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Chapter Sixteen - Modified Hollow

Having just finished another grueling, dual training session, Ed and Hitsugaya were preparing to head back to their respective squads when the two Shinigami suddenly felt a strange reiatsu. Both boys stopped short, their gazes simultaneously going to a grove of trees that was located just outside of the Seireitei boundary.

"Do you feel that?" Hitsugaya asked as he gazed toward the trees.

Ed nodded. "Hollow."

"Yes," Hitsugaya confirmed. "But there's something strange about these Hollow. I can't quite put my finger on what it is but there's definitely something off about this. We should go and check it out."

Ed nodded and together the two of them traveled to the wall that separated the Seireitei from the Rukongai. The guard immediately got out of their way and the Hitsugaya led the way out into District One, following the strange reiatsu trail that was being given off by the Hollow.

The white haired captain led the way toward the group of Hollow that seemed to be clustered in the Rukongai and he was followed closely behind by the golden haired member of Squad Five. The two young Shinigami had been training together for some time but this would be the first time that they had ever engaged in an actual battle together.

"Are you ready for this Elric?" Hitsugaya called out over his shoulder as he and Ed used their flash-step to travel quickly toward the destination.

"I'm ready," Ed said in a determined voice, pulling his zanpaktou from the sheath that he wore secured at his sash. He had been training diligently so that he could defeat that smug bastard Tomori and he was certain that this training would pay off in the battle that he and Captain Hitsugaya were running toward.

When the two Shinigami arrived in a clearing in the forest they saw a single Hollow standing in the center, it's eyes glowing red with malice. The two boys drew up short and stared at the beast, confusion evident in two sets of eyes; one teal and the other golden.

"What the hell?" Ed exclaimed, holding his zanpaktou up. "Where are the rest of them?"

Hitsugaya heard the shouts from his companion but chose to ignore them for the time being. He focused his attention on the Hollow that stood facing them and his teal eyes grew even wider as he came to a realization. That single Hollow was the source of the multiple traces of reiatsu that he and Ed had felt.

"Impossible..." the young captain murmured.

"What is it?" Ed demanded, his gaze shifting back and forth between the Hollow and Hitsugaya.

"That Hollow is the source of the reiatsu," Hitsugaya said in a quiet voice, his hand reaching back toward the hilt of Hyourinmaru. It was hard to believe but the young prodigy knew that he was correct in his assumption. There was something very different about this particular Hollow. "All of it."

"Unreal..." Ed whispered.

"What I don't understand is how this is possible," Hitsugaya said as he drew his zanpaktou in one fluid movement. Never, in all his years as a Shinigami, had he heard of such a thing happening. "It's as though someone forcefully bound a group of Hollow together into a single entity. An entity that possesses the combined powers of all of the Hollow that were used to create it."

Ed felt his blood run cold as he listened to Hitsugaya's words. What he was describing sounded exactly like a chimera; a being created when alchemy was used to combine multiple animals together. Could that same process have been used to create this beast that stood before them?

"The time for talk is over Shinigami..." the beast growled, hatred radiating from it like a dark aura. It was obvious by it's movements that it was preparing to attack.

"That's fine by me," Hitsugaya said in a quiet voice, holding up his zanpaktou. The tip of Hyourinmaru pointed toward the sky as the young captain called out, "Reign over the frosted, frozen sky, Hyourinmaru!"

The dragon comprised of water and ice erupted from the tip of the young prodigy's sword, circled around it's master once, and then flew toward the Hollow however the beast easily swiped it aside. This came as somewhat of a surprise to Hitsugaya but the young captain didn't dwell on it for long. Instead he launched another attack, determined to end this fight quickly.

Holding up his own zanpaktou Ed quietly hoped that the sword would choose to cooperate with him this time. Taking a deep breath Ed called out to his zanpaktou, "Shine the light of truth on my enemies, Hikari no Shinjitsu!"

The small sword transformed into the long staff that was it's Shikai form and, holding it up, Ed joined the battle. Together the two young Shinigami soon brought the Hollow menace under control but it was still more difficult to kill than it should have been. Both Ed and Hitsugaya were high ranking officers and yet this single Hollow had given them a small measure of difficulty.

"What the hell is going on?" Ed asked as he watched the body of the Hollow disintegrate. He was out of breath from their fight but he desperately wanted to know what exactly was up with that strange Hollow that the two of them had just fought.

"I would have thought that would be obvious," a voice called out, startling both Ed and Hitsugaya. Both boys shifted their gaze toward a path that led away from the sight of their battle and watched as a woman entered the clearing.

"Teacher..."

Hitsugaya's gaze shifted back to his companion and he saw that Ed was now wearing a shocked expression on his face. It was obvious to the young captain that Ed knew this woman from somewhere and he was curious as to why she was there.

"Hello Edward," the woman said as she walked toward the spot where the two boys were standing.

The woman was tall and had dark hair which she wore in a mass of braids that were pulled back into a ponytail. Instead of the traditional kimono that most women in the Rukongai wore this woman was dressed in a short white yukata over tight-fitting black pants.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Ed said as Izumi Curtis came to stand in front of him. "So tell me teacher, what exactly was supposed to be obvious to me?"

"That someone is using alchemy to fuse Hollow together," Izumi said, her piercing gaze focused on her former student.

"Are you serious?" Hitsugaya asked, walking over to the spot where the two of them were standing.

Izumi nodded, gazing down at the white haired youth. She had been residing in the Rukongai for several years now and during that time she had learned a lot about how Soul Society worked. As well as more about Hollow than she had ever needed to know.

"Do you have any idea who is responsible for it?" Ed asked.

Izumi shook her head. That had been something that she hadn't been able to uncover. "They only began doing this recently but I think that it is someone that we know. After all, the number of people who can use alchemy is limited."

Ed nodded; she had a very valid point.

"I think that you should return with us to the Seireitei," Hitsugaya suggested, determined to find out what was going on and to put a stop to it. This woman seemed to know quite a bit about the situation so she could prove useful. "We may need your help."

"Right," Izumi said.

A/N - and there's another chapter. So who is responsible for creating the modified Hollow? Stay tuned to the story to find out. Hope that you enjoyed, please leave a review and tell me what you thought.