The Unknown Shadow (Dakuhosu only)

Tatsuya walked through the senkai gate followed by his charges, a group of 24 underclassman. Tatsuya was for the first time leading a training field trip to the living world. "Alright ladies and gentleman, welcome to Texas." They had arrived in a small ghost town near El Paso. It was midsummer, it was HOT, the sun was high in the sky, and it was unrelenting without a cloud in the sky. "Last report stated it was 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't overdue it and rely on teamwork. There is no need for any of you to drop dead from a little heat." He said unfazed. "We are not leaving until all the hollow dummies are out of commission. If a Hollow shows up for god's sake don't try and fight it. Just run. I'd like to have everyone return home during my first time as team leader. Now go. With that the group scattered. leaving Tatsuya alone. "What's your status, Barrier team?" Tatsuya asked into his communicator.

"Barrier is up, Tatsuya-san."

The scent had been overpowering. Dakuhosu had been picking off lowly humans and Superhumans in the nearby city of El Paso when he felt the energy and smelled the scent of Shinigami a little way out from his current position. He snorted in excitement and took to the skies, flying high to appear as a bird. He saw the ghost town in the distance and circled around to the opposite side in which the Shinigami were entering. A shadow xast over the large group as he blotted out the sun for less than a second, and then he was gone, having landed.

He sniffed out and swiftly eradicated each of the Shinigami already there. This was the barrier team, the ones responsible for keeping him contained, should he be one of the weakling Hollows already there, just waiting to be cut down by snobby students and Shinigami in training. The taste of the raw Spiritual Energy of the Shinigami made him salivate as the scent of the others grew stronger. From where he was at, Dakuhosu could see that there weren't just lowly Hollow, but three-dimensional cutouts and models as well, and his mind formulated a plan.

The winged Hollow snuck himself onto a rooftop, with only a few seconds to spare. He had just enough time to rear up, wings spread, and stay in that position. It took every ounce of strength and willpower within himself to not move ma single inch as the Shinigami came into view. And now, to play the waiting game as he silently began to use his Yami Shuraudo, the area darkening and a black mist building up 75 feet around the area.

Tatsuya had finished giving the underclassman their "pep talk" when he thought he had just seen a shadow cast over the group. "Odd." He thought to himself as he looked into the sky only to have the sun looking down at him. "Guess it's just nerves." He continued.

Tatsuya was maintaining visual contact with all the students. During their training he felt he could train himself in the process by working on his "stealth" abilities. He would monitor the students, moving from place to place while trying not to be heard. Despite his size, Tatsuya was always light on his feet. This was a great asset for him considering he wanted to join 2nd squad and the Onmitsukidō. For the most part his movements went undetected by the students, either because they were concentrating too much on their assignment, or they just couldn't detect him.

It wasn't too long after he was moving around that he came across an unusual sight. Where he was supposed to find a group of 6 students, he instead found a darkened area. The students probably thought it was part of the training and walked right in. This made Tatsuya feel incredibly uneasy.

"Barrier team, report in." Tatsuya ordered over the communicator.

*static*

"Barrier team, I repeat, report in. What is your status?" Tatsuya ordered again

*static*

"Shit. Why me?" Tatsuya thought to himself. He slowly began to unsheathe his zanpaktou as he crept into the darkened area. He had to go in and get the students, if they weren't already dead. As he entered into the dark area his vision was impaired, but not completely. Walking through the area he past a statue resembling a horse with wings, but he paid no real attention to it. After passing the statue he could hear footsteps quickly heading his direction from his left. When he turned towards that direction he saw a steel blade flying towards his chest. Tatsuya immediately brought his zanpaktou towards the blade and parried it.

"Senpai?!" A young female spoke after realizing she just attacked Tatsuya. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were a training dummy." She stated with a worried look, thinking Tatsuya would yell at her.

Tatsuya looked down at the female with a serious look. "Don't worry about it. Where are the others?

"I don't know. We decided to split up after we got here." The female replied, a bit relieved that she did not get yelled at.

"Damn it." Tatusuya thought to himself while looking for any other movement. "Leave this area and go find the others. Head over to the rendezvous point after that." Tatsuya ordered.

"Yes sir, but what about the others still here?" The female asked.

"I'll go and find them. Now go." Tatsuya stated.

The female began to walk off unaware of any type of danger. Tatsuya lost sight of her after a few feet. He once again began to search for the others.

Dakuhosu could feel the spiritual pressure of th higher ranked Shinigami as he passed, completely unawares of the danger he could have faced. Dakuhosu would take care of him last. He heard Tatsuya and aother female conversing, talking of the missing Shinigami, most of which Dakuhosu had taken care of previously, after tey wandered into the mist. As the girl departed and moved off in his direction, Dakuhosu realized she was the last one left, besides the leader of this expedition. When she passed, Dakuhosu released his pose and snuck up behind her. A rock clicked along the ground, bounced by Dakuhosu's hoof, and the girl turned around, her eyes widening, a scream ripping through her throat at the same time Dakuhosu's teeth did the same, her blade rising asshe tried to protect herself, but not fast enough.

Realizing his cover was now blown, he flapped his wings hard, once, dispelling the thick mist as he turned his bloodied lips towards the last remaining Shinigami, that one being the leader. He grinned, a menacing sight due to his features. He readied his stance, knowing the man would turn around soon enough.

Tatsuya was moving cautiously through the mist when he suddenly heard the blood curdling scream let out by the female. Tatsuya reacted by entering into a defensive stance and pivoting around, looking for the female through the dense mist with no luck. Almost immediately after the female's scream, the mist disappeared. What Tatsuya saw next didn't surprise him, but provided no comfort either. There stood "the statue" that Tatsuya passed without a second thought. Tatsuya viewed the blood dripping from Dakuhosu's mouth, and the lifeless body of the female student twitching on the ground next to the hollow.

"You know. I don't know who to be more mad at. You, for killing her, or me for allowing it to happen." Tatsuya stated back in a calm voice, but angry gaze. "Do you have anything on your mind? Or are you just a mindless beast of a hollow?" Tatsuya asked hoping Dakuhosu would let out a mindless howl and charge right towards him. Tatsuya knew a mindless hollow would be easier to defeat.