Night had sunk its teeth deep into the small suburban city in Japan, the barest piece of a moon hanging low in the sky at the late hour. A chill wind blew through the sleeping town, but not all things drifted in blessed sleep this night.
Tonight, like most nights, was a night the spirits moved.
A young shinigami sat quietly on a rooftop, watching out over the city that was his patrol for this deployment. He was not at his ease. Over the last several months things had been unkind to the shinigami on patrol. Not specifically in this city, or even in this area, but in general. There were always a few shinigami that didn't make it back from patrols. Some bit off more than they could chew, some just got unlucky. However, the number of missing shinigami had experienced a sudden spike recently with no explanation. Of course his captain, and most of the higher ups, had simply called for more caution. They said they were working on it.
Whether anything had been done yet though, who knew?
He looked up, his senses catching on something. It was faint, but he sensed a pulse of power. A moment later his denreishinki began to buzz; he pulled it out and flipped it open. The hollow had emerged close by. He pocketed the phone-like device and jumped from the roof, making his way at speed towards where the hollow had appeared. What he didn't know was that he was quite the center of attention this evening. He arrived in the area, landing on a lit side street. He stood there, reaching out with his senses; now where had the hollow gone after it had come though?
The answer; right above him. The shinigami lunged to the left, his instincts screaming at him as a large fist slammed into the concrete right where he'd been standing a moment before. His Zanpakutō was free from his sheath in a moment, pity that wasn't quick enough. In the moment before impact the shinigami saw multiple limbs all about him, closing in; the initial attack had been a feint. The limbs slammed into him, all dull force at least. The shinigami coughed blood as his legs buckled, looking to the sky. A grotesque mask flew towards him, jaws wide with hunger and glee.
There was a light foot fall, the rush of wind and cloth, then the sounds of impact. The shinigami opened his eyes to an odd sight. Above him stood another shinigami, shorter than him. The shinigami's fist was extended, a closed fist having impacted the lunging mask at its edge in mid flight. As he watched, the mask shattered and the Hollow began to dissolve. It was only after a moment that the spiritual pressure of the second Shinigami appeared; it was only after a moment that the shinigami noticed the white haori on the younger shinigami's shoulders.
"Captain Arishima?" he finally sputtered out.
"You should probably hold off on talking too much," Genpaku said as he knelt down. His hands began to glow softly as Genpaku tended to some of the wounds. "I can clean you up enough to get you back to the Gotei. Consider it my way of apologizing."
"Apologizing? For what?
"Using you as bait." Genpaku held the healing Kidō a few more moments before letting it fade. "You just helped me take out the Hollow that's been hunting down Shinigami for the last several months. Turns out, somehow, the Hollow was centering in on Shinigami's Zanpaku-tous."
It had taken Genpaku a while to figure that bit out. He'd noticed the rise in missing Shinigami, and it was only after looking deeper into the disappearances that he noticed the commonality; water-type Zanpaku-tous. On top of that, the Hollow had been smart. It had never stayed if multiple shinigami's presences could be felt. And it fled at the first sign of a stronger opponent. More terrifying though, the Hollow had some method of faking an entrance, tricking the denreishinki and luring his prey into the trap.
"I had to actually hide and wait for it to commit to attacking you before I could step in, or else it would have fled again. It's been doing that for months. Well, had been," Genpaku said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
"Now come on; let's get you back."
He drew one of his own Zanpaku-tous, holding it out and summoning up the gate back to the Soul Society as he helped the other Shinigami back through and home. He escorted him to the 4th Division for a check-up, though Genpaku was decently certain he'd be back out in the field inside of a few hours. He left the 4th Division, happy in a sense to be back in the Seireitei. He'd been out for months, having decided to personally take care of that particular Hollow after it had nabbed several of his Division members. It was their dissappearance that had drawn his attention, after all.
Wed Jan 10, 2018 1:33 am by Tsubine
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