Here it is! Chapter 10 of the Hell on Earth extended edition. Enjoy!
10: United front
Ichigo glanced forlornly at his two female companions. They stared back, the same fears running through their heads. Their mutual despair brought them closer together...If only it could make them stronger...
They all fell silent, words failing them. It was difficult to find the right words, especially when they had a high chance of being your last.
Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck and gazed shyly at his friends. "Orihime, Rukia...In case we never see each other again...I-I just want to say you've been the rays of sunshine when my world storms."
Orihime blushed and Rukia smiled.
"Hey, where is my goodbye Kurosaki?"
Ichigo whirled around to face a thin framed teen. He wore a plain white uniform with a shortened cape that only ran down to his elbows. Wire-frame glasses adorned his face and he adjusted with a slender forefinger.
A large, muscly teen approached them, standing beside the bespectacled boy. He waved timidly with a freakishly large hand.
"Ishida? Sado?" Ichigo beamed.
Ishida fiddled with his glasses. "The shinigami never stopped us, the arrancar never beat us, so we definitely won't let these guys kill us right?"
He extended a hand and looked to the others. Rukia and Orihime put their hands on top of his.
"Ichigo, let's fight back to back one last time!" Sado, the friendly giant put a massive hand in too.
Ichigo smirked. "Yeah, we saved Rukia; we rescued Orihime, Now its time to protect all of Karakura! Now let's kick some hollow ass and send em back to hell!"
He put his hand on top and they cheered raising their hands all at once.
Hey, don't forget us Ichigo!" A small silver haired captain joined them, soon followed by a multitude of other captains and their assistants. With the newly formed resistance, they were ready for battle.
They raised their swords and unleashed a fierce battle-cry, a sound so loud it made the ground tremble. As a single unit they charged towards the gate, baying for blood and thirsting for victory. They would not accept defeat until they were rotting in the earth.
Hollows surged through the great gates of Hell, hungry mouths and glistening fangs, dripping with feral saliva. The beasts snapped at the air, eager to taste the sweet flesh of souls.
The true battle had begun...
Ichigo remained in place, holding his position. Patiently awaiting his final battle with Shrieker. He cast his gaze towards the darkened sky and atop the black clouds he saw his enemy.
Shrieker's body was surrounded by a blazing orange aura. The cloud pentagram was slowly becoming absorbed into him, causing his reiatsu to skyrocket. A great explosion scattered the clouds and brightened the sky.
"Yes! The power! With this I will rule Soul Society, the Living World, Hueco Mundo and Hell!" Curved horns sprouted from his skull and his reiatsu exploded around him once again. He smiled wickedly and set his hateful glare upon his opponent...Ichigo Kurosaki.
With an ear-splitting howl Shrieker drew his sword and his aura solidified around him. "This is the final round shinigami! Prepare yourself!" He shot down from the sky like a giant bullet, straight towards Ichigo.
Their swords clashed at high speed and with immense force. A rain of sparks sprayed out on impact. Both glared into each others eyes, full of contempt and blind rage. Both sought revenge, but only one would be granted their violent wish.
Kenpachi Zaraki, a tall man with sharp black pillars of hair fought alone on the front line. Slashing madly even after receiving vicious wounds, he was an unstoppable killing machine. Once he had caught the taste of blood, a frenzy of brutal violence and uncontrollable rage would ensue. He was the greatest weapon in the never ending war against hollows. His unrivalled fury and bloodlust made him a one man army, more than suited to take on any opponent, regardless of size, strength of skill.
In his mindless hack and slash frenzy, he cut down large ranks of the hollows. The first wave were almost completely annihilated by the lunatic with a rusted sword. He bravely hacked the next wretched beast to death, thrusting his sword through its throat and then wrenching the blade outwards, decapitating the creature.
Kenpachi noticed a new front line of hollows form and attempt to surround him. He licked his lips and rushed to slice them apart but stopped when he saw the massive sword crashing down on the unknowing hollows.
"Even a monster needs help." Said Kommamura, the giant fox-man.
Zaraki turned to face his comrade. "Where are Shunsui and Ukitake?" He looked around, trying to find them. "They're missing all the fun."
"Ukitake was too sick so Shunsui took him back to the fourth squad barracks." The giant fox explained.
"Damn!" Zaraki cursed. "I wanted to see what the oldies could do!"
The crazed psychopath's disappointment soon vanished when the hollows made their move and launched a counter-attack. Kenpachi easily cut them down as they lunged at him, but others weren't so lucky.
An agonised scream turned heads. Marechiyo Omaeda, a fat lieutenant from one of the noble families was on his knees. Hollows surrounded him, their jaws latched onto his arms legs and stomach, teeth sinking in and tearing off large chunks. They tore him apart and feasted on the bounty of flesh.
Their meal was interrupted when a blast of spirit energy hit them, incinerating each of the killers. A small girl with her hair in a bun struggled to catch her breath. Her fight had been very tolling on her and she had been casting spells and fighting non-stop since the battle started. She was not suitable for front line battle, but the fate of the worlds was in the balance and she would gladly give her live for the cause.
Her shoulders heaved raggedly but there was no rest for her. A trio of hollows lunged at her. She sent a fireball into the front runner's face, blowing his skull open and spewing brain matter over the others who were merely spurred on by their brethren's death.
Momo drew her sword back and swung it in a wide arc, releasing a blast of energy. It caught the slowest of them, slicing him in two. The last one leapt over the blast and headed towards her, jaws wide.
There was no time to defend herself and she couldn't dodge. She was doomed to fall. The beast was right above her when a squared hook wrapped around its throat. With the momentum it was unable to stop the charge and unwittingly beheaded itself.
A blonde man stepped up beside Momo and smiled weakly. "You should be more careful."
"Kira..." Momo averted her gaze. "Thank you."
"Stand back everyone! It's my turn!" Zaraki yelled at his comrades to fall back and they did, knowing full well that it was more suicidal to disobey Kenpachi than to face off against these hollows.
Kenpachi roared like a furious lion as he tore his eye patch from his face. The instant explosion of reiatsu was enough to disintegrate the nearest hollows. Kenpachi continued to roar, the yellow column of reishi building in size and strength.
"Yay! Go get 'em Kenny!" A tiny pink haired girl cheered from a safe distance.
Zaraki slammed his blade down and the resulting shockwave obliterated a huge portion of the hollow ranks. The devastating attack seemed to have been enough to make the hollows retreat. They turned on their heels and fled back to the gate. Their charge ended and they started to reorganize themselves at the gate, arranging in a proper formation this time.
"COME ON! DONE ALREADY? I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!"
Zaraki was about to charge after them but he froze when a huge shadow enveloped him. He stared at the gate and his eyes bulged at the sight of a massive tattooed hand reaching out towards him.
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