My first hollow...

The time had finally come for Garin to test his valor and skill. He'd been practicing for some time now. He'd even trained with other lower level Shinigami and he felt he was ready for his first hollow. He knew there were some weak ones that roamed certain parts, and he headed towards a town he was informed had a particularly young hollow that would be a perfect practice run for a young Shinigami.

Garin walked down the street with the locater in his hands. He knew that the hollow was close, and he was amped and ready for it! The Locater finally told him he was close enough that he should be able to see it soon and so he pocketed it and drew his Zanpakuto.

He thought about the weapon. It would be necessary if he was going to take down a hollow, even a relatively weak one. After only a few minutes, he saw what he was looking for. It appeared he was to late for some poor soul who the hollow had caught and was devouring.

He didn't waste time. He leaped into the air and flipped, bringing his blade point down into the Hollow's mask. At least that was what was supposed to happen. Instead, the hollow looked up and easily swatted him out of the sky before he came near it's mask.

He could hear it's laughter and as he stood up and got ready to fight again, he noticed that this hollow was a lot bigger when not crouched over food. It was HUGE, and he had a feeling that this wasn't going to be easy. So much for a "weak" hollow.

The Hollow did that eerie scream they tend to do and charged him, obviously thinking that Garin would be his next midnight snack! Sadly for the hollow, his snack had other things to say about that. With a palm aimed towards him, Garin shouted out, "Hado Shi, Byakurai!" And white lightning bolts shot from the palm of his hand.

He managed to feel smug about the Kido for about half a second before he realized that the creature had dodged it and was now upon him. He didn't have time to think, and simply reacted, leaping up and kicking the hollow square in it's mask.

The move didn't really hurt the Hollow, but he did manage to stun it a bit, and on his way down he brought the small zanpakuto down in a slashing motion. Sadly, the kick had pushed him about a foot to far for his tiny sword to reach. As he landed and the hollow smacked him aside again he cursed his luck tonight.

He landed gracelessly after skidding a few times and tumbling a bit. He pulled himself up and growled. If this thing wanted to play it that way, they'd have to see how he could work things! With a shout, he charged towards the creature, this time holding his sword in the way he normally did, with the blade pressed against his right forearm and ready to lash out when he punched.

The creature tried to swat him away again, and this time he expected it. At the last moment he leaped into the air. He then landed on the hand trying to swipe at him and flipped up onto another hand trying to grab him. Finally he launched himself at the mask and reversed his grip on the blade. With a shout, he shoved the tiny blade into the hollow's mask and twisted.

The mask cracked down the center and the hollow screamed in pain as it began to dissipate. Garin landed, feeling a surge of elation coming from inside his spirit. The beast... The Dragon was ecstatic about the victory, and who could blame him?

Garin turned around and headed back towards the gate back home. He'd accomplished what he came for and he would be using this to see if he couldn't earn a place as an official Shinigami, instead of just a student.