Chapter 22: In the Shadows

Night in the Rukon seemed heavier than usual, and Kirara could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as she moved as quickly as she dared towards the district where Kensei and Mashiro had last been seen. As she got close, Kirara picked up on Hiyori's presence, which was rising and falling.

She was in trouble.

Kirara cursed, and faltered for just a second as she then felt the Reiatsu nearby. It was heavy and made goosebumps break out all over her body. The cold, dark feeling was almost unmistakably a Hollow's presence, but something about it felt…off. Kirara couldn't quite figure it out, but she also knew she didn't have the time to do so. Hiyori was in danger.

When Kirara finally cleared the forest, she spotted the small frame of the Squad 12 Lieutenant. She was running in Kirara's direction, and with only the moonlight above as a light source, Kirara could only just about make out the cuts and bruises that told her that Hiyori had already been knocked about.

Then Kirara saw what was chasing Hiyori. It was massive, towering over the short Lieutenant, and while she couldn't quite make out what it looked like exactly, Kirara knew that it was dangerous. So when it launched at Hiyori again, Kirara leapt in with a powerful spinning kick to its side.

Hiyori, exhausted and in pain, could only stare as Kirara's surprise kick slammed into the side of the Hollow. What would have taken out most Hollows and even some Shinigami only sent the Hollow skidding back a few feet, and Kirara gasped as pain jolted up her leg.

"Shit!" she cursed, feeling like she'd just tried to kick a wall instead of a Hollow. "Okay, no Hakuda," Kirara drew her Zanpakuto as she landed on the grass in front of Hiyori.

"Kirara! What the hell are you doing here?" Hiyori managed to limp over to her.

"Saving your ass. Others are on their way, so you need to get moving. I'll hold off this thing," she said, and Hiyori grabbed her arm as Kirara made to move. "Hiyori, what- move!" Kirara shoved her out of the way and dropped low enough for the punch to sail over her head, but the force behind it created enough of a wind that Kirara was pushed back.

"You can't fight him!" Hiyori protested, but Kirara didn't have the time to ask what she meant. Instead, she moved in the opposite direction to the blonde, leading the strange, shadowy Hollow away from her. "Kirara, I mean it! Stop!" Hiyori followed as Kirara leapt from the trees, only for the Hollow to reappear in front of her. Kirara's eyes went wide. It was faster than its massive frame seemed to allow.

The punch the humanoid Hollow threw at Kirara was one that she barely managed to block with her sword, but there was so much force behind it that all her block did was prevent damage, as Kirara wasn't able to maintain her momentum and hurtled backwards.

A pair of arms caught her from behind, one hooking under her knees while the other went around her back to pull her into their chest, stopping her from crashing. Shinji landed lightly, and Kirara let out a breath as she stared up at him.

"You alright?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," Kirara replied quietly. Then her face heated. "We're supposed to be helping Hiyori and the others, remember?" she grumbled. Shinji almost smiled, but remembered the precarious situation. Instead, he set her down carefully, and glanced over to where Hiyori was running over.

"Shinji…" she breathed, and he scowled.

"You idiot. Why didn't you draw your sword?" he asked her quietly. Hiyori turned away, glaring at the ground.

"Idiot. How can I…?" she was oddly withdrawn, and Kirara wondered just what it was about the Hollow that had Hiyori trying to stop her from fighting.

As if on cue, the clouds that blocked most of the moon finally cleared, bathing their battlefield in moonlight. Kirara inhaled sharply, her hand flying to her mouth as she almost lost her grasp on her Zanpakuto. Shinji reacted in a similar fashion as they found themselves now able to see the full appearance of the Hollow.

Or rather, what appeared to be a Hollow. He was bigger than before, but still wore the Shinigami uniform and the Squad 9 Haori, and a tuft of silver hair could be seen. Even without seeing Kensei's face, she knew it was him, right down to the tattoo on his chest.

What covered his face was a Hollow mask, and the red glowing lights of eyes pierced through it, chilling both Shinji and Kirara.

"Kensei?" Shinji whispered.

"But how?" Kirara felt sick just looking at him.

"Hey Kirara!" Lisa's yell reached them, but none of them dared to take their eyes off the Hollow in front of them.

"Are you alright, Hiyori?" Love shouted as he saw the injured Lieutenant with them. However, when the three got close enough, they froze too, taking in the horrific sight of Kensei wearing a Hollow Mask. "Ke…Kensei…?" none of them were sure how to react to what they were seeing.

The Hollow they knew as Kensei stood watching them, as if waiting for them to make the next move. His glowing red eyes burned, and his quiet growls were warped, sending chills down their spine. "What's going on with that?!" Love demanded, trying to keep his voice level.

"Have you seen anyone else around?" Kirara glanced over her shoulder at Hiyori, who was barely able to stay on her feet. She shook her head wordlessly.

"Is that really Kensei?" Rose asked, trying to do the same, but his words wavered with obvious fear. "That Mask…that Reiatsu…it's like he's a Hollow," he said the one thing that none of them wanted to say aloud. Kensei growled louder this time.

"I don't know either," Shinji spoke as he didn't dare take his eyes off Kensei. "I don't know if it's Kensei or not," he admitted, unsure himself. "But I do know we'd better draw our swords, if we want to live," his warning was low, and none of them could disagree. Kirara gripped her own tighter, trying not to think about the last blow she'd taken.

The dark feeling started to grow, slowly at first before gradually getting heavier and colder as the Reiatsu coming off Kensei grew stronger and stronger, and he let out a furious roar that echoed for miles. Behind it carried the pressure of his Reiryoku, hitting them like a powerful wind that threatened to lift them all off their feet.

Forced to move, the group scattered with Love taking to the air. As they tried to prepare themselves, Kensei vanished. Kirara, having landed on a tree branch nearby, looked around quickly. When she spotted him, she cried out in horror.

"Love, behind you!" she yelled. Kensei appeared behind the Squad 7 Captain, raising a massive fist covered in Hollow armour.

"Where the-" Love couldn't even turn the full way around before Kensei punched him hard enough to create an explosive cloud of smoke, and the shockwave carried for a short distance.

"Love!" Rose yelled as he felt it. As the smoke began to clear, Love's Zanpakuto caught Kensei's fist and forced him to leap backwards.

"That one stung…" Love was breathless as half of his kosode was torn to shreds. "Just what I'd expect of you, Kensei," he managed to grin at who they believed was their fellow Captain. Kensei just growled.

"No!" Hiyori pleaded as she squirmed in Shinji's grasp. He held onto her, seeing that she was too injured to even stay standing. "Don't you see? You're going against Kensei! We can't-" whatever Hiyori was going to say, she was forced to stop as she began to cough violently.

"We get it, alright," Kirara said as she leapt from the tree and landed nearby.

"We have to stop him," Shinji's voice was low and resigned as he kept his gaze focused on Kensei. "If he is Kensei, then all the more reason," he said quietly as Hiyori stared at him.

"He's right, Hiyori. We have to stop him, because we care about him," Rose spoke up as he moved forwards.

"Don't worry," Lisa spoke, pulling her Zanpakuto from its sheath as she moved to stand with Rose. "There are plenty of ways we can stop him without killing him," she said confidently, studying Kensei's bulky form. "We'll cut the tendons in his limbs. You take the right half," she suggested. Rose nodded.

"Alright," he agreed, following her lead. They leapt into the air, trying to take on Kensei while he was focused on Love. Kirara frowned, feeling that something else was off as she looked around.

"Where the hell is everyone else?" she wondered quietly. "The advance party…Mashiro and the others who went out with them?" Kirara asked as she looked around, trying to see any sign of what could have happened. Unfortunately nothing seemed out of place around them.

In the air above, Rose and Lisa rushed Kensei with their swords raised and ready to cut. However, he was able to dodge Lisa's attacks before blocking Rose's sword with his bare arm, making the Captain inhale sharply. Lisa charged in again, only for his armoured fist to block her blade. "So much for cutting his tendons," Kirara hissed as she looked up again. Kensei shoved the two back with a furious yell.

"Behind you, Rose!" Lisa was the first to spot the shadowed figure looming over Rose's head. He wasn't able to react to the warning in time, and an armoured leg slammed down on his head.

"Rose!" Kirara shouted, her heart in her throat as Rose slammed down with enough force to break up the ground around him, and he didn't get back up. "Who-no…" Kirara hissed as she realised just who was responsible. Standing where Rose had been, Mashiro stood with a Hollow Mask like Kensei. While Kensei's fists had Hollow armour enhancing his punches, Mashiro's entire lower body was encased in the tough white armour.

Without waiting, Kirara sheathed her Zanpakuto and launched into the air after Mashiro. The green-haired Lieutenant of Squad 9 gave a screech as she saw Kirara hurtling towards her, and flipped backwards to springboard straight for her.

A powerful gust of wind burst out, along with the rumble of their clashing Reiatsu as Kirara and Mashiro collided, their legs up in powerful kicks that seemed locked in a stalemate. Kirara had to resist crying out in pain as they collided.

"Not bad, Mashiro. Guess we're going to get that rematch after all," she managed a grim smile. Mashiro only growled in response, lunging at her again. She was faster than before, but Kirara had always been the faster of the two, and danced around each of her moves.

When they collided again, it sent another shockwave out, and Kirara leapt back, grimacing from the pain.

'If I take another hit like that, my leg will snap for sure,' she thought the words, refusing to say them out loud. Mashiro was the stronger fighter, and had been even before. Kirara had most definitely lost the one time they had been allowed to spar, and now she felt she was going to lose again.

Kirara shook her head, refusing to let that thought sink in and disrupt her resolve. Instead of meeting Mashiro head on, she continued to dart around her, earning what seemed to be frustrated shrieks from the Hollow version of her friend. "Come on, Mashiro. Catch me!" Kirara taunted her, jumping around as Mashiro followed her, punching and kicking at Kirara.

Then she vanished, and Kirara hissed a curse. She managed to jump back in time to dodge Mashiro's foot as it cut through the air, but the other Lieutenant spun as she moved and caught Kirara in the side. Kirara tumbled through the air, winded and struggling to regain her footing as Mashiro threw herself after her.

"Gochutekkan!" before she could reach Kirara again, five golden lights spawned over her, forming massive metal pillars that then crashed into Mashiro. She slammed to the ground, restrained by the pillars as she began to thrash and scream in fury. Kirara sighed in relief. Another hit, and she might not have survived.

As Kirara landed on the ground, her legs buckled and gave out, causing her to fall in the grass. She cursed, realising that Mashiro's kicks had damaged her more than she cared to admit. "You guys run so fast…" she looked up as the hulkling of a man that was Hachigen arrived.

"Hachi!" Shinji glanced over at him, having completely forgotten that they were still waiting on one person to arrive.

"I'm glad I made it," Hachi said, tearing his gaze from Mashiro's still trashing form to look up at Kensei. The Hollow threw himself at Love with another punch, which he barely managed to dodge before swinging his sword down. However, even he couldn't cut Kensei, and instead pushed against him as he felt himself starting to be forced backwards.

Seeing Love struggling, Hachi instantly reacted without hesitation. "Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku!" his voice carried with his power. Golden ropes wrapped around Kensei, making him roar in fury and struggle. When he failed to break free, he fell to the ground, unable to catch himself. "What in the world is going on here?!" Hachi shouted over to Shinji. "Why are Kensei and Mashiro…?" he shouted, baffled.

"Even if we knew, there's no time to explain!" Kirara got back to her feet and pointed. Hachi's eyes grew wide as he felt it before he even saw it. Kensei was getting back to his feet, fighting with fury against his restraints.

"How can this be…he's breaking a sixties-level Bakudo with sheer strength?" horror had overtaken Hachi, who could only watch. "That's not possible!" he cried, but Kensei seemed determined to prove him wrong. With a scream of utter fury, he shattered the Bakudo holding him in place.

"Watch out!" Love threw himself back into the fray against Kensei, knowing that of all of them, he was the only one who possessed the brute strength to even slightly counter Kensei's work.

"Yamada," Shinji's voice pulled Kirara from her thoughts, and she turned to him. "Can you take care of Rose?" he asked her, looking over at the Captain who was still unconscious. For a moment, Kirara frowned, before she realised what he meant. Kirara wanted to hesitate, but things were too dire to do so.

"Don't make me regret showing you," was all she told Shinji, before she took off running towards Rose. Each step jolted her, reminding her that she wasn't unscathed, but Kirara ignored it and reached the fallen man.

Kneeling beside Rose, Kirara reached out and held both of her hands over Rose's bloody wound. She focused, channelling her power, and her hands lit up green with Kaido, allowing her to start healing the man.

"You know Kaido?" Lisa stared at her as she landed beside Kirara, looking worn out too.

"I'm a woman of many talents," Kirara replied, but didn't look up from her work. Lisa didn't reply, and instead leapt back into the air to join Love in fighting off Kensei to the best of her ability. "Come on Rose, wake up. Who else is going to gossip about the Gotei 13 with me over tea?" she whispered, pouring as much power as she dared into her healing.

Kirara didn't dare look up from what she was doing, even as Love and Lisa's Reiatsu clashed against Kensei's over and over again. Nearby, Mashiro had grown still, either having given up, or passed out. She focused on the task at hand, until finally Rose began to stir. He rolled onto his side, and Kirara followed to keep healing him.

"Kirara?" he peered up at her through unfocused eyes. "You truly enjoy keeping the range of your abilities close to your chest," Rose commented, and Kirara almost rolled her eyes.

"Seems like you're already feeling better," she said quietly, before looking up as they heard the crash of Kensei's punch finding a target. Looking up, Kirara's eyes went wide as Lisa fell backwards, coughing up blood after Kensei had finally caught her.

"Lisa!" Kirara pushed herself up as Lisa crashed to the ground, but a wave of dizziness dropped Kirara back to her knees. She'd overexerted herself, needing a moment, and as Kensei followed Lisa to deliver a final blow, he was caught from the side by the flash of Kido fired by Rose.

"Stop it!" Rose pleaded breathlessly. He was too injured to get back to his feet, and had put as much as he could into the kido to protect Lisa. "The Kensei I know would never attack a girl!" he tried to get through to Kensei, but the Captain only growled in response.

"Doesn't look like words are getting through to him," Kirara said as her vision finally stopped spinning and she was able to get back to her feet. Her legs once again protested, but she ignored them as she moved back to help Rose up.

"Hey, are you okay, Lisa?" Shinji called over to her as she slowly rose. "Are you hurt?" he pressed when she didn't respond.

"I'm fine," she snapped at him, refusing to back down now.

"You're not okay," Shinji warned as he saw her shaking a little as she forced herself to stay standing. Kensei's powerful strike had almost caused her to black out, and she could feel it throughout her body.

"Quiet," Lisa growled, refusing to be a weak link despite still catching her breath.

"At this rate, we're not going to last either way," Rose spoke as he was able to stop leaning on Kirara to stand by himself. His sword hung limply from his hand, but he held onto it regardless.

"He's so strong that even Zanpakuto aren't cutting him," Kirara murmured as she looked up at Kensei, trying to think of something that would be worthwhile against him. "My Hakuda barely even bothered him either. We need to think of something to take him down, fast," she tried to think of her own skill set, but she wasn't built for tanky opponents. Especially after fighting Mashiro. "Lieutenant Ushoda," she glanced over at Hachi. "A #60-class Bakudo couldn't hold him, but do you have anything else that might be able to work?" she asked the man she had only met in passing a few times.

"Yes, I do," Hachi responded, but his words were still grim. Whatever he was thinking, it was risky. "However...as you mentioned, he easily broke through Sajo Sabaku. We'll have to go at him with maximum force this time," after his Bakudo had been broken, he'd been working out a new plan in his mind. "To do that, I'd need all of you to create a sure-fire opportunity for me to use a Bakudo," Hachi swept his gaze over the group, most of whom looked worse for wear. "However…my Bakudo may take you along with it as well," he finally gave the warning that had made him hesitate in the first place.

"Is that all?" Love landed nearby, hearing everything that was being said. Like the others, he was bruised and battered, exhausted from fending off the brunt of Kensei's attacks.

"Love…" Lisa frowned at the Captain, surprised by how easily he accepted the warning.

"I'll draw him to me, and I'll leave you to capture Kensei," he decided, ready to leap back into the fray.

"I'm going too!" Lisa decided.

"Me too," Rose agreed, but Love shook his head.

"With those injuries? Are you crazy?" he denied them firmly, knowing that if they were to take another hit from Kensei, it wouldn't be good. "I can do it alone," Love told them as they frowned at him.

"Not by yourself," Kirara moved to stand beside him. She grinned up at the man as he prepared to refuse her too. "You can tell me no all you like, but I'm going to help. Reprimand me later," she told him bluntly.

"You're a brat," Love told her, which only made her grin widen. "I need the rest of you to watch our backs," he shot over his shoulder to the others. Lisa cursed quietly.

"Show-offs," she complained, loud enough for them both to hear. Love chuckled.

"Look who's talking," he retorted, and didn't wait for her comeback. He charged straight at Kensei, who hadn't moved from the ground. As he slowly rose, seeing Love charging, Kirara suddenly appeared behind him. She swung a kick, catching the side of his head. Kensei jerked, snarling as he swung around to lash out at Kirara, but she vanished again.

The moment his attention was diverted, Love closed the distance between them and swung his Zanpakuto, but once again the blade didn't manage to cut him. Before he could move, Kensei threw another punch, but Kirara appeared once more and kicked up, managing to knock him off target just enough to miss Love.

"You alright?" Kirara asked him as she pushed just out of Kensei's range. When Kensei moved to strike, another Kido from Rose caught him in the face and made him rear back. It didn't do any real damage, but was enough to throw him off.

"I'm fine," Love nodded, taking a good look at Kirara. "How many more of those have you got in you?" he asked, seeing how bruised her legs were.

"I've got one or two more, I'd wager. Hopefully enough for Ushoda to work his magic," Kirara spoke honestly this time, seeing no point in lying. Trying more than she could risked doing damage she couldn't undo.

Recovering from the explosive bolt of Reishi against his Masked face, Kensei let out a roar and lashed out at the pair once more. Kirara vanished, and Love managed to block the strike, but was shoved back from the force. Lisa appeared from behind, swinging her Zanpakuto, but Kensei whirled around and punched her once more, throwing her aside. He then charged at Love, who used Shunpo to dodge, and Kensei's fist smashed against the ground, causing dirt to fly up around him.

"Hachi!" Lisa yelled over to the large man channelling his power nearby.

"Bakudo #99! Kin!" Hachi's roar echoed, carried by the power of the Kido he was using. As he slammed his hands together, ribbons wrapped around Kensei, trailing along the ground with metal spikes driving them into place. The force slammed him to the ground, holding him there. This time, they held, as Kensei couldn't even begin to fight them.

"A ninties-level Bakudo without an incantation, eh?" Shinji was quiet, but even he couldn't deny how incredible it was. "Gotta hand it to you," he murmured.

"I'm pushing it a bit…" Hachi was out of breath and drained.

"Just in time," Kirara landed nearby, wincing as she fought to stay on her feet. She looked at the restraints that kept Kensei from moving, amazed by the sheer power behind them.

"Okay then…What do we do now?" Shinji wondered as he peered down at Kensei. What had once been the Captain of Squad 9 lay there, seeming to have given up. "Can't you do something using Kido?" he asked Hachi, who shrugged.

"Even if you want me to, there's nothing I can do without knowing why," he admitted as he slowly approached once there was no sign of Kensei breaking free.

"Kisuke might be able to figure something out," Kirara thought as she took another step towards Kensei to get a better look. Shinji instantly held out his free hand to stop her, shooting her a warning look not to get too close. She gave him a droll stare in response. He then looked down as Hiyori's painful coughs started again, growing worse.

"What's the matter, Hiyori? Are you okay?" he asked, but she was coughing too badly to be able to get any words out. "Yamada?" Shinji looked at the Lieutenant beside him, once again asking without actually saying the words. She resisted a sigh, knowing that she had the energy to spare to take care of Hiyori's injuries now that Kensei was restrained.

"Yeah…" Kirara moved around him to check on Hiyori.

"Shin-Shinji…" Hiyori managed to wheeze out as Kirara slowed. "Let…me…go!" she cried out, before choking. Kirara felt an icy grip on her heart as a strange white substance began to pour from Hiyori's mouth, seeming to have a mind of its own. Before anyone could move, Hiyori had twisted in Shinji's grip and slashed across his chest with her Zanpakuto.

I'll be posting one more update on Friday before I'm away for the holidays!

Hope you liked it!

Please review!