Chapter Nine
Third Test! Hollow Attack on Soul Society!
Raymond's Office, An Hour Later...
Nick, Jasmine, the twins' father Elias and Raymond Barrett, Captain of Squad One, were sitting in Raymond's office, finishing their lunch. Raymond was the first to hear the alarm system, but then they sounded the alarm closer. "Hollow attack in the Seireitei! Hollow attack in the Seireitei! All Soul Reapers report to take care of the threat."
Raymond looked at both Nick and Jasmine. "Would you too like in on the action?"
"Hell yeah!" They said together.
Raymond chuckled. "Well then, this will be your third Test of Initiation. Go and defeat the Hollow. We will watch you from a distance. I will make sure no one goes closer to the battle so you both can have a chance at the monster."
They nodded and ran out of the office. "Do you think they can do it?" Elias asked.
"Of course. But, if that Hollow happens to be one of Sosuke Aizen's creations, then Nick and Jasmine had better not get bitten, or the next King will have his inner Hollow earlier than he should."
"Well, let's go provide damage control." Raymond said and left the office along with Elias
Execution Grounds, Five Minutes Later...
Nick and Jasmine had arrived at the scene of battle. The Hollow that had appeared looked like an ordinary Hollow, but Nick had a bad feeling about it. Jasmine released Evathon'dala and swung the staff of ice, creating a wave of cold wind that made its way to the enemy, hitting the Hollow. But, the Hollow had not been damaged. Instead, if tried to bite Jasmine, but Nick was the faster one and shielded his twin sister from the advancing Hollow.
Nick shouted out in pain when the Hollows' teeth bit down on his shoulder. Nick clutched his shoulder while releasing Kyubi. "Is that the best you've got?" He asked before falling down to the ground.
"Nick!" Jasmine shouted, watching her brother fall to the ground. She turned back to the Hollow. "What did you do to my brother?"
"I only bit him. Mind you, he'll change soon enough, but you'll be changing along with him." The Hollow replied.
"What are you talking about?" (Get ready for the irony.)
"I am a specially-created Hollow created by Sosuke Aizen. He created us with the ability, upon biting someone, to give them an inner Hollow. It will soon swallow his own consciousness up and take his body over completely. Also, there's no way to stop the process, so you have no way of getting your brother back!" The Hollow laughed maniacally.
"Yeah?" Jasmine asked, pissed off yet again. "Well, let's see if you can't survive this. Evathon'dala, Prayer Two: Ice Burial!"
Jasmine's second Prayer attack consisted of waving her staff above her head, creating another vortex of icy wind, but then, she brought it upon the Hollow and surrounded it with ice, which resulted in the enemy being encased in ice. Jasmine got ready to unleash the finishing blow. "Hadou Thirty-Three: Sokatsui!" The beam of blue energy came down on the Hollow, making the ice, Hollow included, shatter and disintegrate.
She went over to Nick's body. "Nick, you can't let that thing now inside you win! You still have Katie to think about, and your unborn child! You have to win against that thing, or I may have to kill you here. Nick, you can't lose!"
Raymond and Elias appeared at that moment and saw Jasmine crying over Nick's body. They went over to see what had happened.
World of the Living, A Few Moments After Nick was Bitten...
Katie's eyes opened wide and she woke up from her little nap with a start. She rushed around the house, looking for Tabitha. When she found Nick's mother, she was talking to a Hell Butterfly. When Tabitha saw Katie, who had started crying, she rushed over to her, the butterfly close behind. "Katie, what happened? What's wrong?"
"Is... is Nick okay?" Was all Katie could manage at the moment.
"He just sent me a message saying he was fine. Why?"
"Can you ask back to see if he's still okay? I have a feeling that Nick's in danger."
"I'll ask, but don't worry. I'm sure everything is fine." She turned back to the Hell Butterfly and told it to go to Captain Barrett now, asking if Nick was okay and if not, what happened to him.
Squad Four Clinic, Soul Society...
Nick was being treated as best he could, while Jasmine, Elias and Raymond all waited around his bed, hoping that the Soul Reaper doctor could reverse the effects of the bite. The medic Soul Reaper, Captain Tony Highwind, sighed as he finished his efforts. "I'm sorry, but I've done all I can do. The rest of his recovery, including the battle within, are all up to him. If he seems to get dangerous, I will have to bring him to the Visored Base for them to help him, because if his inner Hollow comes out, even for a few minutes, he could probably wipe us all out. As soon as he starts turning, I will have to bind his powers and then transport him. I'm sorry I can't be of any more help." he explained.
"It's okay," Jasmine said, still sobbing. "Nick can beat this. He's always had a strong will, and in this case, he'll need it all to win this. He has a child coming soon, and if I let him get out of control, his girlfriend might literally bite my head off."
Tony looked at her sympathetically. "I know I shouldn't be asking this, but would you like to take a walk with me to relieve some of your stress?" He asked Jasmine.
Jasmine looked at the Captain, her eyes full of tears, and nodded. "Yes, I would like that very much." She got up and followed the Squad Four Captain out of the clinic and into the gardens.
Captain Highwind spoke first after a few moments of awkward silence. "I heard from Captain Barrett that you would like to learn healing instead of being more of a combat Soul Reaper. Is this true?"
Jasmine nodded. "Yes. I wanted to become a doctor all my life, since my mom is one. When I found out she was a former Soul Reaper, I told her I wanted to come here to learn how I could help people instead of having to always fight. I would still like some fighting, but I am primarily concerned about healing and helping." She told him, making him smile.
"I would like to teach you myself, if your brother makes a speedy enough recovery. I have a lot of free time usually, so I could teach you whenever you have the time. And, if I may, I would also like to ask you to stay in the Squad Four barracks for a while. That way, I can teach you and you can stay near your brother. Would you like that?"
Jasmine looked at the Captain gratefully. "Yes, thank you!" She hugged him. "I think I'm okay, now. Can we go back to Nick's room?"
"Yes, let's go." Jasmine and Tony walked back into the clinic.
When they came back into the room, Raymond was listening to a Hell Butterfly, but Jasmine could hear that it was from her mother, asking if Nick was all right. She came over to the Squad One Captain. "Can I answer the message?"
"Jasmine, I will get you another to send. Your mother told this one to deliver the message to me personally. I'm sorry," He turned back to the Butterfly and whispered. "Nick was bitten by one of Aizen's Hollows. We're at the Medical Clinic, but we don't know what's going on within his head. Only Nick can help himself at the moment. I promise, he will get his inner Hollow under control. The Visoreds will help out as well, seeing as you were their most valuable member and Nick just happens to be your son. When there is a development, I will let you know." He sent the one Butterfly on its way and summoned for another, sending it to Jasmine's hand for a message.
Jasmine whispered her message to Tabitha. "Mom, I'm sorry that I couldn't stop the Hollow from biting Nick! He shielded me from the bite, and I didn't get out from behind him and attack the Hollow in its moment of weakness. I am so sorry! Captain Highwind of Squad Four has agreed to teach me healing arts, as well. Don't tell Katie about what happened, because you know that she will freak out and stress herself out. Tell her Nick is injured, but not badly. I love you." Jasmine sent the second Hell Butterfly to the World of the Living.
A/N: Chapter Nine, yeah! Chapter ten will actually be put up some time today, since I am already writing it. It won't have much in it, just like these last two chapters. If that is a little confusing, all three of the chapters being posted today are short because there isn't too much that happens within each one.
Next Time: Nick and his newly-acquired inner Hollow square out within Nick's Inner World. Who will win? Will Nick be taken over by this new presence, or will he overcome it? When will some Visoreds appear? That last one is probably not next chapter, but you never know. I might include them at the end just to introduce one or two of them. Until next time on Bleach: Fire of Kyubi.