Two Hearts, Part Two (Solo)

Spoiler:

Adrigore hissed in pain as one of his wounds suddenly flared, sending another lance of pain through his dragon-like body as he fell into a rapid retreat. His defeat at the hands of that scythe-wielding Shinigami had wounded his pride down to its core; he was prized as one of his master's most dangerous agents. This was the first time he'd ever been beaten back, and he found immediately that he despised the feeling. But, at the same time, he knew he couldn't report his failure back to his superiors, and nor could he call for reinforcements through any official means. That meant he would have to go to him. He'd have to bite his tongue through the taunting and the teasing that would be thrown at him, but looking at the situation, he knew it was an acceptable compromise.

Still, that didn't mean he had to like it.

After he judged he was far enough away from the Shinigami, he stopped and descended to rest upon the roof of a nearby building, allowing him the chance to lick his wounds as he searched for his only chance at avoiding repercussions among the higher-ups. Casting out his awareness, an ability of his that allowed him to locate those with above-average Reiatsu, he immediately started look about for the strongest souls in the area. The first ones he felt were the Shinigami from before, and in particular the one who had wielded the scythe, seeing as his strength was currently much more dangerous than either of his counterparts. But they weren't who he was looking for.

It took a few minutes longer, and no amount of irritation on his part, for him to finally pinpoint the other Hollow's location. Then, a grin creasing his mask, he took off again, flying through the air in the direction of the being he'd been looking for. A reckoning would come like a hammer upon the Shinigami, and Adrigore would very much enjoy devouring the souls of the bastards that had been the first to ever defeat him. And then yet another victory would be added to the dragon-Hollow's reputation, and his master would never need to know about his loss this night.



Mia wasted no time in sheathing her Zanpakutou and rushing to Shioshi's side, panic fueling her steps. Sukeno stayed vigilant for a few moments longer, to be sure that the Hollow was truly retreating, before then joining her at the fallen Shinigami's side. He wasted no time in checking Shioshi's wounds, and, his eyes getting more and more narrow as he did so, he realized the extent of damage to the 7th Division member. The real threat wasn't in the wounds themselves; the worst of them was where one of the spikes in the Hollow's tail had punctured a hole in Shioshi's stomach, but even that had avoided any organs. No, the real danger was in the venom that had most likely been introduced into his system when the spike struck.

"What's wrong with him, Sukeno?!" Mia asked worriedly, panic rising in her voice. Despite the fact that they had only known Shioshi for a short time, it was obvious that Mia already thought of the fellow Shinigami as a good friend, a quality that almost everyone loved about her. But right now he needed her calm and composed, so he quickly laid a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes shot up to meet his, and the gentle but stern set to Sukeno's stare immediately helped her to rein in her emotions.

"I need you steady now, Mia. There is venom flowing through his veins, but I do have some training in first aid. I can treat him to the best of my ability, but in order for me to do that I need you to be on lookout, in case the Hollow returns," he spoke, his words exuding a confidence in them that quickly managed to put the girl at ease. "Can you do that for me? Keep a lookout?" he asked, this time a bit louder, to make sure he got his point across. She nodded slowly, still a bit shaken, but then stood to her feet, her fear quickly being overridden by confidence in the 5th Seat.

"I can do that," she replied, her voice steadied now, before turning and heading over to a stairway that led to the building's rooftop. Sukeno looked after her only for a few moments before turning his attention to the more immediate concern; the heavily wounded Shioshi, laying on the ground before him. They had no time to change locations, even with local authorities likely on their way to investigate the disturbance as well as the likely return of the Hollow. That venom had to be dealt with now, and it would likely take the majority of his strength to remove it. Gritting his teeth, he went to work, sending his Reiatsu to the palms of his hands and then placing his hands over the puncture wound in Shioshi's stomach. He had to draw the contaminated blood from his system, and despite the fact that Shioshi had already lost a lot of blood, the 5th Seat knew it was still the only chance the 7th Squad member had to survive.

"Please let this work..." Sukeno muttered under his breath, before sending his Reiatsu forth into his fellow Shinigami's body. Immediately he felt the contamination in his system, and was shocked at the extent to which the venom had already spread. Closing his eyes to better concentrate, he envisioned his Reiatsu as a sort of filter, sorting the contaminated blood from the clean blood. Then he set to work extracting the poison from Shioshi's system, blood bubbling forth from the puncture wound in the Shinigami's stomach. The 5th Seat was already breathing heavily from the effort, seeing as he wasn't exactly a master of healing. Still, he knew that if he couldn't at least do this, then Shioshi would die, and that was something Sukeno couldn't allow, even if they weren't from the same Division.

Finally, and with a great, heaving sigh, the 5th Seat finished extracting the contaminated blood from Shioshi's body. He opened his eyes and blanched, though, at the amount of blood that the wounded Shinigami had lost. He immediately set to work binding the puncture, ignoring the blur of his vision as the effects of healing Shioshi began to take effect. He'd used up too much of his Reiatsu, he knew, and knew, also, that if the Hollow attacked again he was no longer sure he could defeat it. But what had to be done had to be done, and Sukeno was no member of the 4th Division, no master of the healing arts. He'd done what he could, however little, and could only hope it was enough.

He moved over to the heavily damaged couch and collapsed into what remained of it, grateful for the comfort, however little it was, it provided. Then he glanced over a clock that had fallen from the wall when the Hollow had burst in and realized, with a start, that more than an hour had passed. That was when he felt the Reiatsu of a Hollow. No, he realized, more than one. The dragon-Hollow had gotten help. Standing abruptly, Sukeno nearly collapsed as a fresh wave of exhaustion rolled over him. Clenching his teeth, he pushed past it and forced himself to steady. Then, drawing his Zanpakutou, he headed for the stairs, trying to go and join Mia up above.

He never got the chance as the dragon-Hollow seemed to come out of no where, catching Sukeno with a slash of his claws and sending him flying through the wall. Ignoring Shioshi, intent only on the Shinigami responsible for wounding him earlier, he raced after the 5th Seat, bloodlust fueling his attack. With no choice in the matter, Sukeno had to leave Mia to fend for herself against the second Hollow while he dealt with this particular foe. Even though he knew he was already heavily drained, he hesitated not a second.

"Screech, Kurou no Aruji!" he barked, and suddenly he held not a sword but a scythe. He felt his already heavily-depleted Reiatsu reserves take another hit, but he had no choice. This was not an opponent he could defeat without the use of his Shikai.



Mia was taken completely by surprise. One moment, she was standing alone with her thoughts on the warehouse rooftop, not noticing the approach of the human authorities several miles away, and the next she was suddenly sent flying through the air, her Zanpakutou flying from her grasp. She looked up in time to see the dragon-Hollow from before explode through the warehouse's roof to engage Sukeno, then was forced to take action as another Hollow, this one cackling wildly, landed on the roof, the impact causing the entire building, or at least what remained of it, to shudder.

"Eh? It seems as if I'm left to deal with the trash while Adrigore gets all the fun," the newcomer pouted, giving an exasperated yawn before proceeding towards Mia, who was looking around frantically for her Zanpakutou. Spying it near the rooftop's edge, she bolted to her feet and ran towards it. She was stopped, however, when the Hollow suddenly appeared before her, grinning wickedly as he brought one blade-like hand down to slice her in half. She barely managed to evade the attack, throwing her self desperately to the left, instead taking a fist from the Hollow that sent her careening wildly through the air. She hit the ground with a cry of pain, every inch of her body aching with the pain. But she knew she couldn't sit and wait for the killing blow.

She managed to push herself to her feet, then raised a hand in the direction of the slowly-approaching Hollow. "Bakudo No. 5, Senko!" she cried, and a flash of bright light temporarily blinded the Hollow. Not wasting those few precious seconds she'd managed to earn, she sprinted towards her Zanpakutou yet again, diving between the legs of the dazed Hollow. Anger flaring, the Hollow whirled, swinging his blade-hand wildly in a blind attempt to strike the quick-thinking Shinigami. Hissing in annoyance as he missed, and with the blindness wearing off, he quickly located her, just then reaching his blade.

"Maybe I'll enjoy this after all!" he snarled, before leaping across the rooftop towards the Shinigami, his blade-hand leading the way.



Shioshi opened his eyes, and found himself deeply and dreadfully confused. He was in a massive, circular room, different types of weaponry covering every inch of the walls surrounding him. Marble pillars, set in row after row after apparently never-ending row, each about twenty feet apart, making up all that he could see as far as he could see, aside from the distant walls and hanging weapons. All that he could see, aside from the cloaked figure he suddenly noticed standing a few feet away from the disoriented Shinigami.

'At last, you have come...' a voice seemed to whisper into Shioshi's ear, immediately startling him and causing him to spin around and look for the voice's source. But there was no one else there but the cloaked figure and himself. He turned back towards the figure, his features hidden by a dark hood drawn up about his face. 'I have been waiting for you. To think that the time has come at last... I am glad that you may advance further along the path of the blade, master.'

Shioshi's eyes widened as the implications of the figure's words dawned on him. They also, of course, explained where he was, and that sent a grin across the Shinigami's face.

"This place... is it what I think it is?" Shioshi asked, keeping his eyes on the figure before him.

'Indeed it is. Welcome to your inner world, master,' the figure whispered, nodding almost imperceptibly as he did. Shioshi could barely contain his excitement. His predicament, his wounded state, was all but forgotten to him now as he realized that the figure before him was, in fact, his Zanpakutou. 'Now, let us begin, master. There is much to be done, much to be taught, and little time to do it,' the figure said. And Shioshi, suddenly remembering that just moments ago he'd been struck by a Hollow, immediately took on a more somber expression, nodding his agreement.

And indeed, there was much work to be done. And as the figure suddenly leapt towards him, a sword seeming to materialize out of nothing in his hands, Shioshi realized he was about to enter a fight unlike anything he'd ever imagined.