Chapter 17: Hollow Invasion
Warning: fighting
The hell butterfly fluttered in through the open window and landed on Nanao's outstretched hand
"An emergency Taicho's meeting is to take place in one hour." Said the Hell butterfly before it fluttered out of the window. Nanao sighed and stood up with the intention of finding Kyoraku Taicho. As it was mid-morning and the Taicho never woke up before noon so Nanao made her way to her Taicho's quarters. Shunsui's quarters were located in a secluded part of the eighth division and was surrounded by large cherry blossom trees. In the spring Shunsui's private gardens would blossom into a wonderland of falling pink blossoms. It was truly and wonderful sight when experienced, and Nanao had seen it a few times when her Taicho had forced her out of the office.
Approaching the front door, Nanao pulled out the key and opened the door. Shunsui had given her a key to his quarters several years after she had become his Fukutaicho for the sole purpose of waking him up for Taicho meetings. Well that was what Nanao used it for. Quietly Nanao slide open the door and walked into Shunsui rather messy quarters. There were items of clothing spewed all over the place. With a slight frown Nanao picked her way through the mess and marched towards Shunsui's bedroom and threw open the door. What she saw made her blush. Shunsui was lying on his back with one hand wrapped around Rose's waist and by the looks of it the two of them were naked. Rose was practically lying on top of Shunsui, thus hiding her breasts from Nanao. The bed sheet only just covered their waists.
The sound of Shunsui's bedroom door opening awoke Rose from her peaceful slumber. Slowly she rolled over, oblivious to Nanao's presence, and stretched. Suddenly she became aware of another presence on the room which was not Shunsui. Rose's eyes widen when she saw the shocked, blushing Nanao standing in the doorway. With a squeal she pulled up the covers to hide herself. But it was too late, she had just flashed her superior her breasts. Nanao spun around on her feet to offer Rose some privacy.
With a small grunt Shunsui stirred and started to wake up. He took in Rose's petrified face and a rather embarrassed looking Nanao standing in the doorway and put two and two together. He sat up and smiled at Nanao's turned back. "Well good morning Nanao-Chan."
"Good morning Taicho." Said Nanao in a mortified tone.
Shunsui chuckled. "And what brings Nanao-Chan into my room at such an early hour of the morning?"
Nanao blushed. "Sir it is mid-morning and I came to tell you that an emergency Taicho's meeting has been called."
Shunsui sighed. "Ok give me a minute Nanao-chan." Nanao nodded and left the room.
Rose looked towards Shunsui and saw that his happy, playful demeanour had been replaced with sadness. "Shun…what is wrong?" She asked while running her hand up and down Shunsui naked shoulder.
Shunsui looked at Rose and took her hand and kissed it. "Emergency Taicho meetings are never good news. Yama-Jii only calls emergency Taicho meeting if there is something serious to discuss…and it is never good news."
Rose crawled forwards and kissed Shunsui lightly on the lips. "I am sure that everything will be ok."
Shunsui smiled. "Yes it will be…let's get changed, I will walk you to the division before the meeting." Rose smiled and climbed out of bed to change into her Shihakushō.
A few minutes later Nanao, Rose and Shunsui walked into the busy mess hall (Shunsui had complained that Rose needed feeding). Rose muttered something about getting some food and walked off leaving Shunsui and Nanao standing in the door way.
"Nanao." murmured Shunsui
Nanao looked up at Shunsui with curious eyes. He had dropped the 'Chan' after her name which meant that he was being serious. "Yes Taicho?"
"Can you sense it?"
Nanao closed her eyes and opened up her senses. She could feel it, the growing sensation that something ominous was approaching. "Yes Taicho."
"I need you to protect Rose while I am gone. If something bad happens when I am gone I want you to surround Rose with the most powerful barrier you know and guard her. It looks like your enemies have finally started to make their more." Nanao nodded and watched as Shunsui walked away, pink kimono billowing in the wind.
Shunsui arrived outside the meeting room with a few minutes to spare. He spotted Ukitake standing next to Unohana, the two of them deep in conversation.
Shunsui made his way over to them. "So I guess that I am not the only one who senses it?"
Ukitake and Unohana looked up as Shunsui approached. "No we sense it to…do you think that it is Shadow Crawler and Kurosawa making their more?" Asked Ukitake
"Most likely…I asked Nanao to protect Rose for the time being."
Unohana nodded her head and was about the respond when the doors to the meeting room opened. The Taicho's slowly started to trickle in and take their places in a row. Ukitake shot Shunsui a sympathetic look before he entered the room and took his place.
"This emergency Taicho's meeting has been called to order." Cried the Soutaicho while banging his staff on the ground. "Now according to the Ninth division there has been increased hollow activity in the Rukongai. They also report that the attacks were done by several high level hollows, most likely Menos level."
Shunsui shut his eyes and lowered his sakkat over his eyes. It seemed that his senses were correct, something bad was happening. He now regretted leaving Rose in the eighth division. Not that he had no faith in Nanao's abilities, he just wanted to know that Rose was safe. The news about the increased Hollow activity was disturbing. But the question was, were these increased hollow activities linked to Shadow Crawler and Kurosawa or were they just a co-incidence? But why would Kurosawa need a large hollow army? Was it to capture Rose? No he had only used Shadow Cralwer when he first attempted to capture her so why would he need an army this time. Surely he knew that attacking the Seireitei with an army of hollows was futile…unless the hollows were a distraction.
"ATTENTION, ATTENTION. MENOS HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN THE SEIREITEI. I REPEAT MENOS HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN THE SEIREITEI!" Shunsui's head snapped up at the sound of the alarm. Menos in the Seireitei? How did they get in? Looking around he saw the shocked and confused faces of the other Taichos in the room. It seemed they were asking themselves the same questions.
"Taichos, gather up you man and defeat this threat! This Taicho's meeting is dismissed!" cried the Soutaicho.
Shunsui flew out the door and ran as fast as he could but when he reached the exit of the first division he stopped in his tracks. There were hundreds of hollows crawling all over the Seireitei, bellowing loudly. This was no simple hollow attack, but an invasion. Panicking, Shunsui turned towards the eighth division and saw that it was surrounding by Menos. He could sense Nanao's angry reiatsu blasting away the hollows outside the eighth division but he could not sense Rose's reiatsu.
"Shunsui…can you sense Rose?" Ukitake was standing behind Shunsui, Zanpakuto drawn.
"No." Whispered Shunsui a little weakly.
Ukitake placed his hand on Shunsui shoulder. "She will be fine…I mean Nanao is with her."
Shunsui smiled weakly and moved to step in shunpo however three large adjuchas appeared an blocked him. Shunsui ducked out the way as one of them swung a large claw in his direction. Without missing a beat, Shunsui drew his twin swords and charged at one of the adjuchas, slashing at the beast chest. The beast gave an agonized wail as his chest was sliced open, spraying blood everywhere. Shunsui did not stop as he charged forward, cutting the second adjuchas's head clean off its shoulders. The two defeated hollows gave on last roar before they disappeared, leaving only their blood splattered on the ground and walls. Shunsui hurried on forwards, slashing hollows out the way. He needed to get to the eighth and see if Rose was alright. He needed to believe that she was alive. Around him he could sense the reiatsu of his fellow Taicho's battling with menos level hollows.
Onwards Shunsui ran, defeating hollows at every turn. His theory that the hollow invasion was a distraction was proving to be correct as the hollows seemed to be lumbering around with no real target. And then Shunsui sensed something that made his heart freeze. Shadow crawler's reiatsu was radiating from within the eighth division and worse Shunsui could sense him battling Rose and Nanao. Horror and anger rose within Shunsui as he charged forwards. The enemy was targeting Rose and was using the hollows as a distraction and he had stupidly left her alone. With a feral growl Shunsui stepped into Shunpo but was stopped when a large tail swung out at him, knocking him through a wall.
Rose was lying on the sofa in Shunsui's and Nanao's office staring out the window in boredom. Shunsui had gone off to the Taicho's meeting and had left her under the watchful eye of Nanao. At first Rose had killed time by helping Nanao file the portfolios of all the members of the eighth division in alphabetical order, and then by cleaning and dusting the office. However, soon Nanao ran out of menial tasks for Rose to do thus she was left to sit around the room. Thankfully she had brought her IPhone and her beats head phones so she spent the rest of the day lounging around on the sofa listing to music and playing flappy bird on her phone. Occasionally members of the eighth would enter the office to either pick up the completed paperwork on Nanao's desk, or to hand Nanao a cup of tea. Sometimes they would stare at Rose with confusing, or in the case of Maya glare at her. They still hated each other but at least now they were no longer at each other's throats.
With nothing better to do, Rose mentally started making plans for a new cupcake recipe. With a happy smile Rose began to wonder what type of cupcake Shunsui would like. She knew that he liked dark chocolate and any and every fruit…accept plumbs and lychees. Slowly Rose's inner baking mind started to turn. She would make the cupcake base out of dark chocolate and then make her famous strawberry icing. Except this time she was going to use raspberries instead of strawberries.
"You don't want the cupcakes to be too rich Rose." Said Midnight dancer.
"Midnight dancer?" Asked Rose in a shocked tone
"If you are not careful you will make the base of the cupcake too rich by using dark chocolate. And if you use a raspberry topping like you plan on doing you will make the cupcake too sweat. All in all the cupcakes would taste horrible. I would suggest eating it with cream to cancel out the richness of it all."
"Wait. What…you can cook Midnight Dancer?" Rose was baffled by her Zanpakuto.
Midnight dancer chuckled. "I am a part of your soul so I love to bake as well. Now about these cupcake we could make a cream filling inside the cupcake."
Rose smiled at her Zanpakuto. Of course her sword loved to bake. "No a cream filling would be too messy …We could however reduce the richness of the base by adding a bit of milk chocolate. Now for the icing we could add a tiny bit of sour cream to counter the bitter taste of the raspberries."
"MMM sounds good."
"ROSE WAKE UP!"
Rose startled awake and stared into Nanao's intense violet eyes. In the distance She could hear the deafening sound of roaring.
"What is going on?" asked Rose while sitting up.
"The Seireitei is under attack. I am under strict orders from Kyoraku Taicho to protect you. However, I must go an assist the squad members so I am going to lock you in this office and then place a very powerful barrier around it in order to protect you. You are to remain here until Kyoraku Taicho or I come and de-activate the barrier. Am I understood?" Barked Nanao. The stress in her voice was apparent to Rose. Slowly Rose nodded her head and watched as Nanao marched out the room and locked it. A semi-transparent yellow wall rise up round the outside of the office, sealing Rose in.
"You could have told me something was going on." Cried Rose at Midnight Dancer.
Midnight Dancer looked guilty for a moment. "I was distracted by the prospect of baking cupcakes."
Rose sighed and sat back down on the sofa. However, this time she could not relax.
The sound of fighting was everywhere. Hollows cried out deafeningly as Shinigami sliced through them. Rose was frozen to the window, staring transfixed out of it. She had never seen a hollow before but their large blundering bodies and white masks scared her. Cold fear rose within her as she stared out the window at the hollows. Their white masks seemed to be made of bone and they had black eyes that seemed to stare through a person's soul. Rose could feel a horrible sense of unease as she stared at the hollows, rooted to the spot in fear. Was this what it was like to stare into death?
"Rose behind you!" screamed Midnight Dancer.
Rose turned round and stared at the now blasted open door.
"Well, well Rose looks like I finally found you. Your Shinigami friends made it very complicated to capture you but I finally succeeded." Sneered Shadow Crawler while leaning against the wall. He was wearing a long black cloak that reached to the floor that seemed to be made of black smoke. He had his hood pulled low over his face but Rose could see the bright red glint of his eyes staring at her. Shadow Crawler looked like a moving shadow and this image would have been complete if he did not have what looked like a porcelain doll on his right shoulder.
"Ahh I see that the Shinigami have placed a barrier around this room. Very cleaver…but not cleaver enough…Penny your assistance is needed." Continued Shadow Crawler in a tone of voice that sent cold shivers down Rose's back. Suddenly the porcelain doll on Shadow Crawlers shoulder came to life and turned her head to stare at Rose. Rose tried to supress the scream that rose up in her throat, but sadly she failed. The doll had long, silky dark brown hair that reached her waist and one blood red eye that stared at Rose. She also wore a blood red Victorian style dress with black lacing and matching shoes. But what made the doll particularly terrifying was that her mouth was stitched closed and her one eye was a human eye. Penny smiled at Rose and then opened her stitched mouth and took a deep breath. To Rose's horror the protective barrier around the room disintegrated as Penny sucked it away. The reiatsu from the barrier was gathered in Penny's mouth and then when she had formed a large blood red ball she fired it at Rose. Rose saw the ball of energy shooting towards her and she did the first thing that came to mind…duck. The ball of energy shot over Rose and hit the wall of the office, blasting it apart.
Rose looked behind her and saw that the wall had been completely destroyed. "Nah Shit! Now Shunsui is going to say that he can't do paperwork because the office is broken." Cursed Rose in her mind.
"I think there are more important things to worry about." Said Midnight Dancer, her face in her hands.
Rose looked up and saw Shadow Crawler walked across the now destroyed office. "Shame…I missed." Sang a voice from behind Rose. Rose spun around and saw to her horror Penny standing only inches away from her. She was one fast doll.
Suddenly Rose felt something enclose around her neck and squeeze. Looking around she saw that the shadows around her, from the setting sun, had come alive and were strangling her. Panicking, Rose let her reiatsu out and push against Shadow Crawler's hold while her knees slowly gave way. Papers and lose bits of debris started the fly around the room like a freak hurricane. Rose looked up and smiled at the look of shock on Shadow Crawler's face. With one last push from her reiatsu the shadow around her neck broke. Rose instantly stood up and drew her Zanpakuto.
"Dreamer laugh and Sinner scream, haunt their minds and make them mine. Dream, Midnight Dancer!" Shouted Rose a little out of breath.
Shadow Crawler watched as Rose released her shikai. "I must say Rose Bentley you have surprised me. I never thought that you would be this powerful…Master is going to be very happy. You have matured nicely." He walked forwards and pulled out a large collar. "This will dampen your reiatsu my dear Rose."
Rose flicked her ribbon and slashed Shadow Crawler on the shoulder. Shadow Crawler flashed stepped behind Rose and then grabbed her neck. "Now, Now Rose let's not be hasty. Now hold still while I put this on you."
"Hadō #63. Raikōhō." Out of the corner of her eye Rose saw a large bolt of lightning shoot towards her. Shadow Crawler groaned as the Kido smacked into him, forcing him back against the wall and breaking the reiatsu depleter.
"Run Rose!" Rose looked up and saw Nanao standing in the doorway with her hand outstretched and flaming. Nanao's neat hair had come loose from her hair clip and fell across her sweaty hair. But apart from that Nanao looked as neat and as elegant as usual. Rose leapt up and ran towards Nanao and then the two of them proceeded to run down the corridor. In the distance Rose could hear the shouts from the other Shinigami as they destroyed the hollows outside. Suddenly she felt something grab at her ankle and send her flying down the corridor. Behind her she could hear Nanao engage with Shadow Crawler. Rose climbed back to her feet gingerly but froze when she felt something wet run down her arm. Looking down she saw that her arms and chest were covered in blood. She looked around and saw that the corridor had been spattered with the blood of the member of the Onmitsukidō who were in charge of protecting her. Blood, Rose hated blood. Nausea rose within making her want to vomit or pass out. Slowly Rose staggered down the corridor and passed the dead Shinigami. The sounds of Nanao's battle with Shadow Crawler were muted. All Rose could hear was the frantic beating of her heart.
A cold hand grabbed Rose and started to drag her down the deserted corridor. Looking round she saw that Nanao was the person dragging her down the corridor.
"When I tell you to run I mean run!" shouted Nanao as they rounded the corner.
"S-s-sorry." Whispered Rose a little faintly.
"Rose are you hurt?"
"No I-se…I just hate blood." Nanao looked down and saw that Rose was covered in blood.
"Is that"
"No…I tripped and fell…on bodies." Whispered Rose.
Nanao cursed and dragged Rose outside into a large, deserted and broken courtyard. The sun had just set, plunging the Seireitei into darkness…and shadows.
Rose gulped and looked at Nanao. "Ise Fukutaicho we need to get out of her…Shadow Crawler can manipulate the shadows."
Nanao looked around at the dark courtyard and cursed. "Right Rose we need to move."
Nanao moved to step forwards but was then brutally backhanded by Shadow Crawler. "Fast…but not fast enough…now then." Shadow Crawler snapped his fingers and the shadows around Rose sprang to life. Like vines they spurted out of the shadows and charged at Rose, who frantically tried to fend them off with her Zanpakuto. But she was weak after using up most of her reiatsu fending off Shadow Crawler's shadows in the office. After a bit more struggling one of the shadows had succeeded in wrapping itself around her neck. In desperation Rose tried to fight the shadow but it was in vain. She could see Shadow Crawler walking towards her.
"Since your friend destroyed my depleter I am going to have to use other means to silence you." Sneered Shadow Crawler. "My shadows could strangle you until you lie there unconscious. But Master will be upset if I hurt you, but I really have no choice." Rose stared at Shadow Crawler in fear as he came closer and closer. In the distance Nanao struggled to fight of the shadows attacking her but there were too many. Defeat was imminent at this point.
A high pitched scream broken through the noises of the battles making Rose's head throb in agony. Her insides and head felt like they were going to explode from the pressure the sound in her head was creating. Rose looked around the courtyard for the source of the noise but found no one. Around her, Nanao and Shadow Crawler had grabbed their heads in a weak effort to block out the noise. The shadows around Rose neck disappeared as Shadow crawler's attention was drawn elsewhere. Rose moved to do the same but as she was doing that her hands brushed against something that was hanging round her neck. Looking down she saw that she still had her beats around her neck. Praying that it worked, Rose placed the headphones over her ears and let out a sigh of relief as the high pitched scream was silenced...sort of.
Around her both Shadow Crawler and Nanao were on the ground clutching their ears in agony. Without thinking Rose walked forward and picked up a sharp, jagged rock (she had dropped her Zanpakuto on the floor before and had no idea where it was), and marched towards Shadow Crawler. Using her free arms, she held him in a headlock and then she plunged the rock into his neck. Red, hot, sticky blood erupted from Shadow crawler's neck and sprayed Rose as she brutally cut through his neck. Agony screams filled the courtyard and then suddenly stopped only to be followed by the sound of a head hitting the ground. The high pitched screaming had stopped, plunging the courtyard into an eerie silence. Nanao stared at Rose, taking in her blood soaked clothing and dirty face. Rose knew that it had been a low blow to attack somebody who was already on the ground, but she had no other option.
"Well done Rose. Now get changed…you are covered in blood." Said Midnight Dancer with a smile on her face.
Rose gulped and tried to not think about the fact that she was covered in blood. "Sprinkles…I should put sprinkles on Shunsui's cupcakes as extra decoration."
"Erm…Rose are you alright?"
"I am trying to not think about the blood otherwise I might faint…I feel sick. Where are you anyway?"
"I am right at your feet. You dropped me when Shadow Crawler was strangling you."
Rose looked down at saw Midnight Dancer's gleaming hilt at her feet. Even though there was no moonlight her sword still shone brightly. Rose bent down and picked up her discarded Zanpakuto before walked over to where Nanao lay face first on the ground. She was breathing evenly and showed no signs of being injured. Rose assumed that she had just passed out from exhaustions.
"Nah Madness and Shadow Crawler are dead…No fair! Oh well looks like I will just have to take you." Rose looked around and saw Penny standing on top of the fallen debrie. Rose cursed and held her Zanpakuto out in front of her.
"Rose she has the ability to absorb all none physical attacks. This means that kido and my abilities are useless. The only chance you have to defeat her is to use hakudo or hit her in my unreleased form." Said Midnight dancer.
"What?!"
Rose gulped and then undid her shikai, it would be of no use to her.
"Let's play…I do love to play games." Sang Penny as she pounced at Rose, her stitched mouth open wide. Rose cartwheeled out of the way and then swung her leg out to kick Penny. Rose screamed in agony as her leg collided with Penny solid body. It was like her body was made out of steel. Rose cursed as she danced around, foot in her hands, moaning in pain. So hakudo was now out of the question. Penny danced towards Rose, teeth bared. Rose swung her sword out and watched as Penny latched onto the blade with her teeth and began to suck. Rose could feel her reiatsu being sucked out of her and into Penny's open mouth.
"Get her off!" Screamed Midnight dancer.
Rose frantically waved her Zanpakuto around in the hopes of shaking Penny off but she stayed latched on.
"Let go Rose and run before she sucks away all your reiatsu!" Screamed Midnight Dancer. Rose dropped her Zanpakuto and ran. Penny collected all of the stolen reiatsu into a cero and fired it at Rose. Rose felt the cero shoot past her and destroy the wall next to her.
Rose sprinted down the corridor, frantically trying to think of a plan. Behind her she could hear Penny singing. "What's the time Mr Wolf…It's time to gobble you up HAHAHAHA".
She needed something, strong enough to hit Penny yet did not have any reiatsu in it. Rose looked up ahead and saw that she was about to run pas the mess hall. She felt inspiration hit her. In the mess hall there was the kitchen, and the kitchen was full of pans and knives…or in this case potential weapons without reiatsu. Rose ran through the mess hall and saw the large steel doors that led towards the kitchen. She sprinted forwards and then bolted the steel door shut. Rose did not know why there was a steel door leading into the kitchen but she was grateful for it. Now all she needed to do was collect some weapons. Frantically Rose opened all the draws and pulled out the sharpest knives and the hardest pans. While searching for weapons she came across the divisions reserves of sake. With a smile Rose pulled out all the bottles and then set about pouring the alcohol on the ground. All she needed to do was hold out until someone came to assist her. She could hear penny banging on the door…she only had a few minutes left before the door would break down. Rose pulled open the last cupboard and saw that it was filled with cleaning products and other chemicals. Penny had only one working eye so if Rose somehow managed to destroy that eye Penny would be blind.
Rose ran around to the sink and pulled on the rubber gloves, if she was going to do this she needed to work fast. Rose picked up the needed ingredients and started to make her own make-shift tear gas, thankful for having taken advanced chemistry in high school. Penny threw open the door to the kitchen just as Rose was pouring her tear gas in an empty spray can. Slowly Penny stalked around the kitchen, watching Rose with her scary blood red eyes. Rose attached a wet cloth to her mouth and then picked up her makeshift weapons. With a wild scream Penny jumped at Rose who defended herself with a large frying pan. There was a loud satisfying crunching sound as penny made contact with the pan, sending her flying across the kitchen. Rose looked down and saw that the frying pan had been smashed. Looking up she saw Penny get back to her feet and stare daggers at her. There was a huge dent on the left side of her face from where the frying pan had made contact.
"No Fair! You cheated!" Shouted Penny before she lunged again. Rose whipped out her makeshift tear gas and sprayed Penny right in the eye. She screamed as acidic liquid burnt her eyes. Rose smiled and then moved on to the pen-ultimate part of her plan. She pulled out the cigarette lighter she had found in one of the cupboards (thankful that someone in the eighth smoked), lit it and then dropped it onto alcohol covered ground. The kitchen floor dissolved into flames as the fire burnt, egged on by the alcoholic accelerant. Rose turned and ran for the exit but before she left the room she threw the bottle with the makeshift tear gas into the blaze. The Kitchen exploded as the chemicals made contact with the fire. Rose shielded her eyes against the blaze, her ears ringing from being so close to an explosion. Water sprayed out from the fire extinguishers in the ceiling and an alarm rang out but it fell of muted ears. Rose rolled around on the ground trying to ride out the dizziness and the loud ringing in her ears.
A hand grabbed Rose hand gently rolled her onto her back. She looked up into the blurred faces of several people. She could see that one of them was trying to speak to her but it all sounded rather muted. She blinked and slowly her eyes started to adjust to the faces in front of her. Shunsui's worried face came into focus and Rose could not help but let out a cry of happiness. Help had finally arrived.
Shunsui felt Rose's reiatsu clash with Shadow Crawler's which sent him into a panic. He needed to reach Rose and soon. Frantically but with great precision he slashed through passing hollows. And then he felt something that made his heart stop. Rose's reiatsu was decreasing and fast. Panicking now Shunsui turned to the gather members of the eighth division.
"We must get to the eighth and fast." He ordered and then stepped into his fastest Shunpo. Behind him he could sense his division members follow him. He landed in a destroyed courtyard and looked around. There was blood and lots of it splattered on the ground and next to that, to his horror was Rose's Zanpakuto. At least she was alive and that gave Shunsui a bit of comfort. Gently Shunsui picked up the discarded Zanpakuto and placed it in his sash. He could sense the weak buzz emitting form it.
"Taicho!"
Shunsui spun around and saw a few member of the eighth pick up and unconscious Nanao. Shunsui ran forwards and cradled Nanao unconscious head in his hands. "It's ok she is just unconscious. Take her back to her quarters, she needs rest. Now the rest of you we need to find Rose, she is in trouble."
"Sir!"
A large explosion blasted through the air, creating a power aftershock that knock several people to the ground. Shunsui looked up and saw huge flames emanating from the mess hall…or what was left of it. At the centre of the blaze there were two reiatsu signals. One was small, powerful and rather unbalanced while the other was weak. Shunsui cursed when he realised that the weak reiatsu belonged to Rose and immediately stepped into Shunpo. He flew across roof tops and then landed outside the remains of the mess hall. The air stank of chemicals and made his eyes and nose sting and the heat of the blaze was so intense that it made him sweat. He ran forward and pulled open the door into the mess hall and there lying on the floor was Rose. She was still moving which relieved Shunsui concern only slightly. She had in her hand a shattered pan and a white cloth across her mouth. She was also covered in blood but whose it was Shunsui did not know.
"Rose!" Shouted Shunsui as he ran forward. Rose tried to stand but stumbled and fell to the ground again.
Shunsui ran forward and grabbed Rose before she fell over again and then rolled her over. "Rose!" Rose looked up with unfocused eyes and blinked several times. More Shinigami started to show up and started to try and put out the fire with water however, it was only making the fire more vicious.
Rose blinked a few times and smiled when her eyes came back into focus and she realized who was holding her. "Shunsui." she whispered, relief all over her face.
"Rose…are you hurt?" Asked Shunsui in concern.
Rose ignored Shunsui question and looked around the burning inferno that used to be the mess hall. Her eyes fell upon the Shinigami who were trying to put out the fire with water and froze, panic rising within her. "Shunsui! Order them to stop putting out the fire with water….this is a chemical fire…water will only make it worse!" Shouted Rose.
Shunsui cursed and shouted orders at the Shinigami to stop putting the fire out with water and to call the twelfth division division. They would most likely know how to put out a chemical fire.
"Shunsui we have to leave now…this is a toxic inferno!" Shouted Rose over the roar of the fire. Shunsui nodded and turned to the few Shinigami who were inside the burning mess hall and ordered them to evacuate but his words were drowned out by the sound of metal being ripped off its hinges. Looking round he saw a severely burnt Penny walking out of the kitchen. Parts of her blood red dress where singed and her porcelain face was partially melted. However, she still had her nefarious smile and there was an evil glint in her eyes.
"That was mean Rose I guess now I will have to mean." Sang Penny.
Shunsui glared at the little doll and then down at Rose. Slowly he got to his feet, carrying Rose in his arms, an angry aura radiating from him. He was furious, this little doll was trying to hurt his Rose! Rose looked up into Shunsui's eyes and what she saw made her blood run cold. His eyes were dark, menacing and full of the intent to kill. Shunsui looked terrifying. Rose could feel his reiatsu flowing out of him and shuddered. It was dark and oppressing with a hint of madness mixed into it. Usually Shunsui's reiatsu was warm, playful with a scent of sakura blossoms, but this one was evil. It came from a dark part of him which she knew he kept locked away. But now he was furious and his control was slipping. She ran her hand up his cheek making him look down at her. She undid the cloth around her mouth and then pressed it to Shunsui's, signalling to him that she understood his want and need to confront this mad doll.
"It will protect you from the smoke but only for a little while." Explained Rose at Shunsui questioning look. He nodded and then walked towards a member of his division.
"Order everyone to evacuate the premise and then call the twelfth division and tell them that we have a chemical fire." Ordered Shunsui while handing Rose over to the division member.
"Shunsui…she can absorb reiatsu…only physical attack work." Cried out Rose as she was carried out of the building.
Shunsui nodded turned to face Penny. Her small form was going to put him at a disadvantage. With a grace that only came with centuries of fighting, Shunsui unsheathed his twin swords and sank down into a fighting pose.
"Oh are you going to play with Penny?" sang Penny.
"Yes…aren't you lucky you see my Zanpakuto allows me to make children's game a reality….so I guess it is play time." Smiled Shunsui but his smile never reached his eyes. Penny lunged at him forcing him to shunpo out of the way. With a graceful swing of his swords Shunsui managed to cut part of Penny's hair off. The beautiful tresses fell to the ground causing Penny to scream in anger and fire a cero at Shunsui. Shunsui dodged the cero and danced around Penny only to slash at her back. She screamed and fired another cero at him, which he dodged. The game of Penny firing a cero at Shunsui and him dodging and then slashing Penny continued. Penny's fighting style was sloppy and untrained in comparison to Shunsui's elegant and grace swordsmanship. In reality Shunsui was only toying with Penny. Eventually Shunsui got bored of Penny's immature fighting style and decided to end the fight. With a quick slash of his swords he managed to cut Penny's head clean off. However, she was not defeated but then again how do you defeat an object that was never quite alive in the first place. Maybe the twelfth division will adopt her though Shunsui as he walked out of the burning mess hall.
Rose stood outside the burning inferno with panicking as she watched the fire she had created rip apart the mess hall with her lover inside. She had never intended for the fire to be this large and now because of her stupidity she was going to kill her lover. Guilt and shame ran through her blood making her lower her head to the ground.
The hollows had long be defeated which meant that people had started to arrive at the scene of the fire, curious because of its sheer intensity. After a while the twelfth and fourth division turned up in order to deal with the fire and the casualties. An oxygen mask was handed to Rose along with a blanket.
"Rose what happened?" Rose looked up and saw Ukitake run towards her.
"Captain Ukitake…it is horrible and all my fault!" coughed Rose. Ukitake looked at her in surprise and tried to force her to put her oxygen mask back on.
"Why is it your fault Rose?" Asked Ukitake with a serious look on his face.
"I made this fire and now because of me Shunsui is going to die!" cried Rose in a desperate tone.
Ukitake looked at Rose and then at the burning inferno that used to be the mess hall and let out a low whistle. The fire was really impressive. "Don't worry Rose it will take more than a fire to hurt Shunsui…look here he comes now."
Rose looked up and saw Shunsui emerge from the burning mess hall without even a scratch on him. Relief rushed through Rose's veins and warmed her cold blood. Shunsui marched towards her, his eyes scanning her body for any sigh of injury. Rose saw him frown as he took in her blood splattered skin.
"I am fine Shunsui. I am not injured….the blood is Shadow Crawler's and not mine." Reassured Rose when Shunsui reached her. Shunsui visibly relaxed and then pulled Rose into a bone crushing hug making her sigh.
"I am so sorry Rose." Said Shunsui.
"Why are you sorry?"
"I left you alone. I should have been there to protect you."
Rose lifted her hand up to silence Shunsui. "You came and saved me from that doll and that is all that really matters Shunsui." Shunsui pulled Rose towards him and kissed her on the lips. Rose closed her eyes and sighed at the feel of Shunsui's lips on hers, completely oblivious to Ukitake standing next to her and the fact that they were in a courtyard full of people.
Shunsui pulled away and stared intently into Rose's eyes. "Shadow Crawler? Where is he?"
"I killed him"
Shunsui looked at her in amazement. "I dropped my Zanpakuto so I slit his throat with a jagged rock while there was that high pitched scream. You see my head phones cancel out most outside noise so I was fine. I left Nanao in the courtyard when I was fighting the doll…where is She? Is she ok?" Asked Rose with panic in her voice.
"Shh Shh. Nanao is fine. No need to panic darling Rose." He kissed her again on the lips.
A small cough broke them apart. "Ah Unohana Sensei." Said Shunsui.
Rose looked over Shunsui shoulder and saw Unohana standing a few feet away from him with her usual smile on her face. Behind her a few Shinigami stared at them with interest. Rose sighed, looks like she would be the centre of all gossip in the Seireitei again. Her relationship with Shunsui had not been secret as few people knew about it. Now that was going to change as she had just kissed him in front of everybody.
"Is Rose going to be alright?" asked Shunsui with a hint of desperation in his voice.
"She is going to be fine…she did not inhale too much smoke so she is fine. I would just like to examine you."
"Oh its ok Unohana sensei I am fine.
"I think you should let me examine you." Smiled Unohana as she gave Shunsui the look.
Shunsui felt his blood run cold. "sure." He replied in a shaky tone.
Rose watched as Unohana pressed her glowing hand to Shunsui chest and then close her eyes. After a short pause she removed her hand. "You are fine Shunsui. No damage was done to your body during the fight and your lungs were not damaged during the fire. However, I suggest that you and Rose get some rest."
Shunsui nodded and then picked Rose up and started to walk away. He was relieved, although there had been many hollows few of his man had been injured. And most importantly Rose and Nanao had been unharmed. In Shunsui's point of view the battle had been somewhat of a success. Now all he wanted to do was go back to his quarters and take a long hot bath. Looking down at Rose in his arms he knew that it would not take much to convince her to take one with him.