Hollows in Rukongai! (Solo)

Crisis in Rukongai

'It certainly isn't much to look at,' thought Shioshi Reinuu, Shinigami and Unseated member of the Seventh Division, as he surveyed the small town before him, consisting of a few sparse houses, a single inn and a small bar. The patrol leader, a more senior member of the same Division, although he wasn't seated, led the group's way into the town, his hand resting easily on his Zanpakutou's hilt. His name was Eicho Makura. The rest of the patrol consisted of Shioshi himself and three others, two men and one woman. They were on Hollow patrol out on the edges of Rukongai, where, even here, in Soul Society, they would make an appearance from time to time. He sighed as they advanced slowly, taking their time as they examined the small village.

"Shioshi! Leina! Go ahead of us into the forest and scout while we're in town. If you find anything while you're out there, come back and let us know," barked Eicho. It took Shioshi a moment to realize he was the one being spoken to, but once he did, he gave the patrol leader a quick nod, and then began to jog forward, with Leina following close behind. They soon left the tiny town behind and entered the trees just beyond, Shioshi already bored. Leina quickly took the lead, her long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail so that her hair didn't hang in her face. Light blue eyes shone from a somewhat pale, lightly freckled face, and her Shinigami uniform was completely ulitarian in its entirety.

"You can slow down, you know. It's not like we'll actually be finding any Hollow while we're out," Shioshi sighed, but Leina only eyed him like he was crazy. She was a stickler for the rules, that was for sure. Shioshi let out another exasperated sigh. It wasn't that patrol duty bored him... it was that it simply bored him. He couldn't help but smile at his own odd joke, causing Leina to eye him once again. "You really should lighten up, you know. It would help to be able to smile from time to time," he said with a smirk, but Leina had apparently decided to ignore him. Shioshi sighed, and shook his head. This was going to be quite a long...

Then it happened. Shioshi and Leina were both stopped cold as the Spiritual Pressure struck them, seeming to weigh them down for a moment. After they grew used to it, they could move again. It wasn't overwhelming, but it certainly wasn't from a Shinigami. Leina whirled to face Shioshi, already having drawn her Zanpakutou. She may have been a boring old drag, but her reflexes were certainly strong. Shioshi had his own Zanpakutou out a moment later, and crouched, ready to spring, as he surveyed the forest around him. Nothing sprang from the trees, though, but he and Leina didn't move for nearly ten minutes straight, until Shioshi suddenly smelled something out. It took him a moment longer to recognize what it was, and his eyes widened with shock. It was smoke.

"Uh, Leina, not to worry you or anything, but, I'm pretty sure that I'm smelling smoke right about now, and it seems to be coming from the direction of the town," he said, a wary smile on his face, although his eyes betrayed his worry. Leina's own eyes widened as she realized that Shioshi's words were true, and she turned around and bolted off, running through the forest towards town.

"We need to hurry, and get back! Now!" she called out behind her, and then she was gone, leaving a bewildered Shioshi standing alone amongst the trees. He knew he needed to follow, though, so, having no other choice, he muttered something about hating unexpected action and then sprinted after Leina, his feet pounding relentlessly against the grass and leaves beneath him. The trees soon became less and less common, until finally he left the forest behind and came to a halt next to Leina, who stood, as if paralyzed, staring at something. A moment later, Shioshi saw what she was staring at, and then he, too, stood, unable to move for a moment. Hollows were everywhere, and the town was burning.

The spell was broken a moment later by the roar of a Hollow that had noticed their approach. Cursing, Shioshi held his already-drawn Zanpakutou before him and moved swiftly into action. As the Hollow approached, one with three legs and a strange, triangular mask and a gaping maw full of row upon row of razor sharp teeth, he readied himself for action. The Hollow bellowed another challenge, and then attempted to swallow Shioshi whole. However, the Shinigami would not be felled with such a simple move, and with a quick jump, he managed to evade the attack. He landed behind the Hollow and, with a grin, sliced off one of the thing's legs.

"Shioshi! Behind you!" he heard someone yell, and it took him a moment to realize it was Leina that had spoken. He turned around, and then suddenly found himself looking a massive Hollow fist head-on. A moment later, he was flying backwards, crashing into one of the forest trees just several yards away. The wood cracked and splintered against the incredible force, and Shioshi fell to the ground a moment later. His vision was rimmed in darkness, and it was all he could do to simply stay conscious. He spat something out, and he could tell just from its taste that it was blood. What an incredibly powerful blow!

Shioshi struggled to push himself up, and succeeded on getting to his knees. Off from where he'd been struck, he saw Leina under assault by the original Hollow, now balancing awkwardly on its two remaining legs, and the other Hollow that had apparently been the one that hit him. Soon, he knew, others would join in the fight, and then Shioshi and Leina would finished. Using every ounce of his willpower, Shioshi shoved himself to his feet and, after steadying himself, snarled and launched forward, Zanpakutou held at the ready for an attack. The first Hollow was too enraged to notice the approaching Shioshi, but the second one, the one that had sent him flying, sensed his approach and turned, snarling, to face him.

"Puny Shinigami! I am Grauld! Grauld is strongest there is!" he roared, and he pounded his massive, muscled chest with his oversized green hands. His arms were the length and width of 'Grauld's' entire, hulking fifteen foot frame, and it was all, from what the Shinigami could tell, muscle. However, this did not deter him, and with an angry shout, he once more leapt into the air. As he came forward, Grauld let out an angry bellow and swung an open hand at Shioshi, who, thinking quickly, used his Zanpakutou to impale the hand so that he could have a sort of perch to hang from.

Grauld let out yet another bellow, although this one was more or a pained one, and as he did so, Shioshi grimaced as he was thrashed about in the air by the jerking, angry Hollow. However, this was an important part of his attack, and he could not afford to fail. This 'Grauld' was apparently one of the strongest Hollows that were attacking the village or, at least, appeared to be, and if Shioshi could successfully defeat him, then that would mean their chances of winning the fight would no longer be quite so grim. At least, that was what he hoped. Grunting past the pain as he felt his arm pop, on the verge of being pulled from its socket, he began to chant.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo No. 9, Geki!" he growled, practically roaring the last part, and immediately, a massive pillar of red Reiatsu engulfed the Hollow, completely paralyzing him. If Shioshi hadn't been the caster of the Kidou, he, too, would have been effected, since he was withing range of the beam, but, since he was the one who'd the Kidou, he was still able to move. Grunting with exertion, he used his Zanpakutou, still embedded in the Hollow's hand, to swing himself up onto Grauld's arm and then he clambered along until he reacehd the Hollow's head.

"No, Grauld, you aren't the strongest," Shioshi hissed, and then he brought his Zanpakutou around, slicing Grauld's head off. Because the Kidou was still in effect, it didn't yet fall, but it would once he allowed the Bakudo to deactivate. The Shinigami, done with Grauld, hopped down from his shoulder to his arm, hung for a moment, and then fell, extending his knees as he landed to ease the impact. As he pushed himself all the way back up, he finally allowed Geki to deactivate and walked away as the Hollow's howl started and immediately cut off. He saw Leina, having been relieved of the pressure of the stronger of the two Hollow, standing over the original Hollow's body as it began to disintegrate. He glanced back at where Grauld had fallen, but he was already gone.

"Leina, everyone else was still..." he began, but Leina was already sprinting towards the village. He stifled a curse and bolted after her, but, as his path continued to become congested with attacking Hollow, he could no longer press on, and he lost sight of his fellow Shinigami as she entered the burning village. Snarling angrily, he fought on, defeating the weaker Hollow with relative ease, although the sheer number of them began to wear upon Shioshi. As he fought, he began to feel the familiar resonance with his Zanpakutou as it responded to the combat. He was growing ever closer to the day he would meet his Zanpakutou's spirit form and learn its name; it was still a long way off, but, he thought with a smile, as long as he knew he was getting some sort of response and that it would come one day, he was content, even with Bishamon already having achieved Shikai.

Finally, he managed to break through the oppressive ranks of Hollow, although they were right on his heels, and he shot into the village. He hoped reinforcements would reach them in time, because if not, he and Leina and, if there were any other survivors, anyone else who was still alive would quickly become overwhelmed. He managed to find his way towards the center of the village, where Leina was kneeling next to the bodies of Eicho and the other Shinigami. Shioshi stopped in his tracks, staring in shock at his dead comrades. Sure, they may not have been friends or known one another very well, but they were still his fellow Shinigami. An incredibl rage took root in Shioshi's heart, and with a roar, as well as completely abandoning his usual cool-headedness in battle, he whirled and charged to meet the attacking Hollow.

He regreted his decision the moment he struck down the first Hollow, which was immediately replaced by an entire horde that surrounded him and attempted to pummel and devour him from all sides. He was thrown around and badly wounded, but still he fought on, taking down a Hollow, it seemed, for every wound he took. True, these Hollow would have been easy for even an Academy Student to take, one on one at least, but together they were a formidible force, though they were struck down far more easily than stronger Hollow would have been. Soon, though, Shioshi's rage could carry him no further, and he would have been slain then and there if Leina had no joined the fight, her own anger apparently greater than even Shioshi's.

She cut a furious swath through the large amount of Hollows, and, after Shioshi managed to stumble to his feet, he did his best to help, striking down the odd Hollow or two. Still, the remainder of the fight was carried by Leina. He knew, though, that her luck would eventually run out. He watched, as soon as he thought this, as a Hollow, whose Reiatsu, he could sense, far surpassed that of Grauld's, from earlier, attacked Leina. His eyes widened as he heard her cry of pain, and then as her blood seemed to stain the ground red. He stumbled, shock contorting his features as he stared at Leina's corpse. Then he realized it; he was the only Shinigami left to face this attack. He had no idea why such a massive attack, even against a small town like this, had gone unnoticed by the Gotei 13, but he highly doubted his chances of ever returning to find out what had happened.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Shioshi held his Zanpakutou at the ready. The Hollow throng approached, and he was determined to take as many of them down with him as he could, even though he was already heavily wounded. He shut his eyes, calming his raging emotions; he had to think clearly, and to do that, he had to keep himself calm. Obviously, there were less Hollows than there had been when they'd first attacked, but there were still quite a bit left. He was relatively sure he was the only person not yet slain by the Hollows, so that meant they would be coming towards him for their last 'meal'. He would quickly be overwhelmed. A surge of panic shot through him, but he brought it down immediately, keeping himself calm so he could continue to think.

There was nothing to it, though, except to fight. So, as the first Hollow reached him, a small one with a hippo-looking mask, Shioshi struck, his Zanpakutou slicing through its mask even as he took its tackle and was knocked completely off balance. He felt a punch connect, and he fell to one knee while swinging his Zanpakutou around in the direction the punch had come from. He felt his weapon connect and grunted weakly in satisfaction as the Hollow roared in pain. He turned and dove towards the wounded Hollow, embedding his Zanpakutou deep into its head through its mask. A moment later, it disintegrated, allowing him to turn once more and ready himself. This time, though, a sword-like appendage put a large gash across his chest, and he immediately fell, wildly waving his Zanpakutou around to try and keep the Hollows back as he lay there.

He knew, though, that he had reached the end of the line. The next hit would most likely finish it. He growled angrily as he pressed hand to the gash on his chest, instinctively trying to stanch the flow of blood. He shut his eyes in resignation as the Hollows closed in on all sides, knowing he was done for. Or at least, that's what he believed. He heard a roar of pain, quickly followed by several more, and opened his eyes to see what had happened. Standing there, just off to the side above a rapidly-disintegrating Hollow body, was a Shinigami, who, judging from the Lieutenant's Badge strapped to his arm, was a Vice-Captain. Shioshi's eyes widened as he saw this, and he struggled to stay conscious as he watched the man cut down another two Hollow.

A Lieutenant had come to his aid! He had no idea why the Soul Society hadn't realized that an attack of this scale was going to occur, but the fact that they had sent a Vice-Captain to end it was definitely showing that they realized their mistake and decided to deal with it... and with quite a bit of force. "Hey, if you can muster the strength, then get up and get somewhere safer. Better yet, try and help out instead of just laying there," the other Shinigami said. Shioshi's anger flared for a moment due to his mocking tone, but a moment later it was gone, realizing that the man was just saying that to get him moving. Smiling a bit despite the pain, he pushed himself up on all fours, and then, slowly but managing, to his feet. His legs wobbled beneath him, but he was able to stay up. He looked up in time to see the same Hollow that had killed Leina approaching Kyro in the same manner as it had used to strike down Leina.

This time, though, the maneuver failed, simply because a Lieutenant would not be caught unawares like that. The Shinigami whirled, Zanpakutou flashing, and deflected a swipe of one of the thing's claws. The Hollow roared angrily, and attempted to simply fall on the Vice-Captain. The Shinigami, though, gave a slight chuckle and began to say something. It took Shioshi a moment, but then he realized what he was saying, and his eyes widened. "Hide the Light, Yakan-Nushi!" the Shinigami cried, and then his Zanpakutou changed in his hands, turning into a staff-like weapon with three swords at the end, one continuing on the straight path, one shooting off to the right, and one shooting off to the left. One of the swords was gold, another was silver, and the one that continued going straight was black. As the black blade formed, the Hollow slammed into it, and its angry roar became one of pain. It was only a few seconds before it it had completely disintegrated.

He watched as the Shinigami spun, and the staff broke apart into separate links, allowing him to make ranged-attacks. The tri-blades attached to the last link sliced through the air, taking down Hollows at an incredible speed. Finally, the Shinigami brought the weapon back into its staff 'form', and then allowed his Zanpakutou to revert back from Shikai. Shioshi looked around, bewildered, and saw that there were less than ten Hollows left when, just a few moments before, there had been nearly fifty of them, though the sizes of several of them had probably caused him to misjudge the group's numbers a bit. Those that were left continued to press forward, but the Lieutenant finished them off a moment later, taking them down methodically. None of them had any real power, but for Shioshi, fighting off those many, even with them being as weak as they were, would have been nearly impossible, and not possible at all without taking some damage.

As the final Hollow fell, Shioshi managed to stand up straight as the Lieutenant turned and made his way over. With a single, cursory glance, Shioshi saw that the fire that had been raging across the entire, tiny village had finally died out, with only a few tiny flames still licking at whatever remained of the buildings. As he surveyed the village and saw all of the bodies, his heart continued to fall, until he realized that not a single one of the villagers had survived. Some had obviously been devoured by the Hollows, while others had simply been slain and left to bake under the sun. Shioshi growled in frustation at his and his fellows' failure here. If it hadn't been for the Lieutenant's aid, then Shioshi would have been among those that had died.

"Shioshi Reinuu, correct?" Shioshi turned, and it took him a moment to realize that he had been addressed by the Lieutenant. He faced the other, much higher-ranking Shinigami, and attempted a salute before a lance of pain shot through his body. He gritted his teeth through it and still held his free arm to the wound on his chest. The Lieutenant, apparentally taking the salute as an affirmative, glanced at Shioshi's wounds and gave a quick nod, as if he'd just agreed to his thoughts. "Alright, well, I think I can take you to the 4th Division's Barracks before I return to report in," he said and, flashing Shioshi a quick smile, he wound his arm around his shoulder. Then, he Shunpoed away, carrying Shioshi with him. Shioshi himself grinned, exhilerated. So this was what Shunpo felt like!

"My name is Kyro Nerra, by the way, Lieutenant of the 5th Division," the Lieutenant said on a pause between Shunpos. Shioshi eyed Kyro for a moment, taking in this information. Then he gave the Lieutenant a quick smile before focusing everything he had on staying conscious until they reached the 4th Division's Barracks. "I can't believe they didn't notice the attack until it was happening..." Shioshi heard Kyro mutter as they moved. He gave a light chuckle at that; he was glad to know he wasn't the only one who thought that way. They moved at an extremely fast speed, and by the time they reached the 4th's Barracks, even Kyro was breathing heavily. As he Shunpoed in, it didn't take long before several Shinigami came forward to see what was going on. Seeing Shioshi's wounds, though, they immediately responded, coming forward and taking him as their own burden. Kyro gave a slightly sigh of relief.

"His name is Shioshi Reinuu, of the 7th Division. Once he recovers, have him head to his Barracks," Kyro said quickly, before turning and once more Shunpoing away, no doubt off to report in. Shioshi chuckled himself, now, and then, as he was brought inside, he finally allowed himself to close his eyes and fall into unconsciousness. He'd have to repay the Lieutenant someday, of that, Shioshi was absolutely certain. That, of course, would have to wait until after he was healed and completely recovered. Then he'd have a whole lot of explaining to take care of.

Kyro sped quickly along, heading back towards the 5th Division's Barracks, with a dark smile spreading across his face. All of his planning would, he believed, be coming to fruition much sooner than he had believed. All he had to do now was wait for Shioshi to become stronger and more powerful, and then he would be able to make his first move. 'I just have to keep playing the part for a while longer,' thought Kyro as he moved along, his breathing completely normal, in contrast to what he'd shown at the 4th Division's Barracks. Sure, he had been tired, but not as tired as he'd let on. Now he would return to his training and waiting. For that was all he could do.