For the past week the Hollow appearances were erratic and as a result the patrolling done by the Shinigami units were strictly conducted. While the majority of the units did not encounter Hollows during their patrols, there were some units from different divisions who reported Hollow sightings. The damages done by the Hollows were kept to a bare minimum with the efforts of Shinigami.
The reports were varied. In some reports it was stated that Hollows functioned independently and acted on their natural instincts making it easier to deal with them. While some reports mentioned Hollows working together effectively as a team which made things a little more difficult when dealing with them in groups. There were moments where Hollows even resorted to strategizing and isolating the group of Shinigami.
The 12th Division had their heads wrapped around with this matter but they couldn't arrive at any solid conclusion or a valid reasoning to this. They would require more proof in order to properly deduce the real reason for the difference in behavior of the Hollows.
Which was why the intensity of patrolling was increased by the Divisions in order to find out anything that would help the 12th Division with their investigation.
"Any reason you are accompanying us today, Vice-Captain?" Matsuri asked, prompting Kaien to turn his head at the direction of the newbies of the 13th Division.
"Have you checked the district you two have been assigned to?" The officer counter-questioned, attaching his Zanpakuto to his waist.
"North Rukon, District 80, Zaraki." Matsuri read out the mission pamphlet handed out to them, only for her to widen her eyes in horror. "That is not a district to be handed out to rookies!"
Out of all the districts of Rukongai, the Zaraki district was well-known and it wasn't famous for the frequency of Hollow attacks in that area. Zaraki district was a playground for all sorts of outlaws and individuals who were free to do what they wanted. Fights and deaths among the citizens was a common thing in that place and there was no enforcement of law in that place. The phrase, 'survival of the fittest' was the motto of the district and it was not a place for the weak of heart. It was a place for the strong and the completely insane ones.
"Which is why I am tagging along with the two of you." Kaien replied with his signature and reassuring grin. "To keep you two safe. It will also help you get experience on the kind of place the Zaraki district is."
"Oh, but.." Matsuri calmed down and nodded in understanding. Though there was one doubt in her mind. "Aren't you the one in-charge of handing out the districts to the members for patrolling? Why did you choose this district for us?"
"The answer to that is quite simple. Vice-Captain just wants to ditch his paperwork and have Third Seat Miyako take care of all of it." Suzaku spoke from behind the blonde. "Am I wrong Vice-Captain?"
'Damn brat!' Kaien coughed before composing himself. "Let's hit the road shall we?"
"But you never answered the question!" Matsuri pointed out, running after their Vice-Captain who had already made his way out of the division barracks.
'Not like knowing the answer would change anything.' Rolling his eyes, the black-haired Shinigami followed his partner and his senior officer.
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'Nothing here either.' Sitting cooped up in the office room was a tall, lean man with light blonde hair and gray eyes. He wore a long-sleeved white haori over his usual Shinigami uniform, identifying him as the captain of a division. He was skimming through the numerous research data and various reports provided by other divisions of Gotei 13.
A knock on the door interrupted his intense studying. Not bothering to look up or to get up to open the door, he simply worded. "Come in."
"Sitting here under the pile of papers isn't doing you any good. How about taking a break sometimes and meet up with old friends?"
The speaker was a dark-skinned, slender, well-endowed woman of average height with golden irises and chin-length dark violet hair. She wore a sleeveless uniform belonging to the Onmitsukido, also known as the Punishment Force, with long black wrist guards and had a black ribbon tied around her neck. She leaned by the doorway of the office room.
"Yoruichi-san? What brings you here?" Looking up from the bundle of papers, the blonde captain finally took note of his former captain and longtime friend.
"I had nothing to do so I thought of checking up on you. Though you seemed to be rather preoccupied with something." Yoruichi picked up one of the reports and took a careful look through the details. "Hollow-appearance reports of past few years? Is it related to the recent development of hollows working as organized teams, Kisuke?"
"That and this one." Kisuke nodded before handing two more reports to the Leader of Onmitsukido. Both the reports were handing to him by the 13th Division. "You will find something that ties to the recent Hollow behavior."
"An intelligent hollow capable of speech?" Yoruichi went through the reports before raising an eyebrow. "But these reports say that its power is lower than that of Vice-captains. Then how??'
"That is what I am trying to find out. How is a hollow of that caliber able to control numerous hollows and make them follow his command." Kisuke answered.
"Any leads so far?" Gone was Yoruichi's carefree side when she had arrived to meet up with her former division member. It was now a matter of serious concern, especially when Kisuke hasn't been able to arrive at a concrete conclusion to this matter.
"I wouldn't call it a lead but it can surely lead me to the answers I am looking for." Kisuke answered, pointing out the reports in Yoruichi's hands. "The new rookie of Division 13 is what I can call lead for now."
"You are going to use a rookie Shinigami for this?" Yoruichi questioned, making sure she heard that right. While the method is questionable indeed, using a rookie who just enrolled in the Shinigami forces, they do not have the luxury of choice in this situation. Still she wanted to make sure if Kisuke really wanted to go forward with this method.
"It's not like I have any other choice. The Hollow was ready to give away a hostage in exchange for the boy." Kisuke answered in a grim tone. His voice was enough to convince Yoruichi that he will be going forward with this method, no matter what it takes. In their line of job, end results matter and if this method gives them the desired result then the actions taken were worth it.
"Can I ask you to have one of your members keep a close eye on the boy?" Kisuke faced the captain of the Punishment Force with a rarely seen serious expression plastered on his face.
"Don't worry about that. I know someone perfect for the job." Yoruichi replied, following with a wink. "You know who I am talking about, right Kisuke?"
"Oh boy." Kisuke sported a goofy smile on her statement, knowing full well who she is talking about. Any hints of the tense atmosphere that lingered in the room disappeared in a flash, with Kisuke putting on a laid back look on his face.
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District #80, Zaraki
"Stay close and don't let your guard down even for a second." Kaien gave a heads up once they entered the territory of the Zaraki District.
The Zaraki District was a place totally different from any other districts, the rookies had ventured into. The living conditions here were much poorer compared to those of the other districts. But that wasn't the point of concern. The Zaraki district was a home to outlaws, criminals, murderers, almost every scum of the society that can be named. There was no law followed here and the only rule that people abided was "the survival of the fittest".
Brawls were a daily occurrence in this place and the Gotei 13 hardly poked their noses in the matters revolving around Zaraki District. They had left this place to their devices, limiting their control only to patrols and inspections from time to time. No Shinigami in their sane mind would want to meddle in the affairs of this district.
"Good thing they aren't bothering us." Suzaku commented, taking note of the fact that majority of the residents didn't even bat them an eye and simply minded their own business.
"You don't bother them, they won't bother you. Simple as that." Kaien replied, keeping an eye out for any sort of troublemakers. While he wanted the rookies to gain experience, he did not want things to go south for their first day in this district. As their senior and as Suzaku's apparent guardian, he would make sure nothing goes bad for them.
"Aren't the hollows that pop up here said to be more fierce?" Matsuri inquired, only to feel several new spiritual pressures belonging to the aforementioned race seconds later. 'I just jinxed it.'
"Great job jinxing it." The male rookie rolled his eyes.
"Shut it!" Matsuri retorted before the three of them flash-stepped towards the location where the hollows had gathered up.
'That's quite the number. Not to mention they are banded together.' The Vice-Captain observed, making a mental note to mention that in his report. Though he couldn't sense the intelligent hollow from before, he was now sure that there is more to what meets the eye and there could be more forces behind the hollows banding together.
"Don't worry about the numbers. You see a hollow, you take it down!" Kaien shouted before slashing down the first hollow in his line of sight. He then jumped right in front of three hollows, twice his size.
"Yes sir!" The rookies chorused before taking quick care of a pair of smaller hollows before jumping into opposite directions to take care of the numbers quickly.
"Ye Lord! Mask of Blood and Flesh! All Creation, Flutter of Wings! Ye who bears the name of man! Inferno and Pandemonium! the Sea Barrier Surges! March on the South! Hado #31! Shakkaho!" Completing the full incantation, Matsuri thrusted both her hands forward. releasing a large sphere of red flames, aimed at the hollow hole of the incoming hollow. The spell collided with the hollow, blasting it into nothingness.
"So you finally memorized it!" Suzaku commented, dodging a hammer-fist from one of the hollows. Stepping on the hollow's arms, he stabbed the hollow's mask from under his neck before jumping off to his next target.
"I am going to kick your ass after this!" The girl swore before stabbing the mask of a taller hollow before kicking it away. After that she jumped up to dodge a hollow's sticky spit before ending it with a vertical slash.
"Hado #1! Sho!" Suzaku pointed his index finger at a hollow's throat before it could spit whatever he was about to from its mouth before dashing right in at a blinding speed, slashing its limbs before slicing its head off from behind.
"Bakudo #4! Hainawa!" The male rookie then raced right in between two Hollows, slashing off one of their feet before tying them up with the rope of spiritual energy. Matsuri, who moved in sync with her partner ended the pair of hollows with a power-packed slash.
"Hado #11! Tsurzuri Raiden!" Suzaku ran a hand through the blade of his Zanpakuto, resulting in an electric current covering the entire blade. He stabbed a hollow with it, shocking the creature before finishing it off with an upward slash.
"Good job taking care of the Hollows!" Kaien said in a loud voice, having dealt with the enemies he was up against.
'He took care of more hollows than us combined and they were bigger too.' Matsuri was clearly impressed by the display of power from their Vice-Captain. It made her realize how far they had to go to reach his level. "Well it ended well--SUZAKU BEHIND YOU!"
Matsuri's yelling prompted him to turn his head around, only to see a winged hollow dissolving into nothingness. The perpetrator was revealed to be a girl wearing what looked like a black ninja uniform which included a face mask, leaving only her sharp grey eyes and shoulder-length dark blue hair visible.
The hollow had camouflaged itself well and even hidden its spiritual pressure and had crept close to the rookie Shinigami. Given the distance, even if he had noticed it, Suzaku had doubts about whether he could reacted on time or not. Yet the ninja girl right in front of him was able to take care of the hollow without much effort.
'She is faster than me and I couldn't sense either of them.' From what he could infer by her height and appearance, there wasn't much of an age difference. It was the difference in skill that reminded him of how far behind he still is in terms of a proper Shinigami. "Thank you.."
"You need to be more careful in battles." The girl remarked in a cold tone.
"I will keep that in mind." Not even giving a nod or a response, she disappeared using Shunpo.
"Who was that?" Matsuri inquired her superior officer.
"Judging from her outfit, I would say she is from the Punishment Force." Kaien revealed.
Both the rookies knew about the Onmitsukido and the Punishment Force, and of their job in the Gotei 13. Basic knowledge of their existence and their job was taught to every Shinigami student in the academy as there were chances of some of them being scouted into the Onmitsukido, also called the Stealth Force.
"Suzaku, she gave you a weird look." Matsuri suddenly remarked. "You sure you didn't do anything befitting punishment?"
"What makes you think that?!" Suzaku protested. "The girl could have been scouting around for all we know!"
'I doubt that. I mean every division was given orders to send out teams for scouting purposes.' The Vice-Captain kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to worry his juniors. He was sure that there's more than what meets the eye but right now all he can do is trust the Stealth Force. 'Lady Shihoin knows what she is doing.'
"Let us not sweat on the small details. None of us are injured and it all ended well." Kaien gave both his juniors a pat on their backs, breaking them free from their bickering. "Let's head back."
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