Author's Blurbs: I couldn't sleep, so I put out this chapter. Please note that I'm extremely tired and doing this on little to no sleep and no spell check. Please be gentle. I'll proof read this later. Reviews welcome. Suggestions welcome. Sleeping pills even more welcome. People who want to be a guinea pig and read my book more welcome...

As a final note, I'm a firm believer in music that helps a writer shape the story. I believe I write differently depending on the song. So, in an effort to get you, the reader, more in touch with the mental vibe, I will provide the music I listen to in this section and you're more than encouraged to listen to the song while reading. I have a tendency to loop whatever song I'm listening to. In the case of this chapter, it was Blood Red Sandman by Lordi.

Oh, and I totally don't own Bleach. There'd be more Kon if I did. Speaking of which, I think the next chapter will be a brief side adventure of Kon. Its been a while since we heard from him, eh?

Chapter 11: Opening Up Several Cans...

Weaklings. Grandiel sneered as he snuffed out the life of yet another soul. He avoided the human world for exactly this reason. He didn't agree with the dangers inherent with hunting here. Shinigami just made it not worth it. He preferred to hunt his own kind, at least until he was strong enough where no Shinigami could dare match up to him.

Still, the smiling Shinigami left little room for arguement. He was to go on a rampage in this world, so why not fill up while doing so? Grandiel didn't like being used as a pawn and inwardly vowed to air his grievances in a more...direct...manner when he was stronger...he was so close!

Just to further his destructive urges, he gave a sharp flick of his draconian tail, smashing the corner of a building just enough to destabilize the structure. It came crashing down, crushing its inhabitants in a pile of rubble. Each flare of reiatsu with each death gave a sharp jolt of pleasure to the hollow and it was child's play to gather up the confused souls and devour them.

Still...it wasn't enough. He needed more!

His claws gouged deep lines in the street and he was just about repeat his performance on another building, this one packed with far more victims, when a large surge of reiatsu made him pause mid-strike. It felt like a Shinigami!

"My, aren't we a big one?" a dark skinned woman appeared in the middle of the street. The hollow's eyes widened slightly. This had to be a joke. The woman was wearing the most unlikely battle uniform the hollow had ever seen. There was no Shinigami robe, no weapon...

Just a old t-shirt and a large pair of baggy boxers with smiley faces on them...Did this whelp honestly expect to stand up to him? She wasn't even wearing shoes! It looked as if she had just rolled out of bed! The percieved insult made his blood boil and he let loose a mighty roar that made the glass windows of the buildings shatter with a deafening crash.

"Impressive." Despite the words, the woman appeared nonplussed, her purple hair flying in disarray from the force of his roar.

With a low snarl, Griandiel surged forward, kicking up large chunks of concrete that showered the buildings around him and made the inhabitants cower in fear at what exactly was going on outside.

The hollow knew the Shinigami had not a chance to match him physically, so when she darted out of the way of his claws, his tail whipped around from the side with such force as to make whistling whiplash noise. It came as a big surprise when the agile woman, instead of being hit or dodging, simply vaulted over the appendage, using the tail itself for leverage with an outstretched hand.

She hit the ground, spinning, and a reiatsu infused fist smacked once, twice, three times with a solid thud in rapid succession. Pain the likes of which the hollow had never felt before raced from his kneecap, the burning making him roar with both agony and frustration. Bracing his hurt side with an arm, he brought his own monsterous teeth to bear, chomping at the infuriating woman with wild abandon. And yet she remained just out of reach, dipping, dodging, twisting on the balls of her feet. Each time he felt the air of her passing on his teeth! So close and yet so far away!

He was getting desperate. She had done some real damage to him. But he hadn't survived countless years in Hueco Mundo without knowing how to fight. Slowly, methodically, he started working her to where he wanted her, using his advantage in limbs to keep her off balance as he lined her up. There! With a grin as she stopped for a brief moment against a building wall, his maw opened and a red hot burst of reiatsu poured forth, cooking the very air around him to a blistering temperature. As the jet of reiatsu tappered off, the hollow couldn't help but grin. He wiped that smug expression off her face!

"Is that all?" the very voice he had come to loathe inquired from the building above him. He gaped in surprise as he saw her standing there, smugger than ever. Even his trained eyes hadn't seen her move! He had to have hit her! And yet...there she was.

He gave a glance at the bubbling street before reaching a decision. He turned, gave a mighty push of his hindquarters, ignoring the overwhelming pain that resulted, and with a few flaps he was high above the woman. The tip of his tail split into quarters, revealing a massive spike housed within the fleshy exterior. With a roar and a flick of his tail, he sent the spike hurtling down, following with several more right behind it.

There was a loud crackling noise as the spikes connected, shooting a huge billowing dust cloud in the air that obscured vision. The hollow didn't need to see. He sensed her reiatsu flaring brighter and brighter, defying all logic and his attacks. What was she up to?

More than surprise greeted the dragon-like hollow as the dust settled. The building was undamaged, and there the infuriating Shinigami stood, crackling with energy. Reiatsu danced along her skin, pulsing to some hidden beat, covering her in a white sheath of pure energy. What kind of attack was this? She had completely negated his spikes!

This was too much for the hollow. No promise of death from a grinning Shinigami was worth fighting this woman. He would retreat and go into hiding. The possibility of escape was more than what he would get from this opponent. With one final roar of defiance, he turned to open up a portal back to Hueco Mundo.

"And where do you think you're going, hm?"

The lightning woman was above him in a flash, her silhouette obscurring the evening moon which did much to remind him of his home. Wordlessly, her yellow eyes flashing with the promise of death, she struck him with a simple palm strike to his forehead. Oddly enough, the hollow didn't feel any pain from the attack, but he was briefly aware of falling before the darkness engulfed him.

Peace...at last...

Yoruichi landed silently on a building, surveying the carnage around her with a grim expression. She had hurried as fast as possible to get there on time, but it didn't stop innocents from being hurt. It was probably the worst part about hollows. Picking up the pieces the beasts left behind. She didn't want her former student to become something that would dwarf the destruction this hollow caused. Despite her nonchalant attitude, she cared what happened to this town she called her home and for the people that connected her to her old life.

A spark of humor entered her mind as the adrenaline of battle wore off and she realized that her feet were quite cold against the cement of the apartment building. The Great Yoruichi, princess of her family, future heir, beauty of Soul Society, fighting hollows in boxers and a shirt! She snickered at the thought. She briefly wondered if the hollow she killed saw the humor as well. She sure knew Kisuke would...which is why she would never tell that damn pervert. Ichigo though...he'd turn a darker shade than his hair. With a shrug and a smirk, she walked off as the hollow's body began dissolving into the void.