Hey guys. I apologize for the late update, as I had to study for midterms. And I've been anxiously awaiting university acceptances. Though I've been rejected a couple of times, I'm grateful for the universities I've been accepted to. And to those who've been accepted to some universities and not to the one you've been to, realize that some people wanted to go to the universities you applied to and got rejected!

Anyways, I'll keep announcing this until the end of the Beginnings Arc, but I'm still accepting original characters. There are still several positions for people to take. Check Chapter 1 for more information!

Ch. 3 Beginnings: Ambush

Opening: "Rocks" by Hound Dog

The walk through the Rukongai was an arduous, painful one. Because the Soul City stretched over eighty districts on each side, it took them several hours to finally exit the city. By then, all of them, save Hebito, were exhausted.

Upon exiting the Rukongai, they were greeted with a surprising sight. Since not many people have been outside of the Soul City, they never asked what it looked like outside. What stretched before them was a vast wasteland of nothing but ground, dirt, and the occasional dead tree. That, and the infinite, blue sky and it's clouds. In the human world, this is what people would call a desert. Everyone stared at the never-ending piece of land that stretched before them.

"Wow!" Suda exclaimed, putting his hand over his forehead to survey the area. "There's absolutely nothing!"

"These are the outskirts of the Soul Society; the place that nobody wants to go," Hebito explained. "Normally, when a Hollow dies, it's either purified to the Soul Society or sent to hell for their actions. However, some Hollows miss the purification when a Shinigami defeats it and are sent here by accident. And since this land seems to stretch forever, nobody wanted to go and check on them. That's why there are walls built around Rukongai; to make sure these Hollows don't get in."

The five Shinigami looked to their right and saw a wooden carriage with some horses pulling it. A familiar Shinigami, to Suda, was the one riding this carriage...

"Oh! It's Iyoushiro!" Suda said, happily. "What's up?"

"I told you, it's Takawara-san, boy!" He roared.

"You guys know each other?" Ryo asked.

"He's the tenth seat in the 8th Division; our division," Suda explained. "What are you doing here? Did the superiors have nothing for you to do so you're being sent on this mission?"

"Don't be stupid," He replied. "I volunteered just to send you to the setting. The lieutenant promised me "special favors" if I do it." He said the words "special favors" with a blush on his face.

"Ha! The lieutenant has no interest in guys like you!" Suda teased. "She has way more class than that!"

"Shut it, boy!"

"Let's discuss the mission," Hebito said as Takawara drove the carriage to their destination. "The Omnitsukido Stealth Corps that were sent did not pursue the Hollows into the cave. Not only was it pitch black as soon as they entered, but pressure increases as one descends the cave, interfering with a Hollow's spiritual energy."

"Has it been determined what Hollows attacked the 98th District?" Ryo inquired.

"From what they observed, they saw ten Gillian Hollows," Hebito replied. "But we can't be sure that that is the exact amount in that cave. Gillians are foot soldiers that don't normally attack crowded areas, especially not in the Soul Society, so they must have a leader."

Yushi trembled a bit, catching the eye of Saburo and Suda. Saburo scoffed at Yushi's fright, but Suda patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's okay. We'll be fine."

"We will walk in this order: Kazuya and I will be in the front. Tsubaki and Yamura will walk in the middle. Naramichi and Yanagi will stay in the back. Any objections?"

"Nope," Yushi immediately replied, happy that he could stay in the rear.

"It's fine," Chotaro said.

"No objections here," Ryo said. "I will be able to heal anybody in my position should the opportunity arises."

"You may be satisfied with the back or middle, but my place is the front," Saburo said with a grin, cracking his knuckles. "For me, this is the best!"

Suda shook his head, but thought, 'The only reason that he put me in the middle is because I can't release my Shikai yet. They don't need two people in the middle! In fact, it would be better if there were more people in the front. But I guess that'll keep me from getting hurt.'

Unsurprisingly, the cave entrance was found in the middle of the wasteland. It was simply a rocky entrance that descended diagonally as soon as one entered. Suda and Yushi circled the entrance several times trying to find some other way in, but failed.

"Mission start," Hebito said, walking into the cave.

Pitch darkness welcomed them as soon as they entered. It was so dark that they couldn't see their hands even when they placed them in front of their eyes. They activated the torch lights that they had put on their sleeve before entering, brightening the area enough to see each other and a few feet in front of them.

As they walked down, they felt a chill go through their bodies. Descending the cavern had not only increased the interference in spiritual energy, but also decreased the temperature. Suda wrapped his arms around his body and breathed slowly, as the oxygen in the cave had begun to decrease. He wasn't the only one. Everyone in the cave felt that way, save Hebito, who was already conditioned to this weather through missions in the past.

"Oh man..." Chotaro muttered, his chattering teeth audibly heard. "It's so friggin' cold..."

"I know!" Suda exclaimed. "How come we weren't told about this temperature? We would've brought some warmer clothes!"

"Tch! Babies!" Saburo snapped, but proceeded to wrap his arms around his own body as well.

"This is good training for future missions, where conditions may not be as favorable," Hebito explained, licking the corners of his mouth. "This temperature is nothing."

"For you, perhaps," Ryo muttered.

Suda turned to Yushi, who hadn't said anything since they entered the cave. Yushi was also shivering, but his eyes shared the same blankness that Hebito had. He didn't even notice Suda was staring at him.

Eventually, they reached an open space a few hundred meters down the cave. Hebito paused to allow them to rest, which led to everyone immediately collapsing on the ground from exhaustion.

"I wonder where the Hollows could be," Ryo said, leaning against a rocky wall. "We've traveled a great distance from the surface and it doesn't look like there's an end in sight. Is it possible that we're missing something?"

Saburo thought about saying something to insult Ryo's intelligence, but opted not to. Not that he couldn't, but he wanted to save his breath for future battles.

Suda couldn't say much either. The decrease in oxygen had really gotten to him as he had a hard time breathing. He tried to control it, inhaling in and out as slow as he could, but he was already exhausted from their trip down. 'Is this just a taste of what it's really like to go on a hard mission? Aw man! I never wanna do anything like this again!'

"Dude... are you okay?" Chotaro asked Yushi as he breathed intensely.

"I'm fine," Yushi replied. "You shouldn't talk too much to save your breath."

'Good man,' Hebito thought.

Suddenly, something flashed in Suda's mind. A dark Reiatsu had flooded his body, causing him to jump out of his resting place and yell in surprise. Everyone turned to him as he looked right and left for what just happened.

'What was that?' Suda thought, his eyes shifting in horror. 'I could sense more than ten Gillian Hollows! More like over twenty! And at the center... What is this feeling of dread?'

"Suda Tsubaki, what is the matter?" Hebito asked, not budging from his place, although his hand rested on his Zanpakuto. "Do you sense something."

'The Gillians... they're coming straight towards us!' Suda realized, then yelled, "We need to retreat! We have to get out of here right now!"

"What the hell, Tsubaki?!" Saburo snapped, jumping from his spot. "I don't sense a damn thing! You're just imagining things!"

"No, we- we need to get out of here now!" Suda cried, feeling the lack of oxygen overwhelm his body. "Th-They're almost-"

Suddenly, a fearsome Reiatsu overcame the area, causing all the Shinigami to jump from their spot. Hebito reacted faster than everybody, leaping towards Suda and pushing him out of the way as the ceiling collapsed and unleashed an avalanche of rocks straight towards them! The other four jumped back while Suda and Hebito disappeared on the other side of the avalanche.

"Dammit!" Saburo yelled. "What the hell just happened?!"

Ryo's eyes widened and she jumped back in fright. "What in the world...?"

Saburo frowned in confusion, then turned around. He too jumped back and exclaimed, "Holy shit! What is that?!"

Several Gillian-class Hollows were stuck in the rubble of rocks, apparently dead from the collapse. Saburo inched closer, then jumped back when the Gillian shuddered, then disappeared to nothingness.

Suda groaned as he pushed a large rock off of his body. The torch on his shihakusho had an everlasting light (unless the user wanted it extinguished), but the close proximity to several rocks made the area so dim that he could barely see in front of him. He got up and dusted himself off.

"Aw man. We were almost buried alive," Suda muttered to himself. "What's going on? And where am I?"

"Mmph..."

"That voice!" Suda realized. "Lieutenant Watakushi!"

He carefully followed the voice so to not trip over rocks. Suda instantly stopped when he found the path ending, leading to what looked to be a bottomless pit. But he could see another dim light from a platform a few feet away.

Hebito stirred in his place, but managed to lean up with no serious injuries visible on his body. He kicked some large rocks off his body then used the rock behind him to get up. Upon seeing Suda, he easily jumped across the pit to him.

"Tsubaki, we were separated from everybody," Hebito said.

His eyes widened when he realized there was nobody in sight. He turned around and yelled each of their names, but there was no response. Hebito put his hands on the remains of the avalanche, now in the shape of a wall that covered the way they came. The increased pressure from descending the cave interfered with Hebito's ability to sense Reiatsu from even a short distance, leaving him unable to sense the others' presence on the other side of the rocks.

"Dang it!" Suda yelled in frustration. "Are they on the other side of this rubble?"

"The wall is keeping us from getting to the other side," Hebito muttered, licking his lips. "This could be trouble."

"Lieutenant! Without you, the rest of the squad could be in danger!" Suda exclaimed. "What will we do?! How do we get outta here?! I don't want to die because of this!"

Hebito let out a heavy sigh, then scratched his head. Even a guy as silent as he could get frustrated.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Chotaro asked. "Are we going to retreat?"

"Even if we were to, the exit is blocked," Ryo said, tapping the rocks covering the way they came. "I don't think we should leave without Tsubaki-san and the lieutenant anyways."

A smirk plastered Saburo's face and he turned around to face the three, announcing, "Listen up, all of you! Because Lieutenant Watakushi has been separated from us, I will take over as commander of this mission! We will assume that the lieutenant is safe and that we are maintaining separate movements until we reunite. We will proceed with this mission!"

"What?!" Chotaro gasped. "You're crazy! We can't continue this mission under these circumstances!"

"But we can't retreat either," Saburo retorted. "So, don't question me!"

Chotaro curled his hand into a fist, but Yushi quickly put his hand on his shoulder. "It's not a good idea to try to beat him up hand-to-hand."

"Aren't you scared too?" Chotaro asked.

"Yeah, but there's four of us," He replied, then whispered, "And I am positive that the Hollows will be drawn towards the lieutenant's more fearsome Reiatsu than ours. I think we'll be safe."

Ryo sighed. Boys...

While the avalanche had caused a wall of rocks to cover their set path, it also destroyed the wall to their right, opening a new path. So they continued to descend the cave. The avalanche seemed to have create holes in the ceiling, leaking very tiny specks of light. But what this did was increase the oxygen in the area, so they didn't have to worry about suffocating down there. Even if they did, they wouldn't die from it because they were already dead. But that would be a painful experience.

Eventually, they arrived at a fork in the tunnel with two paths before them. Yushi's eyes widened, wondered whether Saburo would separate the members into two groups to investigate both paths. Saburo's face seemed to think otherwise.

"I have no idea which way we should go," Saburo said. "But I sense some Reiatsu coming from the left. I think we should go that way. Anyone disagree?"

"No, I guess," Chotaro responded.

"Fine with me," Ryo replied.

Yushi gulped, then scratched his head as some sweat began to appear on his forehead.

Saburo frowned, saying, "What's the matter, Yanagi? Got another opinion?"

'I dunno if I should say this. If I say it, I might lead us toward the enemy. But if I don't, there's a chance we will get lost. Yushi thought.

"Yanagi-san, we're all scared," Ryo said, interrupting Yushi from his thoughts. "So whatever we face, we'll do it together. Alright?"

"Enough with that! Just hurry up!" Saburo snapped.

"I think we should go on the right," Yushi finally said. "As we descend, air currents tend to shift directions. There's a strong possibility that while the Reiatsu is leaking from the left side, it's actually coming from the right because of the air. I suspect that if we go down the right, the Reiatsu will increase."

"Alright then!" Saburo said. "We'll follow his plan."

"What? Just like that?"

"The lieutenant said it himself," Saburo responded. "He said that your captain picked you because you're intelligent. We'll just have to hope that your brain was enough."

A few minutes later...

Saburo paused, then turned to Yushi. "You were right. I can sense an increase in Reiatsu here."

"Alright, good job!" Ryo clapped, then said, "But is it just me, or is it getting brighter here."

"Is the cave opening up?!" Chotaro asked, then started running towards the light. "Is it an exit?!"

"Chotaro, wait!" Yushi yelled. "It's not what you think-"

Chotaro stopped abruptly as some pebbles fell from the "path" in front of him into a bottomless pit. He gasped in fright, then jumped back. The cavern had opened up to an open-spaced hall, but he couldn't see the bottom due to there being a pit in front of him. Ryo took a rock and threw it into the pit and it took ten seconds before they could hear an audible sound.

In front of them was a bridge, but it was old and rickety and it seemed like it would give out if someone merely tapped it. And because the bridge went on for what looked to be a quarter of a mile, they couldn't just jump it.

Yushi felt the rope and said, "It should be able handle two of us at a time. I think it'll break if more than that goes."

"Alright," Saburo nodded. "I'll go first."

He placed his right foot on the bridge to test its durability. Satisfied, he placed his left foot on the bridge, gripping the rope to make sure he didn't fall. He started making baby steps towards the other side.

When he reached half-way, he beckoned for someone to follow him. Ryo turned to the guys and asked, "Who's going next?"

"Ladies first," Chotaro said.

She giggled. "Why, thank you."

As she started crossing the bridge, Chotaro nudged Yushi and asked, "Hey. Do you think I have a chance?"

"Nope."

"Aw."

Then when she arrived at the half-way mark, Yushi turned to Chotaro. "You go next."

"Why not you?"

"I'm scared."

Chotaro sighed. "Okay, alright."

He got on the bridge, a little worried that his weight would cause the bridge to collapse. After he adjusted to its constant shifting because of the air currents, he started walking down the bridge.

Suddenly, a dark burst of Reiatsu overcame the room! Yushi was the first to react, yelling, "I sense Hollows!"

Sure enough, from the pitch darkness of the ceiling came eight Gillian Hollows coming towards them. All of them opened their mouths and unleashed a gigantic blast of dark energy at the bridge: A Cero!

"Oh my-" Chotaro screamed.

Chotaro and Ryo quickly reacted by jumping out of the way of the Ceros as they crashed into the bridge. It exploded, leaving nothing but one rope connecting the pathways. The two landed back on the rope, quickly going on all fours to keep their balance.

"Oh no!" Ryo yelled. "Someone, help us!"

"Dammit! Yanagi, you need to do something also!" Saburo roared.

Saburo leapt towards one of the Gillians and landed on its head. He tried to punch its mask, but the Gillian wildly shook its head, forcing Saburo to jump off. He drew his nodachi Zanpakuto and blocked the Gillian's strike as it rammed straight into him and smashed him against the wall. Saburo grimaced in pain, but jumped on its back and attempted to maintain his position.

Chotaro drew his katana Zanpakuto and screamed as a Gillian came towards him. He ducked before it could headbutt him, then yelled, "I'm gonna release my Zanpakuto!"

"I should too..." Ryo muttered, drawing her broadsword Zanpakuto on her back.

Chotaro gripped his katana with one hand and said, "Take revenge upon those disrespecting nature, Koorimaru!" The blade of his weapon disappeared and became small icicle fragments. The fragments came together to form a hexagonal shield, with the hilt as the handle. The shield was of a light-blue color with two big eyes in the center. Each side of the hexagonal shield had a dark-blue jagged icicle coming out of it.

"Reform, Kashou!" Ryo called. Her thick broadsword split into four parts, forming a four-bladed chakram with the hilt as the handle.

"Oh snap!" Yushi yelled, jumping away from a Gillian. He drew his katana, but instead, retreated and hid behind a stalagmite. "You guys can handle this, right?"

They completely ignored him as they dodged attacks from the Gillians. Chotaro and Ryo were having a tough time because they were trying to keep from falling off the rope, but Saburo was having a tougher time because he was jumping from Gillian to Gillian, trying to attack them. Whenever he tried to, they would shake him off and fire a Cero at him, causing the already unstable cavern to shake. If they kept this up, the cave would collapse!

"What was that?!" Suda cried, holding onto a stalagmite in fright.

"I believe the others have encountered some Hollows," Hebito suggested. "I believe they'll succeed in their fight."

"Looks like this won't be enough." I can't keep jumping in circles, doing nothing," Saburo said, grinning slightly. He laid the blade of his Zanpakuto in his palm and yelled, "Release the storm, Kaze no Ken!" The blade immediately split in two, enveloping both his hands in steel. Short spikes protruded from his knuckles and the kanji for 'Wind' was written on the back of his hands.

He jumped to the air. This time, the Gillians had enough sense to take advantage of this. Two of them started going around him in circles, evading his attempt to jump on them. However, Saburo knew about this as well. Bursts of wind erupted from his palm from the steel gloves, causing him to fly towards one of the Gillians at a high speed. The Gillian he flew towards didn't have enough time to react as he landed on top of it, and before it knew it, its mask broke as a result of Saburo's steel fist punching through it very hard. He jumped and flew to the air with the wind as the Gillian disappeared into nothing.

'One down, seven to go,' Saburo thought, grabbing a rock protruding from the wall. "Where's Yanagi?!"

"I dunno!" Chotaro yelled, then yelped as a Gillian charged towards him. He blocked with his shield as it rammed him, but then the Gillian howled in pain as ice formed on its body. "Ha! Anything that comes in contact with Koorimaru slowly freezes!"

"Naramichi-san, behind you!" Ryo cried as a Gillian charged towards him from behind.

Chotaro turned his shield to block that Gillian's attack, but the one that he had previously blocked smashed into his body with a headbutt, sending Chotaro flying. "Aghh!"

"Oh no!" Yushi cried.

Chotaro slammed into the wall, blood coming out of the wounds as a result of the rock slicing his arms. "D-Dammit..."

"I'm coming to save you!" Ryo yelled, easily dodging the Gillians with her graceful Shunpo. Then she threw her chakram towards the Gillian she jumped on, slicing through its mask and destroying it before it turned directions towards Chotaro!

"What are you doing?!" He screamed.

"Don't worry! It won't hurt you!" Ryo yelled, before announcing, "Take it! Zasetsu!"

Chotaro closed his eyes and braced himself for attack, then felt something come in contact with his body. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any damage; instead, a soothing feeling overcame his body. He opened his eyes and gasped as Ryo's chakram struck his wounds, but healed them instead of damaging them with a purifying green light.

"That's Kashou's special ability," Ryo boasted while dodging another headbutt. "It can hurt enemies, but it can heal anyone it touches with its Zasetsu!"

"Ohhh... that's really sweet!" Chotaro said, jumping back onto the rope.

"Don't let your guard down!" Saburo yelled.

He punched another Gillian, producing a small crack, but was unable to shatter the mask. He cursed, then jumped on the mask while releasing wind to get him high into the air before he came back down and delivered an even stronger punch fueled by his momentum and wind, completely shattering the mask!

"Damn!" Chotaro cried in amazement. "I gotta do something too!"

He shivered. He was too preoccupied from the fight that he hadn't noticed how cold it was.

'Wait! That's it!'

He looked down to his Koorimaru, and sure enough, he felt an enormous Reiryoku already in the shield. Chotaro grinned and looked at the Gillians charging towards Saburo. He pointed his shield at the Gillians and yelled, "Take this! Kitsuifuyu!" A great blue ball of energy materialized in front of his shield, blasting a large beam of ice-cold Reiatsu towards the Gillians, enveloping the Hollows in ice.

"What the hell?!" Saburo gasped.

"What was that?!" Ryo also yelled.

"Koorimaru's an ice Zanpakuto. It has the ability to control snow, ice, etc." Chotaro explained. "With that, it can also control the moisture in the air, which there's a lot of in this cave. By slowly absorbing the moisture, it could concentrate it into a single attack and freeze anything with a beam of ice."

"Wow... that's amazing, Naramichi-san!" Ryo clapped.

Chotaro blushed. "T-Thanks."

Chotaro and Ryo's eyes widened as they felt a tremor occur, causing them to lose their footing on the rope! They fell and grabbed the rope before they could fall down the bottomless pit. Even Saburo, who had been keeping himself in the air thanks to Kaze no Ken's ability, ran out of Reiryoku and landed on the ground on the other side.

"What's going on?!" Saburo demanded. "Where are they?!"

"They're coming from the bottom!" Yushi yelled from the other side.

The two on the rope gripped on for their lives as the three remaining Gillians arose from the pit toward the top, unleashing an earth-shaking roar. The roar was so powerful that it snapped the rope in half, launching Ryo towards the side Saburo was on and Chotaro went to Yushi.

"Oh my- help!" Ryo yelled.

"Agh! Hold on!" Saburo said, grabbing the rope. With one pull, he brought Ryo to the air and onto the platform he was on. "You two! You need to come over here!"

"Easier said than done!" Chotaro cried, blocking strikes from the Gillians. "My Koorimaru needs to absorb more moisture from the air before it can deal any real damage!"

"Yanagi-san, help him!" Ryo called. "We can't do anything from here!"

"I can't!" Yushi replied, gripping the rock he was hiding behind. "They're gonna kill me!"

"They're gonna kill all of us if we don't do anything!" Saburo roared. "Do something, smart boy!"

"H-Help!" Chotaro cried, before being blasted away by a Cero.

Yushi held up his katana Zanpakuto in a battle stance as one Gillian rushed towards him, opening its mouth to launch a Cero. He stepped forward to take action, but froze for some reason. As soon as it launched its Cero, he dodged by jumping back and hiding behind his rock.

He closed his eyes, unable to move due to sheer fright. 'I can't do this! I suck at fighting and that Kazuya bastard will just laugh at me if I do! I'm gonna make a fool of myself...

Suddenly, Yushi felt a strange spark go through his body. He opened his eyes and found himself on the roof of a tall skyscraper. Nothing but darkness could be seen on the bottom, but there were dark clouds surrounding the sky, emitting lightning and thunder, but no rain.

'This place again? Oh boy...'

Yushi turned around to see a large, golden chinese dragon flying around the skyscraper. It looked at Yushi and smirked, saying, 'So that's the reason you're worried? Ha! Why'd I end up with you?'

'It's you. You're the manifestation of my Zanpakuto.'

'Yeah, it's me. Been a while, huh? Ya friggin' coward. You haven't called on me to do anything lately 'cause you're too scared.'

'So what?'

But it's not death that you're scared of, huh? Tell me straight to my face that you're scared of death.'

'I'm not.'

'Exactly! The reason you're scared is-"

'I don't want to look like a fool.'

'Good. Now go out there and fight.'

'Wha- I can't fight! I suck!'

'You "suck" in your own opinion. Just do something or else not only will you die, but so will the rest. You may be scared of looking good in front of your peers, but that means jack when faced with a real enemy. Do whatever it takes to win.'

'Whatever.'

'I know you more than you know yourself. But we both know your true style of fighting.'

'It's cowardly.'

'It's you.'

'It's me,' Yushi thought, gripping the hilt of his Zanpakuto tightly. "Well... nothing to lose, except my life."

He placed two of his fingers on the blade of the hilt, saying, "Overwhelm them with your might, Ikazuchiryu!" The blade dissolved into tiny spark particles that came back together to form a naginata with a pole about four feet. At the back of the blade was a big metal cylinder with large needles coming out of it, with a hook-like blade coming out of the end. At the front of the pole was a huge spear blade, about three-feet in width and two feet in height. Everyone gasped at the monstrosity that was Yushi's released Zanpakuto.

"Holy shit!" Saburo exclaimed. "A coward like you's got a giant Zanpakuto like that?!"

"Whatever..." Yushi muttered.

The Gillian paid no heed to Yushi's new weapon and simply charged straight towards him. Yushi stabbed his weapon into the ground and placed his hands there, yelling, "Bakudo #20, Sekienton!" The ground he was touching glowed red, then exploded into red smoke. The Gillians were blinded by this attack, swinging their heads while trying to strike Yushi. But when the smoke cleared, he was gone!

Yushi had jumped on a small platform coming out of the wall and stabbed Ikazuchiryu against the rock to keep himself from falling. He announced, "Bakudo #4, Hainawa!" He unleashed a rope made of his Reishi and whipped around the group of three Gillians still searching for him. They howled in pain as they were restrained from the rope.

"This is the end," Yushi announced. "This is Ikazuchiryu's special ability."

Just as he said that, glaives of rock formed underneath the Gillians and stabbed them through the mask! They couldn't even react as it happened so fast that they dissolved into nothing just as soon as they opened their mouths to howl.

"That was amazing, Yanagi-san!" Ryo cheered.

"How'd ya do that?" Saburo called.

"Ikazuchiryu's ability allows it to create weapons based on whatever medium it's making contact with, anywhere within the medium," Yushi explained. "In this case, the rock that my Zanpakuto's blade was making contact with was the same rock those Gillians were touching."

"That's cool and all, but I think we should keep going," Chotaro said, already used to Yushi's explanations. "I wonder where Suda and the lieutenant are...?"

Using Saburo's wind-based Zanpakuto, Kaze no Ken, he managed to get Chotaro and Yushi onto the other side. Ryo then used her healing spells to help recover from their wounds and loss of Reiryoku before they continued on.

As Chotaro and Yushi took the lead, Saburo nudged Ryo on the shoulder and whispered, "Hey. Why do you think that guy acted like a coward all that time when he managed to defeat those Hollows easily."

"I don't think it was an act," Ryo replied. "But couldn't you notice from his style? He used Bakudo to seal his opponents' movements before striking them from afar with his Zanpakuto's ability. He's obviously a no-contact out-fighter."

"Hmph," Saburo scoffed, folding his arms. "A non-direct battle style? I suppose it's fit for a coward."

"Maybe, but that coward saved our lives," Ryo said.

"I guess..." Saburo said. He glanced at Yushi, who's head was turned away from him, and a small grin formed on his face. 'I guess...'

"Look at that!" Suda whispered, frozen in place as he and Hebito looked around the corner.

In front of them was a huge beast: a Hollow. It was in the shape of a huge beaver, but its body was colored dark purple with white streaks going down its back. But its most defining (and frightening) feature was its mask, which resembled a beaver's head, but with a toothy grin that resembled a clown from a child's nightmare.

"Should we take it on?" Suda suggested.

"No, we shouldn't," Hebito replied. "We'll follow it. With luck, it should lead us to the conglomeration of Hollows. Hopefully, the other four were able to defeat whatever Hollow they faced."

Because of Hebito's ability to hide his Reiatsu level, combined with the heavy pressure that the cave exerted, the Hollow was unable to sense their presence as they followed the beast. They continued descending the cave as if they were descending hell. But much to their surprise, it was easier for them to breathe for some reason.

"Wait, stop here," Hebito suddenly said, causing Suda to freeze once more.

"Wh-What happened?" Suda asked, before feeling spiritual pressure rising more than ever before.

"I sense a ton of them," Hebito said, narrowing his eyes. "Let's get closer."

They reached a small tunnel. They crawled through it, careful not to bump into the wall, lest any Hollow should hear them. Hebito came our first, followed by Suda.

"Hold on!" Hebito said, putting his hand in front of Suda.

"What is it now?!" Suda cried.

"Shhh!" Hebito shushed him. "Don't you hear them?"

The two slowly inched their heads around the corner and gasped. They were in one of many visibly huge holes that led to an open space in the cavern, in which there was an assembly of what looked to be over twenty Gillian Hollows. But what was even more shocking was the three figures standing on a rock platform above the Gillians, wearing dark cloaks and hats.

"Who are they?" Suda asked.

Hebito cringed. "What is this? It can't be!"

"Hello, my fellow Hollow brethren..." The being in the center of the three said with a sinister voice. It brought up its arm, revealing its pale body... and the hole right through its stomach.

'These are... Arrancar!'

Ending: "Homework ga Owaranai" by Matsuko Mawatari

This was a pretty long chapter. I wanted to devote this chapter to some of the original characters, although it kinda swayed towards my OCs. I apologize for that, but there will be more action with peoples' original characters.

It is questionable whether natural elements like oxygen exist in the Soul Society, but since this fanfic's an AU, it really doesn't matter. I do hope that I got the Gillians down. I wrote them so that they would be portrayed as huge beasts, though I may be wrong with the size. Oh well...

By the way, here's the info for the OCs' Zanpakuto:

KOORIMARU: 8th Division, 19th Seat Chotaro Naramichi's Shikai Release. It is a Kido-type Zanpakuto based on manipulation of ice. In its unreleased state, it is in the shape of a katana with a blue hilt. It is released by the phrase, "Take revenge upon those disrespecting nature!" In it's Shikai state, it turns into a hexagonal blue shield made of ice with a big, jagged icicle coming out of each side. In this form, it can harness all mediums of water and convert it into ice or snow attacks. The more ice or water it absorbs, the stronger it becomes. After fully absorbing this medium, it can achieve the true form of its Shikai: the shape of an icicle lightsaber-like weapon that can cause the surrounding area to freeze with his Reiatsu.

KASHOU: 4th Division, 3rd Seat Ryo Yamura's Shikai Release. It is a Kido-type Zanpakuto based around healing. In its unreleased state, it takes the form of a thick broadsword. It is released by the word, "Reform!" In it's Shikai state, it transforms into a four-bladed chakram with the hilt as the handle. In this form, it can be used to strike enemies. But it's main purpose is to heal, which it can through the ability "Zasetsu" through homing in on the target and healing them through infusing it with her Reiryoku. It can come back with "Modosu" through the same method.

KAZE NO KEN: 11th Division, 4th Seat Saburo Kazuya's Shikai Release. It is a Melee-type Zanpakuto with emphasis on harnessing the wind. In its unreleased state, it takes the form of a nodachi with a green wrapping on the hilt. It is released by the phrase, "Release the storm!" In it's Shikai state, it splits into two steel gloves with spikes on the knuckles and the kanji for "Wind." With it, he can shoot powerful bursts of air through his punches or emit wind to travel great distances and change directions.

IKAZUCHIRYU: 8th Division, 18th Seat Yushi Yanagi's Shikai Release. It is a Melee-type Zanpakuto based on using earthen mediums. In its unreleased state, it takes the form of a katana with a yellow hilt. It is released by the phrase, "Overwhelm them with your might!" In it's Shikai state, it becomes a monstrous yellow-colored polearm naginata with two huge blades on either side and a cylinder covered with spikes. With it, it can pierce any medium and create any types of weapons based on the medium it stabbed. Ex. Stab the ground and create spears made of the same ground.

Again, sorry for the late update!