoka got. Suddenly a deep sense of dread spread throughout his body and his blood seemed to turn as cold as the snow that covered the ground. "You feel that!?" Rukia suddenly said in alarm. There was no mistaking that feeling. It was Reiatsu, and not a good kind.
"Renji!" Rukia shouted as she tore off towards their tent. Renji suddenly out of the tiny dwelling, sword in hand. "I know." he shouted. "Gather the students!" he commanded as he headed towards the source of the energy.
"I'll help!" Hisoka shouted as he rushed off to wake his fellow schoolmates.
"What's happening!?" "Why the rush?" "Whats going on?" several of the students shouted as Hisoka and Rukia herded them around the center of the camp. Could they not feel the dreadful Reiatsu that was approaching them from all directions?
With all the students gathered Rukia, who had just called out a distress signal for Soul Society, quieted the group. In that time Hisoka found his friends, all of which had felt the disturbing Reiatsu and knew what Rukia was about to say.
"We are under attack." Rukia said, her voice fighting to stay calm. It was clear that she was nervous about this ordeal, which could only mean that the amount of Reitsu belonged to forces her and Renji might not be able to handle while still protecting the students from harm.
"From the feel of the enemies Reiatsu we are under attack from a massive group of hollows. How or why this is happening, we do not know. What we do know is that due to the enemies numbers we may not be able to efficiently fight them off and protect you all at the same time. So we will need you to stick together and watch each others backs. Do not do anything stupid. Renji is already fighting and as soon as he returns with a report on the enemies size I will be joining him. So please, be safe." she pleaded with the group.
Her pleas seemed to fall upon deaf ears. None of the students responded; none so much as spoke a single word. They were all too frightened by the prospect of a hollow attack. It was clear, however, that no matter what they group was not going to be trying anything dumb or brave. They were simply too scared.
The air was suddenly filled with a loud roar, a roar that could belong to none other than Renji Abarai. Rukia's face suddenly panicked, her mind no doubt racing as she tried to decide whether to guard the students or rush to Renji's aid. Catching Hisoka's eyes she suddenly froze, almost as if looking for an answer.
"Go." he mouthed, gripping his sword handle to show his resolve to protect the group. Tetsuya, Takeshi, and Isao, all of which had caught the gesture, nodded in agreement. For a moment Rukia remained frozen, eyes on Hisoka and his friends, unable to think and unable to act. Then another roar, this one born from pain, jerked her mind back out of its stupor.
"Stay here!" she shouted as she rushed towards Renji, ripping her Zanpakuto from it's sheath as she did so.
With Rukia gone the group seemed to panic, fearing their own demise without the Shinigami's protection. Soon a few of them began to scatter towards their tents, while others stayed huddled in the large mass, fear paralyzing their bodies. Knowing he had no other choice Hisoka glanced at Tetsuya, who nodded in understanding. He had already started his incantation by that time and the moment Hisoka caught his eye he shouted, "Bakudo 9: Horin!"
Orange tendrils of energy erupted from his hands and struck the nearest two students, binding them together before quickly snaking to the next targets. Within thirty seconds the entire group, caught un-aware and unable to act, was bound tight by Tetsuya's Bakudo. By that time Takeshi had cast his own Bakudo, which served to strengthen Tetsuya's and keep the students(who were both older and more advanced in Kido) from breaking free.
"Silence!" Isao shouted, stopping the protesting students short in their tracks. For a moment they obeyed before erupting once more into shouts of rage. They did not understand why their fellow students had bound them up.
Knowing they could not hold them for long Tetsuya and Takeshi began to chant more incantations. Suddenly a mist of white smoke flew from both of their hands and hit the mass of subdued students, knocking each out cold. A sleep Bakudo, something they had only recently learned to perform.
"They had to do it." Isao told Hisoka reassuringly. It was true. It had only taken ten seconds after Rukia's departure for the group to panic and begin to scatter. They would be useless in a fight and unable to defend themselves, only making Rukia and Renji's job harder.
"Why couldn't we have come with the advanced third years?!" Takeshi complained as he rejoined the four left standing. "Gengoro had to stick us with the lower half of the third year class. Totally useless! Now we have to protect their sorry asses as well as our own!"
Although he wanted to scold Takeshi for his overconfidence in his own ability, Hisoka knew he spoke the truth. The third years, students who were supposed to be far past the four first years in the group, were now having to be protected by them. It was indeed pathetic.
"Let's hope Renji and Rukia pull through." Hisoka silently said under his breath. If not, he and his friends might be plunged into a fight they could not survive. "Lets hope."