Trapped Quincy [Karakura-cho]

[Suigintou]

Cool night air rushed past Uryuu as he darted through a dark street with hirenkyaku, Ginrei Kojaku in hand. There was a hollow not far ahead, and he was keeping track of its reiatsu, following it as closely as he could get without being noticed.

He stopped at a corner, glanced around the building he stood next to. The hollow had stopped and seemed to be considering which direction to take, but Uryuu had no intention of letting it find its target. With another step of hirenkyaku he jumped into the empty street, bow raised, and in an instant his arrows had pierced the hollow through the back of the head.

As it faded into reishi, Uryuu turned around, allowing his bow to disappear. There didn't seem to be any more of them out--

"What--!?"

If not for his hirenkyaku, Uryuu would've been struck by the sudden attack from behind him. He turned, bow raised, to be met with an even larger hollow than the one he'd just defeated, roaring in anger that its prey had escaped.

How..!?

He hadn't felt any more reiatsu! His arrows filled its body and it, too, disappeared, but this time, he didn't lower his weapon. Something was wrong. That hollow...it had been different from the one he'd killed before it, yet...

Their reiatsu was identical!?

"What's going on here...?"

And suddenly there was another one to his left. He fired into the darkness, heard the scream that indicated that he'd hit his mark; there was no break this time, the next was behind him, and before he'd had a chance to shoot it, another opposite it, then another...they seemed to be multiplying around him.

How was this possible!?

Firing a rain of arrows into the group of hollows, he jumped back with hirenkyaku, attempting to return to the street the first of them had gone to. No better - it had been filled with them too, and he couldn't stop himself quickly enough to avoid a strike from behind him. A bladelike arm cut into his shoulder, and he cursed as he hit the ground, firing into the hollow's mask before turning his bow to another.

It seemed he'd become surrounded, and there was no way he could escape. Backing against the side of the nearest building, he raised his bow higher.

Little choice, now, but to keep up constant fire.

What was this...?

[Bishiglomper]

Orihime ran down a back alley, attempting to distance herself from the approaching hollows that searched for her. She paused to catch her breath behind a building. When Orihime left her appartment that night, she wasn't expecting to land head first into trouble!

A roar sounded not two blocks away and Orihime knew it was time to get going again. She ducked out from the alley and made her way toward her reason for going out in the first place. She had felt Ishida's reiatsu and was worried that he might be in trouble. Obviously Ishida was strong enough to take care of himself, but she just wanted to make sure.

"KRAAAAAAAAAAAHHR-"

"Santen Kesshun!" The hollow's blast collided with the barrier causing a billow of smoke which covered the area. Orihime started running again. Judging by the onslaught of hollows, she was starting to feel right in her thought that Ishida may need help. She hadn't seen this many at once in Karakura since that day the menos grande appeared!

Orihime could tell she was getting closer; rounding one more block before she backpedaled and stopped at a corner.

"Ishida-kun!" she gasped. At the end of the street she could see the Quincy surrounded by the gargantuan hollows, barely being able to fend them off without being injured. Orihime didn't know what to do, she couldn't just throw herself into the horde; she'd be killed!

Suddenly from her peripherial vision, she saw a hollow lunge straight for his back. He didn't see it! Ishida was too busy shooting down one of the hollows off to the other side. Orihime didn't know what else to do.

"Koten Zanshun!" Out shot Tsubaki, glowing with the light of the solitary sacred cutting shield. Tsubaki disapeared for a split second til he was on the other side of the hollow. It split down the middle, unleashing a harsh shreik. He had made it to the hollow just in time and it dispersed almost immediately. A second later and it would have struck Ishida-kun.

Orihime sighed with relief. It wasn't over, but it was rare that she could muster up the strengh to protect her friends with the help of Tsubaki.

[Suigintou]

There was something strange about these hollows...they were all so weak, individually, but were incredibly coordinated for their level...almost as though they were under the control of something else. But Uryuu didn't know of anything that could control hollows, let alone so many at once...there had to be something he was missing...

He couldn't mindlessly kill them, though it was much more dangerous to keep his attacks slow against such numbers. If he didn't watch them, try to understand their behavior and figure out how to counter it, he had no chance in an extended fight, and even at his full strength he couldn't handle all of them.

What was it that he was overlooking...?

A flash of light to his right caught his attention and he turned to the source of it, but for a moment could only see a hollow in mid-attack. He couldn't lift his bow quickly enough, though it seemed there was no need; the creature disappeared, and the source of the light flew back between the hollows, returning to its summoner.

"Inoue!?" Uryuu's surprise nearly got him hit, but hirenkyaku brought him away in time. Recovering, he hurriedly lifted his bow just as the hollow prepared to strike again. "Get out of here! There's too many!"

A pair of hollows moved slightly and, seeing his opportunity, Uryuu rushed between them, escaping into the street behind them. Immediately he began shooting again, this time not looking at Orihime as he addressed her, unable to take his eyes off of his opponents.

"I can't keep them distracted for long, so go now!"

[Bishiglomper]

Orihime looked around at all the hollows in the surrounding area and the ones following her friend. There were some that were coming from the direction she had first come from. To her dismay, she realized she must have lured them there.

'Stupid Orihime! Ishida-kun can't handle all these hollows! You just made it worse!'

Since the hollows behind here were drawing closer, Orihime didn't have much choice but to run foreward right after Ishida. She ran to the end of the street where the Quincy disapeared from. He wouldn't be too happy with her, but he was just going to have to accept it; there wasn't much else for her to do and she wasn't about to abandon him.

Quickly she darted toward Ishida; the hollow around him were far too busy with the Quincy than to pay much attention to her long enough for her to make it more than halfway to him. Orihime had to pause long enough to erect the tri-shield barrier. The hollow hit the shield, only causing it to crack, not quite shattering. That was good enough; she made it to the Quincy in one piece.

Orihime called back Hinagiku, Baigon and Lily the moment she got to her destination. They lingered nearby, soaring by their heads until Orihime needed them. Which wasn't long.

She wasn't going to stand there waiting for permission, Orihime helped pretty much the only way she could, shielding Ishida and her from the blows she could so the Quincy could focuse on attacking.

[Suigintou]

Though he moved at the height of hirenkyaku's capabilities, Uryuu couldn't run far. There were too many hollows; he quickly became surrounded again, so that he had little choice but to shoot without pause. His eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses. It was getting increasingly more difficult to get away, but even when he fought, it seemed he made little progress.

A hollow swung for him and he jumped out of the way; a gouge in the street remained where he had been standing, but the hollow disappeared as arrows pierced its mask. He felled them one after another, but it seemed to only increase the ferocity of their attacks; as much as admitting it angered him, he was at a loss. There was, as far as he knew, no precedent for their behavior. He couldn't explain it or understand it, much less come up with a sufficient strategy to defeat them while under attack.

With his attention so focused on the hollows, he didn't see Inoue approaching until she was next to him. His attack faltered, and he opened his mouth to question her, but didn't have time; a hollow roared its delight at new prey and lunged, but fell to his arrows before it could reach them.

"What are you doing!? I told you to go!"

If there was any anger in his voice, it was born of concern. He didn't want to see Inoue caught up in the fight...especially when he didn't know how long he'd be able to stand against these strange hollows.

She was strong, but she didn't have much chance alone.

[Bishiglomper]

"G-gomen!" Orihime sputtered an apology, simultaniously summoning her tri-shield as a hollow tried to attack from the other side while the Quincy targeted on the hollow that was after her. It roared at being repelled by the small barrier giving the Quincy the chance to strike it down. She knew Ishida-kun wasn't upset with her exactly, but his tone of voice did sting a bit. It was frustrating how unhelpful she was at times like these! It wouldn't have been so bad if Ishida wasn't the only one fighting the horde of hollow.

With a tad bit more resolve and will to hold her own, she summoned Tsubaki. At once the little fairy zipped through the air. High off the burst of adrenaline of Orihime's influence, Tsubaki sliced through 2 hollows at once; they dissipated immediately thereafter.

"Ahhh! Did I do that!?" Orihime exclaimed in disbelief. That never happened before! Unfortunately in her surprise she let her guard down. Hollows closed in as spots freed up and with a roar one of them lashed at the little fae. Tsubaki's small form crashed into the pavement, out of commission. Orihime screamed,

"Tsubaki!!"

[Suigintou]

Sapphire eyes narrowed behind the frames of Uryuu's glasses. He took down one attacking hollow, then another, and another without pause, their attacks too fierce now to even glance at Inoue despite how close she stood.

"Don't let your guard down! These aren't normal, they're--"

And sudden realization hit him, as though a curtain had been pulled back on his thoughts. His eyes went wide and surprise nearly made his attacks falter; he barely recovered in time to shoot one of the hollows just before it could strike him.

"It's a menos!"

It made sense, suddenly, the coordination and the amount of them...he had no idea how, but he was certain that was what they faced, despite that he had never so much as heard of a menos of this kind before.

A new one, suddenly?

How...?

This wasn't the time for questions, however. If he let his guard down, he would get both of them killed. For now, he had to focus on strategy, yet strategy eluded him. The best course seemed to be to run, but that was almost impossible against so many...

In this state, though, the two of them were no better off than caged mice.

"Inoue. Don't let your shield down. We're going to run as soon as there's an opening."

It wasn't much of a plan, but they had little choice, even if it meant having to stop and fight at every turn.

[Bishiglomper]

Orihime was thankful that even though Tsubaki was greatly injured, she was able to recall him. The little fae returned with a flash of light; the newly formed hairpiece cracked and missing a small piece where Tsubaki's section sat. As soon as the situation allowed, she would heal him. For now he was out of commission.

At the command not to let her guard down, Orihime immediately set her focus on her shield which protected them.

"Whaa? A menos!?" She thought back to the first time she witnessed Ishida fighting with Kurosaki. They were in the field fighting a menos! But she thought all menos were those huge black hollow with the giant mask and pointy nose!

"Are you sure, Ishida-kun? Are they a-" Her question was cut off as a particularly large blow hit her shield, cracking it. Quickly she recalled them as Ishida struck the hollow directly in front of them, giving her a chance to reform Santen Kesshun. She needed to keep her focus! Ishida-kun was depending on her.

They were going to run. Orihime wasn't sure how well that was going to work, but she trusted Ishida.

Putting on her determined face, she held her ground until Ishida gave the word. Before such commands could be given, however, something new caught Orihime's attention.


Some few yards away, the senkaimon opened to accommodate a group of at least ten shinigami. Quickly they passed the doors, which automatically sealed shut behind them. Orihime instantly recognized three of the shinigami among the group.

"Rangiku-san! Hitsugaya-kun!" Orihime called above the roar of the hollow. She was familiar with Kyouraku-taichou but she had spent a long time with Matsumoto and Hitsugaya while they stayed in Karakura some time before. Was she ever glad to see them! Now they had help.

[Suigintou]

Though the constant blue glow of his arrows filled his vision, Uryuu watched the hollows' movements as carefully as possible, looking for the slightest opening through which he and Inoue could escape, but no matter how long he watched, there was nothing. Their numbers seemed to grow and grow, and with every moment and every hollow shot down, they found themselves more and more confined. Such a ceaseless attack...he had never seen them in so great a number, and the strain of the constant fighting was beginning to show. He could feel the sweat clinging to his face, and dimly a faint stinging in his hands, dulled by pure adrenaline and the concentration he focused so heavily on his actions.

He didn't realize that his own blood had begun to pool beneath his bow.

But for all of his efforts, there was little progress. He hated being backed into a corner, and hated even more that Inoue was in the same position - but worse, that he couldn't do anything about it.

Behind him, he heard Inoue move, but there was no accompanying sound of an attack. He spared a glance, and though he hadn't known what to expect, the sight that met his eyes was far from anything he would've thought of. So many shinigami, and among them two taichou...they hadn't fought in such force since their battle with Aizen, to his knowledge.

He didn't know why so many had come, but for all of his pride, it would have been a lie to pretend he wasn't grateful.

--

He had heard Kyouraku-taichou's report of the hollow activity in Karakura, but hearing about it and seeing it with his own eyes were two very different things. The sheer number of them was staggering, and from Riku's vantage point high above the city streets, they looked like little more than masses of shifting darkness, interspersed with the white of their masks. He drew in a deep breath, hardening his resolve. It didn't matter if he had been unprepared, he was on the battlefield now. It was time to fight.

"Nakase, Nakukari!" His voice was clear and strong even over the roaring of the hollows below, and as the katana turned to knives, he launched himself forward. The blades flew from his hands, piercing several of the creatures from behind, but not intending to give the ones around them time to find him, he followed immediately with kidou. "Hadou #31: Shakkahou!"

Crimson light descended into the mass of hollows, and yet another of them let out a roar of pain. Below, he could just make out a faint blue glow, and focusing on it, he managed to discern something of the shape. The Quincy? And another one, this one gold...Inoue Orihime? Though he hadn't met them previously, rumors of the ryoka that had first invited chaos into and then saved Soul Society had been rampant among his fellow shinigami, making them instantly recognizable. Regardless of their abilities, it was strange to see humans standing against hollows, especially with them so vastly outnumbered. In an effort to help them, he sent the knives that had just returned to him in the direction of the pair, but he was acutely aware that his attempts alone wouldn't be enough.

Even with the presence of two taichou and a fukutaichou, the fight would be a long one, of that Riku had no doubt. Preparing the next volley of kidou, he charged forward.

It didn't matter how many hollows he had to fight, this time he wouldn't lose.

[Aly]

The strawberry blond stepped through the senkaimon with her taichou, a part of her dreading the punishment - most likely more paperwork - that she would receive. Another part of her was just happy she'd gotten away with what she had right now. Usually Hitsugaya would have up and raved at her the moment he'd laid eyes on her.

But that wasn't the thing that got her when she took in the transient world. Even with the briefing, the sheer number of Hollows that were there made her gasp. She'd thought she'd seen hordes . . . but this was an entirely different level of "horde" altogether. It was appalling to think that this many roamed the streets of Karakura. Rangiku only hoped that they were all here, and not spread throughout the city.

A familiar voice cut through thought and external noise. At once Rangiku recognized it, and found its owner moments after. A reassuring smile spread over the fukutaichou's full lips.

"Orihime-chan~! Sorry we took so long!"

Her greetings was cut short when a Menos leaped at her. Spinning around, the strawberry blond parried the blow and pushed it back, calling out as she did so.

"Unare, Haineko!"

Her Zanpakutou dissolved into a cloud of razor ash. Thinking it harmless, the creature dived at her again. With a flick of the empty katana hilt, it learned from its own folly. As the thing dissapated, Rangiku straightened into a relaxed but ready stance at Hitsugaya's side. She knew he could take care of himself, but duty called that she remain until he ran off on his own.

Rangiku's reaction to the mass of shadowy beings was similarly felt in Renjiro, even if it didn't make a muscle twitch on his statuesque face. There were countless numbers of them. Spotting the two humans - Ishida Uryuu and Inoue Orihime - he had to silently commend them for holding out for this long, though the Quincy boy looked like he probably couldn't go for much longer if his blood loss kept up. Well, that was what they were here for.The cavalry arrives, he thought humourlessly.

"Tsuisekisure, Touryoushi."

A blast of icy reiatsu surged from the dark-haired man as he released his Zanpakutou. A part of him wondered how much more impressive Hitsugaya's own wintry reiatsu would be in Shikai; the young captain did possess the strongest ice-element Zanpakutou in Seireitei. But now wasn't the time to get distracted. The Rokuseki lanced a Hollw through its ugly head, his hazel eyes never leaving his target: the Quincy youth. Impressive he may be for holding out so long, but when one was surrounded, it was usually a good thing to regroup. Even as the first gem on his staff sparked to life, Renjiro spun, cleaving the mask of the monstrosity behind him in two. Without stopping his momentum, he whirled again, this time angling his blade up. The beast that met Touryoushi's bite was remembered only as the third gleaming dot in the darkness.

They were endless. Whenever one fell, three rose to takes its place. What manner of Menos were they? He was making very little progress by taking them down one by one . . . and the more time he spent hacking away, the more probable the Quincy was going to get hit, sooner or later. Quickly forumlating a plan, Renjiro swept his naginata in a horizontal arc.

"Hisamekiba."

Rime thickened to ice in Touryoushi's wake, bombarding the Menos before him with needle-sharp hail. The sweep had brought the blade behind him; adjusting his grip, the ex-yojinbo brought it swirling back, the eighteen-inch blade a flashing silver blur as he brought it crashing down into the ground.

"Samuzamu Shiretsu!"

From his Zanpakutou's head, spires of ice sprouted from the ground, carving an icy path through the hordes. Five more gems flickered blue light as Renjiro Shunpo'd to Ishida's side, another joinings its mates as he leaped, decapitating the Menos that would have otherwise literally gotten the drop on the Quincy.

"Alright?" he asked shortly, converting to the one-word conversation sentences he used whenever in battle.

It was more a formality than an actual question. He was quite certain the human would have been much preferred sleeping at home instead of being cornered in the streets by hungry soul-eating monsters. Where was the Substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo? Why was it his friends, and not him, who was out here dealing with the Hollow? Then again . . . he could be elsewhere dealing with the exact same situation . . . It was a chilling thought, that there could be more than one pocket of strangely-behaving Menos. Worse still would be if all of Karakura had these things running rampant, in which case their ragtag band of Shinigami - even with two taichou and a fukutaichou - wouldn't be doing anything except scratching the tip off the iceberg.

[Aki Sora]

It was lucky for Toshirou that his reflexes were as sharp as they were for as soon as he exited the gates leading into Karakura, he was attacked by a hollow, one obviously attracted to the powerful reiatsu coming from the small captain. Quickly taking Hyorinmaru in his hands, he sliced through the creature. It quickly turned to black ash and disintegrated into the night as the the youth stood for a moment, his icy teal eyes examining the field. This mission was going to be hell to say the least.

Just a few meters away, he could overhear his fukutaichou release her zanpakutou after speaking with the two familiar humans. He nodded in acknowledgment to Inoue Orihime, whom had spoken to him first. However, Ishida Uryuu, the Quincy that frequently hung around with Kurosaki Ichigo, seemed to be exhausted and he was losing blood quickly. It was definitely clear that the teen had been giving his all to combat the menos that threatened this town.

He stepped off into a Shunpo, joining the bespectacled human along with Minamoto. Swiftly, he released his zanpakutou.

"Soten ni zase, Hyorinmaru!" he called out, a breeze of cold air surrounding him. "You've done well to hold out against this many for this long. We'll handle it from here. Yoshikuni, attend to his wounds."

"A-ah, hai!" the redhead squeaked in response as she immediately rushed over to attend to the human boy. "Anou... Let me take care of your wounds, 'kay?"

Kagoko loosened her shoulder bag and waited for the other party to respond to her. She hoped that he would allow her to help so that he could continue to fight, though pressing on wasn't something she'd recommend because he'd end up at square one again.

While the Yonbantai waited for the Quincy, a menos decided it'd attempt to have her for a snack since she had the delicious reiatsu of a healer. The awful moster lunged at the emerald-eyed girl, gurgling hungrily and eager to have her for its noms. However, the thing's dreams were crushed in the worst way with a flash of brown, black, and orange caught its eye.

"Flourish, Kin Hana," Akina called out as she took a Shunpo trip to cover Kagoko. "Sorry creep, this girl's not on the menu~! Back off!"

"Kyah~ Arigatou, Tsukamoto-san!" Kagoko thanked the mocha.

"No prob," she responded as she focused on protecting the healer. "And I've told you before, call me 'Aki-chan'."

Winking an eye at the younger girl, Akina stepped forward, taking on two more menos that seem to be attracted to Kagoko's reiatsu. She was pumped and ready to fight, but there were questions that buzzed aboout in her mind: Why were there so many of these hollow? Where did they come from and what exactly do they want?

The Rokubantai eighth seat knew that the others were wondering the same thing as well. Hopefully, the more they fought, the clearer things would become... or so she wished for.

[Bishiglomper]

Masaharu exited the gates of the senkaimon, stunned upon seeing the sea of hollow. 'There must be hundreds.. maybe even thousands if they span to more than this area. Taichou wasn't kidding.' he thought. They had their work cut out for them!

Quickly dodging a sudden blow from a hollow, Masa shunpo'd to another roof, getting a better vantage point.

"Hadou #33: Soukatsui!" A flash of blue and the offending hollow was no more. Masaharu drew his zanpakuto; "Saezure, Benisuzume!"

He leapt from the roof with chakram in hand and aiming for a small cluster, shot down the mass with an onslaught of red kidou based arrows. They dissipated; the dust clearing to reveal twice as many hollow behind them.

Having a moment to gain his bearings, Masaharu scanned the area. He realized the person who had called to Hitsugaya and Matsumoto was human, and being protected by a glowing barrier. 'This must be Inoue Orihime that I'd heard so much about.. So that means this boy is Ishida..'

Another shunpo past a line of hollow were felled by the bare blade of Benisuzume. Masaharu now stood only yards away from the humans and the shinigami who had come to their aid. This was certainly a genuine Quincy, and a pretty damn tough one at that. The blood that seeped from his hands from overusing his bow was evidence enough of that. The fact that they had lasted long enough for that to occur impressed Masaharu.

He moved toward them then, focusing all of his efforts on dispersing the mass that surrounded the humans, attempting to give them breathing room. While picking them off, Masaharu kept an eye on their movements. There must be a reason why such an amount have gathered here. Was there another controlling them from afar? He noticed there seemed to be a system, or pattern about their attacks. He was sure there was an explanation!

Elsewhere Katsue had entered the fray on her own, though sticking close to her taichou. Shiden was drawn and purple blades of electricity cut through the hollows left and right. There were so many! Cat had never heard of such a gathering, let alone think she'd ever have to deal with one. She did what she could though, trying not to think how futile this could all turn out to be.

She realized everyone was making their way to help the humans that had been here at the start. Being one to care about almost anyone, Cat looked back to make sure her taichou and fukutaichou were well off on their own. Obviously being so, Cat made her way to the group in the middle of the horde.

Amidst the chaos Orihime found herself standing among more protectors. Thank goodness! She didn't know how much longer Ishida-kun could protect them against something like this.

Orihime noticed the little redhead coming toward them, making her way to Ishida. No weapon was drawn, however. This confused Orihime until she noticed the Quincy's hands were seeping blood, it dripping everywhere.

"Oh, Ishida-kun!" How did she not notice? He was enduring so much to protect them! And she didn't even realize he was being pushed so hard. The smaller shinigami must be a healer coming to the rescue. She stopped in front of Ishida-kun, seemingly waiting for his cooperation so she could begin her work on him. Orihime could only stand there at the moment, scolding herself for being so unobservant. Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts away. This wasn't the time to worry about things like that. Orihime ran toward the redhead and Quincy, seeing if there was anything she could do to help.

Suddenly out of nowhere, one of the shinigami came flying toward them. Katsue had misjudged her movements and was flung by one of the hollow she was fighting. She had caught herself, though a fraction of a second too late. Katsue slid into the middle of the group, knocking one small red-head with her back onto the asphalt. They tumbled a few feet, slightly scratched and bruised.

"Augh! Kagoko-chan! I'm so sorry, are you alright?!" Cat jumped up, pulling Yoshikuni up with her and quickly inspecting her for major injuries. Thanks to her effort in sliding to a stop, they hadn't gone far, still within a protected area between the hollow and Renjirou.

A startled shriek erupted from Orihime as the two tumbled past. Realizing they were both fine, she looked back at the Quincy. Considering the redheaded shinigami was out of commission at the moment, Orihime ran up to Ishida, summoning Shun'o and Ayame.

"Ishida-kun, let me heal you." Without waiting for his permission, she erected the healing barrier to cover his whole upper half, though only his hands bled.

"I'm sorry Ishida-kun, I'd have done this sooner if I'd realized.." The words were spoken softly, most likely drowned out by the roar of the hollows and the sounds of battle. Though she still felt this way, Orihime still knew that even if she had noticed, there would have been no time to help. This still did nothing to lessen the helplessness she felt.

[Suigintou]

Uryuu nodded to the unfamiliar shinigami, though he didn't slow the rate of his own attacks. The difference their aid made was already showing. The hollows had backed up slightly, but he couldn't help noticing that they were just as coordinated as before. Everything they did seemed to confirm his suspicions.

But though the shinigami were clearly prepared for the amount of hollows, Uryuu realized suddenly that they had no idea about the type. He allowed his bow to disappear as the young taichou joined them, the boy's powerful icy reiatsu permeating the area.

"Nevermind that, it's a menos!" He spoke loudly enough for both to hear, hoping the others were close enough to get the message as well. "I'm not sure how, but I think they're all parts of it, like a gillian that hasn't merged!"

His own words still sounded insane even to himself, but the longer they fought, the more his suspicions seemed to be confirmed. There was little doubt in his mind now, and the shinigami had to be prepared.

With his focus on what he'd learned from his fight, the last part of Hitsugaya's statement didn't reach his thoughts until the redheaded girl approached. Wounds? Recalling the vague stinging in his hands, he raised them to look. The bare reishi had torn the skin, leaving deep lines of crimson anywhere his hands had touched his bow. Now that he looked at it, it was extremely painful, but his foremost thought was still returning to the fight. Regardless of his efforts to inform them of the hollows' nature, he didn't have any intention of letting a shinigami dismiss him, taichou or no.

But he hadn't had a chance to respond before one of the hollows attacked. Instinct brought the bow back to his hands, though it seemed it was unnecessary, as yet another of the shinigami brought it down. At least their numbers were good.

Inoue's voice caught his attention, but he had barely looked up when a blonde shinigami flew through the air, hitting the yonbantai girl and knocking both away. He watched them, startled, but it seemed from the blonde's reaction that they were unharmed.

It took hearing Inoue speak again to bring his attention back to her, and as he turned, her healing barrier covered him. He watched with some surprise, but seeing her expression, smiled. "Don't worry about it. Thank you, Inoue."

Not far away, Riku's knives pierced eight masks at once. The attack was immediately followed by a spinning blast of wind, a kidou whose incantation he had just finished reciting. The next hollow in front of him was knocked forcefully into the one behind it, both together immediately dispersing into black dust. As the knives came back to linger in the air around him, he managed to catch a little of the conversation between Hitsugaya-taichou and the Quincy. They were menos that hadn't merged? It was a strange concept, completely unfamiliar to him, and as far as he knew entirely unheard of in Soul Society, but...somehow, it made sense.

He had noticed it almost instantly after arriving. Their attacks were amazingly coordinated. When one failed, another was always there to take its place, with a precision that eluded most hollows of their level. That would mean that the entire group shared a single consciousness, though - how was that possible?

It meant that, unless they could discover what was linking them, the onslaught wouldn't stop until the hollows had fallen, down to the last one. An incredibly difficult task, even for a group of their size, but not one that Riku would let deter him. Getting an idea, he pulled two of his knives from the air and sent the rest out, changing stance with the ones he held. "Hadou #11: Tsuzuri Raiden!" As an electrical current filled the blades, the boy jumped as high as he could, bringing his arms back to maximize the force which with he could throw them. Both flew from his hands and went straight into the masks of two hollows, which let out roars of pain before they were gone. The others, however, didn't react at all. Undaunted, he began another kidou incantation as he descended.

"Hadou #54: Haien!"

[Toboe]

'Whoa, whoa!" Exclaimed Shihei as soon as he exited the senkaimon, instantly taking note of how many hollows were condensed into such a small area. "Sooooo many. It's a wonder two humans were able to hold em all off for such a long time." His voice had an amused chime to it as he unsheathed kurotadori from it's covering, resting the blade up on his shoulder. "Hmm... there are so many choices~!"

Shihei suddenly leaped off to the side, barely avoiding a cero fired in his direction. "Whoops, almost got me there. Nice try hollow-kun! But not good enough." Skipping backwards a couple of steps to put some distance in between himself and the attacking Menos, he raised his palm out towards the other. "This may sting a bit, but I promise it is only temporary." Without saying another word, he fired Soukatsui, unleashing a blue blast of energy on the hollow, tearing a hole through it's mask.

"I didn't expect you to die so quickly!" Shihei's face wore a shocked expression as he watched the hollow fall into pieces and fade away. "That wasn't even at it's ful...." Shihei stopped mid-sentence and glanced down towards everyone else, they were completely surrounded while he was just loitering away up above. "Sorry, sorry!" He yelled out, rushing down below, landing beside Hitsugaya. "Hello Hitsugaya-taichou!"

Shihei has had multiple run in's with the young taichou, after all they did have the same favorite food. Because of this he often tried to sneak a bite or two while running errands to tenth-division; though he so far has been completely unsuccessful. "Oh, I forgot. Kyouraku-taichou isn't goin to be here right away. He is checking to see if there are any more hollow clusters. I hope you don't mind."

[Aki Sora]

Poor Kagoko! She didn't know what hit her, literally, when she was suddenly knocked over by a flying mass. Rebounding quickly, she responded to the voice that was apologizing. Isato Katsue had been thrown by a hollow as if she were just a simple rag doll. How awful!!

"Don't worry about it, Isato-san," she smiled faintly. "I'll be fine~! I'm a Yonbantai, remember?"

Making a shooing motion with her hands, she urged the woman to return to fighting. She didn't want anything to happen because someone was fretting over a little collision, it'd be inconvenient. Turning her attention back to the Quincy and the human girl, she saw that the latter had offered to heal the young man. To be completely honest, it was a definite load off of her mind. She was definitely grateful for the other woman's presence.

"I'll leave him in your care then," the shinigami bowed as she stood guard in case any of the menacing creatures tried to take advantage of this opening.

Toshirou's mind was focused on knocking down as many of the hollow as he possibly could, while still trying to grasp the situation. But there seemed to be no end to these things. Just as he cut down one, three would take over in its place.

Che... he thought, his brows furrowed with an obviously ticked off expression. What the hell is going on with these things? Why are the numbers increasing instead of dying off?

This single question was going to burn in the young taichou's mind until some answers were given. He was confident in the abilities of the group he arrived with, but if things continued as is, they'd all pass out from exhaustion after a while of constant battling.

Just a ways over, Akina seemed to be having fun as she was using the heads of the monsters as springboards to go to the next, driving her zanpakutou into the masks as she went along. She glanced back over her shoulder to see her best friend flying backward and having her fall broken by the poor Yonbantai girl. Whilst she stood there pitying, one of the hollow took the opportunity to swipe at her, causing her to spin quickly to defend herself against the brunt of the attack.

"Gah! So rude, you things are," she scolded, earning a headtilt in response from the offending beast.

With a step forward, the mocha faked out the hollow and went to collect her blonde friend,

"Ne, Kat-chan~ You want to try that move I told you about a while ago?" she asked with a grin. "You know, the electric floral shuriken?"

The young woman was quite proud of the move despite the fact that the two have never actually tested it. Not only that, but Akina only spoke of this move just two weeks prior to this particular day. Though, there was no time like the present to trial it. It's not like it'd hurt their situation... unless these things were immune to Shiden's power, which they weren't!