Let's keep this story rolling, shall we?
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The hollow hurled itself at Donald, swiping the zanpakuto out of his hand as it did so, the sword embedding itself into the brick wall beside him. Screaming in rage and pain, it slammed into him, throwing him backwards.
Donald's vision blurred for a moment as he fell, just in time to blearily see a flash of light in front of him. He momentarily wondered if, possibly, he was seeing the fabled 'light at the end of a tunnel'.
"Santen Kesshun!"
Large, flat teeth crashed violently into a bright golden triangular shield, inches from Donald's face. He jerked back in shock, desperately taking in details as quickly as he could.
Someone had protected him, and with a fair deal of force; that much was certain. However, the shield wasn't very large, and flickered into nothingness as the hollow reared its head back, shrieking furiously as it was denied his kill. It's sharp eyes locked directly onto Donald's savior, who stood, feet apart and arms thrust forward, protectively over him. It looked to be a girl, though the darkness made it a little difficult to tell. From what he could see, a pair of hair clips on the sides of her head flashed brightly as she cast yet another incantation.
"Santen Kesshun! I reject!"
The yellow shield blared into existence once again, forming a protective barrier in front of the two as the hollow charged them once again, hissing angrily.
Hurling yourself at your enemy until it dies… not a very smart technique.
The golden shield, however strong, slowly began to crack.
Unless you happen to be ridiculously strong. Fuck.
"We need to move; now!" Donald yelled at her, struggling to get to his feet and straining his eyes to find Grimmjow. Odd – he could have sworn he was just a couple of feet away a moment ago. Instead, he searched around for the zanpakuto, however…
"Get ready to run!" the girl said determinedly to him.
"Wait!" Donald replied quickly. "Keep that shield up – I have a plan."
"I… don't think…" she said through gritted teeth as she tried in vain to keep the steadily dwindling shield up in front of her as the beast rammed into it again and again.
"Don't let it down! Just… I don't know! Hang in there, or… whatever inspirational crap usually works!"
The girl blinked at him, but continued forcing energy into the shield. From what Donald could gather, this beast could speak, meaning it had some form of sentience. As to why it was so intent on killing them, he had no idea. More and more cracks appeared, slivers of the shield breaking away. By this point, another slam from the hollow would shatter it, and then…
Come on…
The beast screamed in glee, seeing a meal just in sight. With one final charge, it lowered its masked head and hurled itself directly at the girl who had protected him. The girl closed her eyes, bracing for the impact.
Come on...!
"Yo, ugly! You've got something on your face!"
Grimmjow's zanpakuto pierced the hollow's head directly from behind, jutting out through its skull. It's eyes temporarily wandered upward, confusedly, as if it couldn't comprehend what just happened.
"My sword!"
The zanpakuto jerked downward, splitting the monster neatly in half, and in the black haze it left behind as it dissipated, there stood Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. However, instead of fading away like the other hollows Donald had seen dealt with, the grim haze left behind by this one lingered for a moment.
"Grimmjow, are you-" Donald began, reaching out to him, before quickly lowering his hand and backing away. There was a strange glint in Grimmjow's eyes, and he sort of… breathed in a way Donald had never seen him do before. The black haze was quickly pulled through the air and into Grimmjow's mouth, and he exhaled satisfactorily, as if he'd just finished a large meal.
And, in a way, he had.
"… Oh, my god." Donald breathed, coming to a realization. Grimmjow hadn't been dying of some mysterious and unheard of disease.
He was starving.
And they both just figured out what he ate.
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"And… then Uryu gave you pants."
"Uh-huh!" Danielle answered Ichigo, skipping happily down the road.
Ichigo trudged groggily behind her, groaning as he did so. According to her story she told as they walked, she slipped through a Garganta that Grimmjow had opened to allow her brother through. As to why Grimmjow was there at all boggled him, though. He was too tired to think, anyway…
"Oh, and then there was Yoruichi," Danielle said flippantly, almost as an afterthought.
"How does one forget a talking cat?" the black feline quipped conversationally, tail twitching.
"Oh, come on. We all know you're not a cat." Danielle answered as Yoruichi hopped gracefully atop a nearby wooden fence and continued marching onward.
"… I see. You still haven't answered as to how you know that."
"Because-" Ichigo began automatically.
"Up up up!" Danielle interrupted. "No spoilers." She scolded him, shaking her finger as she walked.
"She can see our world from her own." Ichigo continued defiantly, flipping her the bird as he did so.
"Well, now," the cat said, "that's… not quite what I was expecting. Nonetheless…" Yoruichi was silent for a few minutes as they walked, Danielle humming some kind of tune as she skipped.
Ichigo glared angrily at her back as they walked, and he jammed his hands in his pockets, slightly thankful they'd given him enough time to grab a pair of jeans. It's too early to be that damn happy, he thought.
However, he soon saw precisely why she was so giddy.
They'd arrived stopped directly in front of an all too familiar candy shop. A light flickered on, and an even more familiar set of clogs leapt out from the doorway with far too much energy for this time of the morning.
"Well, what do we have here? Customers!"
"Aw, fuck."
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New chapter up soon! Reviews are always welcome, and a special thanks to all those favorites out there.