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Chapter 15: A Greater Threat

Feeling Hiyori's Reiatsu, Kirara pushed herself, running as fast as she could to get to the Rukon District where Kensei and Mashiro had last been seen. Feeling Hiyori's Reiatsu flare, followed by a Hollow's, she groaned and drew her Zanpakuto.

"What is going on?" Kirara wondered.

'Be on your guard Kirara, I sense something is wrong here,' Kokoro no Kage warned.

"Old Man, souls are disappearing and now Hiyori's in danger, of course something is wrong," Kirara muttered, and he hummed before falling silent.

Arriving just in time to see Hiyori slam into a tree, Kirara rushed to her side. "Hiyori, are you okay?" she crouched beside her as Hiyori coughed up blood.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hiyori looked up at her with wide eyes. She was covered in dirt, cuts and bruises, but Kirara was more preoccupied by the fact that she hadn't drawn her Zanpakuto.

"What is going on?" Kirara asked her, looking around as she felt the Hollow approach. Her eyes widened as she saw a huge figure moving towards them, breathing heavily. "What...what the hell is that?" she whispered, standing up slowly. "Why aren't you fighting back?" Kirara demanded.

"I can't," Hiyori breathed. Frowning, Kirara squinted through the darkness, and realised what it was. Her breath caught in her throat, and she lost the ability to move.

"That's...Captain Muguruma," she realised, seeing the silver spiky hair and the tattoo on his chest. What made her sick to her stomach, however, was the Hollow Mask across his face. As if reacting to his name, Kensei let out a snarl and launched at the pair. Sheathing her Zanpakuto, Kirara grabbed Hiyori by the wrist and pulled her out of the way. The Captain smashed through the tree effortlessly. "Hiyori, run!" Kirara yelled as she pulled her away.

"That thing...he's too fast! We can't outrun him!" Hiyori yelled as they ran from Kensei. He roared, and his Reiatsu slammed them like a wall.

"Fine then!" Kirara let Hiyori go, and turned to the Captain. She braced herself as he leapt at her, only for another figure to leap in the way, blocking Kensei's attack and knocking him back.

"Shinji..." Hiyori stared up at the Squad 5 Captain.

"You fools...why haven't you drawn your swords yet?" Shinji glanced over his shoulder at them.

"Idiot," Hiyori snapped in a quiet voice, looking away. "How could I possibly do that?" she demanded.

"It's not what you think," Kirara's voice was equally quiet as she looked past him. Shinji frowned, and followed her gaze to the monster in front of him. The clouds moved from the moon, providing them with enough light to see the creature. He choked as a gasp caught in his throat, his eyes on the very familiar tattoo on the chest of the monster.

"Kensei?" he whispered, recognising his fellow Captain.

"Hey, Shinji! Kirara!" they looked around as Lisa, Love and Rose arrived.

"Hiyori, you alright?" Love called as they reached the three. They froze, however, when they spotted Kensei on the other side of the clearing from them.

"K-Kensei..." Love breathed. He let out a low growl, watching them, but not moving, as if waiting for them to make the next move. "Just what the hell is going on here?" Love asked.

"You think that thing is really Kensei?" Rose asked, his voice betraying his nerves. "With that Mask...and Reiatsu...it's almost like he's become a Hollow," he commented. Kensei growled again, louder this time.

"I'm not sure what to think either," Shinji spoke, not taking his eyes off Kensei as he kept his Zanpakuto raised. "There's a chance it's Kensei, but maybe not. Anyway, there's one thing I'm sure of. If we don't draw our swords right now, we'll be dead," he warned. The Reiatsu coming from Kensei rose in strength, and he roared. The pressure slammed into them, and the group were pushed back. Love leapt into the air, and Kensei vanished.

"Where the hell-" Love spun around as Kensei reappeared behind him. There was a loud tremor as Kensei landed a punch, causing a cloud of smoke to rise around him.

"Love, no!" Rose yelled as they looked around. When the smoke cleared, they saw Love shove Kensei back with his Zanpakuto. Half of his uniform had been ripped off, and he was burned and bruised from the impact of the hit, breathing heavily.

"Whoa...I really felt that one. That's just what I'd expect of you, Kensei," Love tried to brush it off. Kensei growled, and Kirara drew her Zanpakuto.

"Stop it! Hiyori yelled. She squirmed in Shinji's grasp. "Don't you get it? You're fighting against Kensei! This is-" she stopped as she began to cough loudly.

"We don't have much of a choice here," Kirara told her softly as she held her Zanpakuto up. "It's either this, or let him kill us," her worried expression was gone, and she surveyed Kensei with a look of indifference.

"She's right," Shinji's voice was low. "Our mission here is to stop him. If he is Kensei, our mission here is even more vital," Hiyori stared up at him.

"Shinji's right Hiyori," they looked up at Rose. "Kensei is very important to us, that's why we have to subdue him," he pointed out.

"There's no need to worry about this," Lisa drew her own Zanpakuto as Rose did the same. Kirara walked over and stood with them. "We know a mountain of ways we can subdue this guy without having to kill him. We'll cut all his tendons," she decided.

"Alright," Rose nodded.

"Sounds good to me," Kirara pointed her sword up at Kensei. The three leapt into the air, and straight at Kensei. However, he dodged each of Lisa's attacks, before raising an arm to block Rose's attack. "There!" Kirara shot in from the side, only for Kensei to raise his other arm and block her strike with his fist. With a growl, Kensei shoved her into Lisa as the other Shinigami rushed in, before pushing Rose higher into the air.

"So much for cutting his tendons," Kirara groaned as she righted herself. She looked up at Rose, and her eyes widened as she let out a choked cry. "Rose! Behind you!" she yelled as another figure, also wearing a Hollow Mask, moved silently behind the Captain. However, it was too late. Before Rose could turn around, the figure slammed their leg into his head, and Rose was slammed to the ground with intense force. "No!" Kirara cried out in her horror.

"Rose!" Lisa yelled. The dust cleared to reveal the Squad 3 Captain lying face down in the dirt, not moving.

"Who..." Kirara stopped as she looked back up at saw the Lieutenant's badge on the attacker's arm.

"Mashiro," Shinji growled, watching as she flipped in the air and shot towards him with a warped scream. As she flipped, swinging her leg to strike him with the same attack, she was kicked from the side.

Flipping through the air before managing to right herself, Mashiro shrieked again as Kirara sheathed her Zanpakuto and fell into a fighting stance with a blank look. The warped noise sent a shiver down her spine, and it took all the effort Kirara could muster, not to react. Mashiro launched at her, and Kirara dodged her attack, swinging her leg up and kicking Mashiro up. With a soft growl, she followed her up, kicking Mashiro away from Shinji and Hiyori. With the Captain carrying the injured Lieutenant, he wouldn't be able to fight the Hakuda Master whose Reiatsu was almost as monstrous as Kensei's.

However, the green-haired girl was much faster with the new, terrifying power she had acquired, and recovered quickly, slamming her leg into Kirara's chest. Kirara smashed into a tree hard enough for it to break, and Kirara hit the ground by the fallen trunk, struggling to breathe. Pain erupted down her torso, and she rolled onto her side, gasping for breath and choking on blood. No matter how much she willed her body to move, all she could do was lie there and try to control her breathing.

Sensing that Kirara would not be getting up quickly, Mashiro turned to Shinji, who was forced to take his eyes off Kirara in order to defend himself from Mashiro's oncoming attack. He blocked, and was forced back several metres as she bounced back, and pushed towards him again. She bombarded him with kicks, forcing him backwards. One finally passed his defences, but before it could hit, a voice echoed out.

"Gochutekkan!" five pillars slammed into Mashiro, forcing her to the ground and keeping her there. Mashiro shrieked, but could do little else. "Boy, I have to say, you guys really run quickly," the large man that was the Lieutenant of the Kido Corps breathed heavily.

"Hachi..." Shinji stared at him.

"I'm sure glad that I caught up," Hachi looked up to where Love and Kensei were fighting. "Bakudo #63! Sajo Sabaku!" he cast another Kido, and chains wrapped around Kensei. The Captain crashed to the ground, snarling as he struggled to break free. "Shinji, I'm quite confused by this situation. What's going on?" the Lieutenant asked curiously. "Kensei, and Mashiro, what has happened to them?" he asked.

"No time for that," Kirara groaned as she finally managed to get to her feet. Blood was running down her face, and she was looking over at Kensei. Hachi gasped, staring as Kensei managed to get to his feet.

"How can this be? A number 60 class Bakudo...repelled with just arm strength? That's not possible," he breathed in horror. All they could do was watch as Kensei let out a warped yell, and shattered his restraints. Kirara let out a low growl, drawing her Zanpakuto again. The fight had only just begun.

Kirara's chest was pounding painfully as she dodged Kensei's attack, swinging her Zanpakuto at his back. However, all it succeeded in doing was cut through his uniform, and made him even angrier when it bounced off his skin. Gasping, she used Shunpo to dodge his next blow, and his strength caused a gust of wind that blew her back further.

"Watch it!" Love caught her and pulled her out of the way of Kensei's next attack. "Trust you to get drawn into this when you're only just back," he muttered.

"It was this or paperwork," Kirara replied with a mild shrug. They dodged again as Kensei lashed out at them, and Lisa rushed him, slashing at him. However, Kensei was faster, and punched her hard. Lisa's eyes widened as she choked, and fell to the ground. Kensei followed her, only to be blasted by a Kido.

"Stop this, Kensei!" Rose pleaded from the ground. Blood soaked his hair and face as he looked up weakly. "What has happened my friend? This is completely out of character for you! You've never been the kind of weakling that would strike a girl!" he yelled.

"Are you going to be alright, Lisa? Are you hurt?" Shinji glanced to her as she pushed herself up.

"I've got this," Lisa growled, staggering slightly.

"Don't try to be strong if you're hurt, it puts us at risk," Shinji warned her with a frown.

"I'm fine," Lisa insisted, but her breathing was heavy.

"I'm not sure it matters one way or the other," Rose pushed himself up as well. "If things keep on like this, we're all going to be defeated," he warned. He looked up to where Love and Kirara were continuing to fight, but most of it was either dodging, or trying to land blows of their own.

"Hachi? Is there any other way we can neutralise him?" Lisa turned to the man.

"Yes, there is," Hachi nodded, but his worried look didn't fade. "But there's a problem. He easily broke through Sajo Sabaku. This time, we'd have to go at him with maximum force," he explained softly. "And to do that...I'd need all of you to create a sure-fire opportunity for me to use my Bakudo. That's the only move I can see that would have a chance of working," he told them. "However, the problem is that my Bakudo may take all of us with it as well," he warned.

"Is that all?" Love asked as he and Kirara landed nearby. Both were breathing heavily, and the blood was still running from Kirara's head wound.

"Love?" Lisa frowned at him.

"I'll try to distract him, alright?" he told them confidently. "While I'm doing that, you'll have to find a way to capture him," Love said.

"I'm going along with you," Lisa told him.

"And me as well," Rose spoke up.

"With the injuries you've suffered? You've both gone crazy," Love shook his head, and they scowled at him. "I'll handle it myself," he decided.

"Not by yourself. I'm going too," Kirara told him, and Love shot her an irritated look. "Hey, I'm fine, and I'm the Queen of Distractions, I'll be a great help," she shrugged with a grin.

"Fine. The rest of you, watch our backs," Love sighed, giving in.

"Show offs," Lisa muttered irritably.

"Look who's talking," Love retorted, and he and Kirara leapt back into the air to rush Kensei. A Kido shot past, slamming into Kensei. It knocked him backwards, and Love slammed his Zanpakuto into his chest. However, even with his strength, he was unable to cut him. Kensei responded with a loud growl, and swung his fist. It was knocked off course, however, as Kirara slammed her foot into his arm and knocked it above Love's head, barely missing him.

"See?" Kirara raised an eyebrow at Love, who frowned at her.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're kind of a brat?" he asked her, and the smallest of smiles managed to make its way onto her face.

"Hey, I'm a delight," Kirara argued, insulted, and used Shunpo to dodge as Kensei swung his arm back. With a yell, Lisa appeared to attack from behind, but with a powerful swing of his arm, he sent her flying. Love then swung, knocking him back and as Kensei rushed them again, they used Shunpo to dodge.

"Hachi!" Lisa shouted over her shoulder as she managed to get up.

"Bakudo #99! Restrict!" Hachi yelled as he cast the Kido. What looked like ribbons wrapped around Kensei, slamming him to the ground. When the dust faded, he was pinned to the ground.

"A level 90 Bakudo with no incantation, eh? Nice trick," Shinji commented as he glanced over to Hachi.

"Yes well, I outdid myself this time," he admitted.

"That you did, and just in time," Kirara groaned as she landed, rubbing her chest. "Pretty certain Mashiro broke my ribs," she admitted.

"I thought you were fine?!" Love growled at her.

"I lied?" Kirara offered with a tilt of her head.

"You really are a brat," he muttered. She just smiled back at him.

"Okay then..." Shinji approached Kensei slowly, and the others did the same. He didn't move at all. "How are we supposed to reverse his condition?" Shinji glanced to Hachi. "Are you able to do something using Kido?" he asked.

"Even if I could, I'm not sure what got him this way," Hachi admitted as he approached as well. "It might damage him even more before I could get him back to normal," he explained.

"Kisuke could probably figure something out," Kirara suggested as Hiyori began to cough loudly again.

"What's the matter Hiyori?" Shinji glanced down at her. "You feeling alright?" he asked. She didn't answer, wheezing as she seemed to choke. "Hachi, forget about Kensei for now. We better start with healing our friend here," he decided.

"Shin...Shinji...let...go of me!" Hiyori cried out. When he frowned down at her, she cried out, choking again as white liquid began to pour from her mouth. She suddenly moved, faster than anyone expected, grabbing her Zanpakuto and cutting up Shinji's front with him. He grunted, falling backwards as Hiyori landed on her feet, screaming loudly as a Mask formed across her face with a large horn, turning her screams into a chilling warped noise.

"Hiyori!" Kirara cried out as they ran to try and stop her, before a strange blackness surrounded them. "What? What's going on?" Kirara looked around the darkness to find that everyone else had disappeared. "Where is everyone?" her voice echoed, before she felt the pain of something sharp slicing up her back. Her senses returned with a sharp, agonising pain across her back, and she stumbled, falling onto her side. Looking up, she blinked rapidly as her vision began to blur, and saw a man in all white, his face hidden.

"Kaname..." Shinji groaned nearby, looking up at the Squad 9 member. "Why did you do that...to Kensei?" he demanded weakly. "Your Captain...why did you betray him?" he asked. Kirara blinked, struggling to keep her eyes open. She looked around, and found that everyone else had been downed as well.

"He didn't betray him..." Kirara's already laboured breathing caught as she recognised the voice that spoke up next. She looked up as Aizen approached with the third seat of Squad 5, a young boy with silver hair. "He's actually quite...loyal..." Aizen smiled as he walked towards his Captain. "As a matter of fact, he was loyally following my orders," he told Shinji with a smirk. "You of all people can understand that, so please, don't hold it against him, Captain Hirako," Aizen requested. With a groan, Kirara was swallowed up by the darkness as she was overwhelmed with betrayal and pain.

'Kirara! Wake up!' hearing a loud voice break through the darkness, Kirara's eyes shot open, and she sat up quickly in her Inner World. 'Listen carefully, we have not...much time!' Kokoro no Kage sounded much more forceful and loud than usual. 'Something...happening...that...beginning to...our...' Kirara frowned, unable to hear his voice clearly.

"What's going on? What's happening?" Kirara looked around to the Spirit nearby. His form seemed to flicker slightly.

'Keep calm Kirara, you must...calm!' Kokoro no Kage spoke another broken sentence. Kirara frowned, wondering why he was telling her to keep calm, before she seemed to choke on air, and began coughing.

"Why can't I hear you properly? What's going on?" she asked between coughs. However, before he could try and answer her, the pain in her back grew, snapping her back to consciousness.

Kirara was pulled from her Inner World and returned to her own as she was rolled over onto her back. She let out a soft moan as she lay on the long wound down her back. In a weak attempt, she grabbed the ankle of the one standing over her.

"Oh? Looks like there's a little fight left in her," Aizen commented as he easily pulled out of her grasp.

"I've had...worse..." Kirara coughed. "It was a crappy hit," she told him. Aizen smirked down at her.

"Of course, a trained killer like yourself would be used to taking a few blows like that," he commented softly. Kirara's eyes narrowed. She hated being called a killer. And he knew it. She broke into another coughing fit that wrecked havoc on her ribs.

"Leave her alone," Kirara heard Shinji's low growl, which only served to make Aizen chuckle.

"How sweet. But it's too late for that," he told Shinji, glancing back down at Kirara as she rolled onto her side, glaring up at him. "Like I said, Captain Hirako. You owe your friends here an apology. Because you were chosen by me, they ended up on the ground as casualties, through no fault of their own. Because of you, the person you seem to care for is going to die," Aizen commented lightly, his glasses flashing in the moonlight.

"Sosuke!" Shinji leapt up with an angry yell, ignoring his wounds as he drew his Zanpakuto. However, before he could do anything, he choked, and the same white liquid that had come out Hiyori's mouth burst from his own, and his left eye.

"I wasn't sure it would actually work. But thank you, Captain, for going for my cheap taunt," Aizen smirked. Kirara coughed again, feeling something in her stomach stirring.

"What's...what's happening to me?!" Shinji cried out as his vision blurred.

'Kirara, keep calm!' she heard Kokoro no Kage shout, but hearing noises, she looked around and saw that what was happening to Shinji, start happening to the others. Choking as her heart-rate accelerated, Kirara's jaw was forced open as the white liquid poured from her throat. Unable to focus on anything but it, Kirara felt it spread up her face and begin to harden. She let out a whimper of fear as it took over. 'Kirara!' she heard Kokoro no Kage yell, and she snapped back to focus.

"Shin...ji..." she looked up as Hiyori seemed to come back around.

"Kaname," Aizen spoke softly.

"No, don't-" Shinji cried out, realising what he was intending on doing. Before Kaname could strike her, however, Kirara blocked it, and shoved him back.

"My my, you really are exceeding my expectations, Lieutenant Yamada," Aizen chuckled as Kirara breathed heavily. The white substance was spreading, and had covered most of her face by this point, leaving only one eye free. "But I believe you're just about done," he commented idly, his eyes moving slowly to the bone-like substance that was covering most of her face.

"What happened to exceeding your expectations?" Kirara muttered, but she knew he was right. She'd put the last of her energy into protecting Hiyori. Aizen just smiled at her as Kirara's vision blurred, but she fought to keep up, even with her Zanpakuto slowly lowering as her strength faded.

"Kirara!" before Shinji could do anything, Kaname struck her across the face with the butt of his Zanpakuto, and she fell in a heap as he then took out Hiyori as well. Shinji finally moved to push himself and attacked as Kirara choked again. Despite trying to keep calm, Kirara couldn't help it. The pain, and everything else, began to overwhelm her as the truth sank in. What had happened to Kensei and Mashiro was happening to her.

She was going to become a Hollow.

She was going to die.

When the choking sensation finally faded, Kirara opened her eyes to find herself in her Inner World once again.

"Kokoro no Kage!" she called out for her Zanpakuto, not sensing him anywhere. "Where are you old man?" she yelled, her panic returning as she raced around the trees. Instead of his grumbling, however, Kirara heard a soft but warped chuckle. Her eyes widened, and she spun around as a figure launched at her. She barely managed to block the strike, her eyes wide.

"Sorry, the old man ain't here. Can I help ya instead?" Kirara stared at a young woman that looked identical to her. However, her robes were white where they should have been black, and black where they should have been white. Her complexion was cure white, and her eyes black and gold. Her long hair, tied back like Kirara's, was pure white, except for the black tips where Kirara's was white.

"Who...what the hell are you?" Kirara demanded, her eyes lowering to a white version of her Zanpakuto. "Where the hell is Kokoro no Kage?" she asked. Her white twin chuckled again, her maniacal smirk growing.

"He's here, obviously," she pointed down to the blade in her hand.

"Where's the old man? Where's his Spirit?!" Kirara yelled as her panic only grew.

"The old man was annoying me, so I shut him up for a while," her twin responded casually, backing up and balancing her blade over her shoulder.

"And who the hell are you?!" Kirara repeated her first question. Her twin gave an overexaggerated sigh, rolling her eyes.

"Ya sure ask a lot of stupid questions," Kirara narrowed her eyes as she waited for a response. "I would have thought that were obvious. I mean, ya had to know what was happening to ya out there, right?" the other Kirara looked up at the black sky. The stars that illuminated it flickered erratically, sometimes disappearing, sometimes shining brighter than ever.

"Out there..." Kirara repeated, and her eyes widened in horror as she worked it out. Her twin's wide smirk only grew. "You're a Hollow..." she whispered.

"Oh, ya finally got it. But, I ain't just any old Hollow," the white haired being laughed. "I'm your Hollow," she announced.

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