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It didn't take long for Kira and I, along with a small group of seated officers, to reach the area of Rukongai that was having problems. It wasn't fully noticeable however what the problem was until we heard a loud shout followed by terrified screaming that was quickly cut off before new ones replaced them. I gulped slightly before following Kira as he flash stepped quickly to the source of the commotion. As I flash stepped I could feel Seikaryuu against my hip and I had to admit that I liked the feeling of power it gave me. When we got there I gasped slightly at the sight in the street.

It was a hollow. People were running around in mad panic as it tore through houses and ripped the people it caught into pieces. Though it was a small hollow, about the shape and size of a chunky lion, it was fast and didn't have any problems wreaking havoc. Kira drew his Zampacto before leaping off the building we were standing on top of and attacking the hollow who, somehow, managed to block the blow to the head and fling itself around, wiping Kira with the long spined tail I hadn't noticed before.

Needless to say he went flying into a building, knocking down the wall with the force he hit it with. I flinched slightly before drawing my own Zampacto and hearing the others around me do the same. I eyed them out of the corner of my eye for a moment before we all moved as one, attacking the monster together.

It screeched, unhappy at our interference, before turning to meet our attack, managing to block most of us, countering each, but it squealed harshly as one of the other shinigami that I vaguely remembered as the fourth seat slashed its back deeply.

"Nice work!" Kira applauded as he rejoined us, a small cut to his eye that, though shallow, was bleeding heavily. I was on the other side of the hollow, the tail end, and was watching it closely as Kira began issuing orders. "Seko; Join Karin!" was the only bit I caught and my eyes wandered to a shinigami with black hair who was moving towards me with determined brown eyes. He was too focused on that however and didn't notice the hollow tail coming quickly towards him.

Gritting my teeth I flash stepped as quickly as I could towards him and blocked the tail just in time to the great surprise of the unseated officer. My arms shook as I continued to hold back the massive power that was behind the hollows tail and the man behind me continued to stare at me with wide eyes being no help what so ever.

"All right there bright eyes?" I asked him through my teeth causing him to come to his senses and help me, chopping the tail off without much effort as I held it in place. The hollow screamed in pain as its detached appendage fell to the floor before dissolving into the air, blood staining the stone surface.

"Thanks." Seko said breathlessly, watching me out of the corner of his eye. I nodded slightly before grinning at him and moving out of the way of the hollow's jaw as it took a bite at us.

"No problem." I replied with a grin and would have probably made some cheeky comments about his not paying attention to the hollow but I was more focused on Kira as he managed to cleave the hollow's mask in two. It dissolved quickly and we were soon stood in the middle of the road with people watching us timidly from their hiding spaces.

Where I had expected some kind of signs of relief from them at the death of the hollow, and gratitude to us for killing it for them, there was nothing but a tense and suspicious silence. Walking over to Kira I felt a sudden feeling of great unease that made me unwilling to sheath my Zampakuto but I did it anyway as Kira did, his own eyes also weary as he watched the people.

"Alright, let's go." Kira said, his tone tired but his eyes alert. I nodded slightly along with the men and was about to follow them away when I heard a yell from behind me and turned to see a large man racing towards me with an axe, an angry but desperate look in his eyes. My own eyes widening I had just a second to react, pulling out my Zampakuto again and placing it in between me and the axe.

It hit me like a train, causing my feet to slide backwards in the dusty ground and almost ripping my Zampakuto out of my hand as I just about managed to block it, my teeth gritting together a I struggled to keep the axe from cutting me in half. I could hear a commotion behind me from the rest of the group as they turned to see I had been attacked. From what I could hear it wasn't normal to be attacked like this.

"Enough! What do you think you are doing?" Came Kira's voice and the man's eyes widening, seeming to panic as he realised this fight wasn't exactly going to be easy. He had obviously been hoping for a single hit and a get away, not expecting me to be able to block his large axe. With all honesty I hadn't thought I would have been able to block it either but they do say that a person's strength can double in the face of danger.

Giving it another shot, the man took his axe away before taking a step back and using the stance to swing it at me again. This time I didn't need to block because Kira did it for me, placing his Zampacto the same way I had before pushing the man away from him. The man landed on the ground hard before flinching as Kira pointed his sword at him. The lieutenant's eyes were serious and unforgiving and, looking at them, I began to a get a feel for the sheer amount of power my mentor possessed.

The other people were whispering loudly and urgently as the man awaited his punishment, some scowling and scathing, others with wide eyes. I took them in with a hint of pity; the few days I had been in the Rukongai I had never seen people as rough looking as these, their kimono's torn and dirty as they sat over their ragged bodies. They all seemed so thin, as if they got no food at all. But they didn't need any right? I wasn't sure why but it looked like lack of food for people who didn't need to eat and that just didn't make any sense.

Kira sighed heavily, drawing my attention back to him and he man cowering on the floor. Slowly, Kira with Drew his sword before turning to us and nodding, his eyes resting on me for an instant, seemingly checking that I was ok. I nodded back with a small smile on my face before he turned to glare at the man. Then he was sheathing his Zampacto and walking away, leading us for a few steps down the road before turning to flash step and leaving, the rest of the group not far behind.

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Ok, so this is chapter six. Sorry for the wait, it took me some time to get into it.

Please review!