Routine Exercise

Kuro swiftly led four of his new squad members through a senkaimon gate that opened up in the streets of Karakura Town in the dead of night. A full moon shone down on the party as they raced through the town looking for hollows. A report had reached the Seireitei claiming that a large number of them had gathered nearby, but they had no details further than that. The reporting shinigami's phone signal had cut off after getting that much through. Kuro had been immediately notified, and he had gathered these four on a whim. He could use this group of hollows as a test of these new members skills, and their teamwork. He had purposely picked two of the nobles he'd drafted into his squad and two recent academy members whose profiles labeled them as former commoners from the Rukongai. Two of the group were also the two squad members who had gotten into a fight on squad grounds previously. Kuro was especially interested in the girl from the Rukongai, Mika Nishino. Her attitude when she and the noble had fought was admirable and Kuro had watched her work in the squad over the past few days and had noticed that she was a very hard worker. He wondered what it was that motivated her to such an extent.

The group paused as they sensed the hollows. Double checking to make sure their reiatsus were lowered, they crept closer to investigate. In the middle of the town's park, a group of hollows,which Kuro counted as numbering close to 50, was swarming over the grass fields in the midst of all types of activity. They were large, wolf-like creatures by appearance, behaving as a pack with a larger leader overlooking them all as they ran, wrestled, and sniffed the air looking for signs of souls.

This scene looked perfect to Kuro. A pack of hollows that likely would fight coordinated would be an excellent way to test his members. Turning to face his group, he silently motioned for them to spread out and flank the pack. They nodded their understanding and leaped to the sides in groups of two, leaving Kuro to his own position to attack from. He made a mental note to himself to hold back in the fight until necessary so that he could better observe his group's performance. The teams reached their positions and Kuro signaled the start of the attack by blasting a white lightning hado into the center of the pack. His blast tore through two hollows, causing them to dissolve into thin air as the pack began to move in a minor panic. The alpha howled to try and get them to regroup, but more confusion was added to their ranks as the second squad members moved in from both sides with their zanpakutos drawn. Instead of flash stepping or even running to the fight, Kuro walked at a leisurely pace to lengthen the time until he was really a part of the fight. One stray hollow broke from the main fray to try and bite him, but it was met in mid leap by a near invisible slash as Kuro's blade was drawn and re-sheathed in a single fluid moment. Not bothering to watch the beast fade, Kuro kept his attention on the four squad members.

The hollow alpha wolf had managed to get its pack organized, but not before squad 2's surprise attack had eliminated eleven from their group. The remaining wolves were starting to circle around the groups and try to find an opening. Two more were taken down as one of the groups fired consecutive kido strikes in sync with each other and used the explosions as a distraction to get closer to their taunters. Kuro was pleased with the level of concentration and trust they showed together. Turning his gaze to the other group, he found their results not as gratifying. Mika and the noble she'd fought with were showing no sign of depending on each other. They aggressively attacked the hollows, slaying more of them faster than the other group, while leaving large openings in their defense as they strayed further from each other. Kuro saw these openings and so did the alpha hollow. With a loud bark, it gave new orders to the wolves circling the flawed pair. The subordinate hollows instantly began to dart in between the two, striking at their backs unabated by the partners. Kuro was ready to flash step forward, but sighed in relief as the members' reflexes saved them from taking bad hits. Turning around, they saw how far they had gotten from each other and sprinted together, standing back to back to avoid the same mistake. Their movements were still sloppy, but they were now working better together than before. The noble slashed a hollow that had jumped at Mika and spoke while waiting for the next attack.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I still think you're a disrespectful little terror. But letting you die here would leave a bad taste in my mouth."

He was interrupted from saying anything further as a wolf tackled him from the side, pushing him to the ground. He winced as it began to bend down to tear into his body. Before the wolf had the pleasure, a dark shadow passed overhead as Mika leaped over its back. She straddled its body between her legs as she passed, grabbing the hollow and flipping it to ground where she drove her blade into its throat.

"Likewise. Don't let your noble ass get chewed on by these things or it'll look bad on my record for letting you bite the dust."

"Give it a rest. Lets save our breath for the fight and let that decide who's superior."

"That's the smartest thing you've said tonight."

Kuro grinned as they reformed their formation and continued with the slaughter. The wolves had numbers and teamwork, but that's all they had. Their overall fighting skill and endurance were nothing impressive. As its last follower was slain, the alpha tried to make a run for it. It only got a few steps before it was stabbed by two zanpakutos simultaneously in the back. It faded away as Mika and her noble rival were left standing behind it facing each other with identical smug looks of confidence. Kuro could barely control himself as he congratulated the team on a job well done and began to lead them back to the Seireitei. There was still friction between the group, but he had faith that they would come to work together more willingly as time went on.