The Hollow Hunter (Open)

"Disgraceful, making a captain come out for this..." Suman grimaced, spying a huge hollow a few meters away. It had six legs and a snake-like body, two arms extending from the top half of it's long neck. The mask was a grotesque imitation of a modern snake's head except the fangs were much more prominent. Suman sighed as he beheld the low-class shinigami in its grasp.

"Captain! Don't come near this thing! It's-" One of Suman's squad members had tried to warn, before Suman's tone and look cut the young man off. A hand went to Suman's sword and slowly withdrew it from the sheath.

"Enough! Do not assume that because you're too weak-" Suman was cut off in turn by the hollow.

"Do you shinigami every shut up?" The thing roared, hurling itself at Suman. His eye turned to the heavens just as the creature's gaping maw fell upon him. The hollow pulled away to reveal an empty crater where Suman had been. Suddenly, a huge spiritual pressure burst from behind The hollow. Its eyes narrowed to slits. "So you survived? You're better than I thought." The Hollow leered, making another charge.

"Humph!" Suman huffed, his sword making a neat slice through the hollow's arm. It screamed and grabbed the stump, flailing in anger. Suman's eye looked behind him just to see the hollow regrow the limb with a sneer of "just kidding".

"You're strong Captain-san...but I'm stronger." The Hollow roared, tossing the shinigami away from itself and taking a battle stance. Suman's moustache twitched as he chuckled slightly. His deep tones reverberating over the plain until all present heard his mirth.

"You insolent pup! You and I are not even on the same planet of power. I am the sun while you...you are the tiny star next to it that fades within daylight. Allow me to over shadow your strength." Suman monologued, his spiritual pressure increasing with every word. Eventually he was surrounded by a dark red glow, the world around him shaking with a thundering roar.

The hollow coughed blood as Suman's spiritual pressure crushed its lungs. The shinigami looked on with wide eyes, sweat pouring from their brows. They were spared Suman's full pressure simply because he was controlling it to do so.

"Do not despair pitiful creature, I shall end your existence soon." Suman growled, taking his sword in two hands and focussing his spiritual pressure into it. He then raised it above his head and slashed downwards sharply. A wave of spiritual pressure split the hollow in two, carving up the ground beneath, making a huge cloud of dust. Suman brushed himself off to see a bifurcated hollow gurgling on the floor.

"Still alive? Oh my you are a tough one." Suman observed politely. The hollow swore at him and attempted to claw him. But its arm was far too weak now. "You fool. If you were as weak as that I would have killed you on quarter power. Be thankful that I showed you such power." Suman sniffed, his sword plunging into the creature's blade. It evaporated with a final scream of "bastard!!!".

Suman then turned and helped the two shinigami who'd been wounded to their feet. He looked them up and down then performed a healing kido on the one with a broken arm.

"That was amazing captain! How did you do that?" The minorly wounded on asked. Suman looked up and looked thoughtful for a second.

"My Bankai eats up much of my reiatsu. As such, I had to train to gain more. If I could not control my reiastu well then...well, my bankai would have killed me long ago." Suman explained. That was the origin of his power: The drive to use his zanpakto to its full ability. It was true what he'd been taught by his Sensei: "A Zanpakto and Shinigami lend each other their power. Just a shinigami cannot cut without his sword, his sword cannot cut without him to wield it." A very wise man.

"Now hurry and fetch me the person responsible for this mess. I should like a word with them." Suman laid out a mat and sat down, his body in the lotus position. He was regaining his reiastu by focussing his ability to absorb it into his body.

Sharp clapping noise echoed through the courtyard as a lone Shinigami slowly approached the grouping. The clapping was almost perfectly in sync with the tapping noise from when the Shinigami's feet touched the ground; creating a ever more eerie sound. As the man finished his traverse to the opening in the buildings he stopped the clapping leaving only the slow tapping noise from below his feet. The Shinigami's feet curled around one part of the cobblestone road as he positioned himself firmly in the ground, taking a careful stance in case there were any more Hollows waiting for an opening. He had never been one for sensing spiritual pressure and he was always cautious when that was the only thing guarding him from certain death.

As the Shinigami found his footing; he bowed slightly only moving his upper torso in the direction of the Captain. The bright sunlight which had penetrated the covering of clouds, reflected almost as sharply off of his Captain's haori which held the symbol for the twelfth division of the back. Paying very little attention to the other Shinigami in the crowd, he immediately looked to face the other Captain and began speaking.

"As I'm sure you're already aware of, my name is Shinjou Kagaku Captain of Division Twelve," said Shinjou in his usual cold tone.

As Shinjou spoke no emotion reveled itself. He had become rather good at concelling all of them however, in rare occasions the odd one slipped out slightly letting everyone around him know he was still Shinigami. Once he had finished he short greeting, Kagaku made no other attempts to acknowledge the existence of the others; including the Captain. He had no interest in these people beyond making sure they were sound of mind and body and ready to fight if need be which, was exactly what he was doing. With so many other people around here Shinjou didn't know he would have to start mentally organizing them as to know who to call upon and when. Shinjou definately had his work cut out for him.

The eerie applause made Suman's mouth twitch. Must his meditation be interrupted so often? He got to his feet and bowed to the other captain graciously. Suman was nothing if not an honourable man.

"Good day to you, Captain Kagaku. I am Tenshi Suman, Captain of the 13th Division." Suman introduced politely. He ignored the cold demeanour of the young captain. He was, after all, a young man by Suman's comparison. Many people often mistook Suman for a shinigami of middle-age because of his appearance. But there was the fact he was 2000-odd years old. He was willing to forgive the trespasses of much younger souls.

"The twelfth division is the science and research department is it not? Perhaps you detected the disturbances and came to assist. My division has been hunting down the many many hollows in the area of late. However...this last one was of Adjudas level. I am almost certain that there are powerful Gillian and more Adjudas in the area...Have your scans detected as much?" Suman asked, his face in a frown of thought. He was not concerned with the hollows but why so many had managed to slide into Ryukongai. If Suman was not careful he would overstep on something Captain-Commander Kyrie should know of. But she was gone in the Human world dispatching some arrancar. Suman may have to deal with this himself....

"Oi! What the hell are you doing to our Hollows Old Man!?" A coarse voice demanded. Calmly, Suman turned around to see two black-clad people wielding spiritually-glowing knives. Suman's eyes narrowed to see the symbol etched into their arms. Of course, some sort of gang.

"Do not raise your voice to me, boy." Suman rebuffed, his arms safely inside his robe. Clearly he did not find them a threat. And why should he? There were two captain's present. And their punk-rock and gaudy appearance made him blanch. True men did not boast their power in appearance. "Now, your hollows? Do not lie to us boy. We are captains evidently. Lying to us will be costly." Suman's eyes narrowed. He did not check to see if Shinjou was doing anything. With any luck he was staring them down as well.

"Shit! Captains!?" The girl asked, her eyes going wide as she spied the haori upon Suman's shoulders. She spied Shinjou and swallowed hard. She felt her pulse race faster, adrenaline pump through her system. "Adamaru, we gotta get outta here! They'll kill us for sure!" The girl pleaded.

"No, I wanna fight them. Arrogant sods, the lot of them. I wanna see if there's any substance in their arrogance." The male growled, pulling his knife into an aggressive stance. Suman sighed and rubbed his temple. Such noise from the young folks...annoying...

"Shinjou...care to fight them? Or shall I imprint the message of fear onto his skin?" Suman growled, not liking the young man at all now. He put his hands into the sleeves of his robe and curled a fist around his blade hilt. "If you know anything, tell me. If you do not, run. I will not stop you." Suman ordered. But they didn't flinch: they were determined to fight. "Do not kill them. I want to know what they know of the Hollows."

Shinjoy payed much attention to the man as he spoke. He had his guesses of the man's squadrin but it was finally revealed to him when the man spoke of it. The Thirteenth was his best guess from the glimpses of the insignia on the man's back and he was content when he was reveled to him that he was correct. But Shinjou had no time to think of what Division this Tenshi Suman was from he had to speculate on his personality. From the formalness of the way he spoke, Shinjou could guess he was a man of tradition. Sense, Kagaku found him fighting he could guess that the man wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty and he hadn't lost practice when he became a Captain. Suman almost seemed to know of the other Division's specialities from the way he asked so quickly about it. This man was indeed and old soul if not old himself. He had likely seen many things and had a great deal of knowledge which, might turn out to be useful.

Captain Kagaku was just about to answer the man's inquiry when two unruly individuals protruded their conversation. One seemed quite aggressive whilst the other more on the passive side. Shinjou was not surprised when the one who seemed more passive suggested they leave and the other refused. They would most likely have to be dealt with along with the rest of the gang if they did have any followers. However, what was more interesting then the "gang members" was the other Captain's response. Shinjou had thought that he would take it cooly however, the man approached the situation by trying to scare them off. Suman still had a tempered sound but he was more aggressive then Kagaku would have thought him to be. This was indeed a strange occurrence and Shinjou would have to probe it further.

"To answer your first question; Yes my Division is in charge of the research and development in Soul Society however, I have not lately reported to my Division itself. But I am sure if a large amount of hollows were to appear, I would be informed," said Shinjou still hiding all evidence of emotions. "To address the later question; I will comprehend the persons in question if you so wish however, if you wish to handle them yourself I would not object," answered Shinjou as he analyzed the situation further.

"Yes Captain Kagaku. I see that they are strong. My guess is Lieutenant level. They are also twins by their appearance. They have the same zanpakto...my guess for their leaving of Soul Society. Let me speculate further and say that they are behind the hollow attacks." Suman growled, watching as four more lieutenant-class people appeared.

"Indeed. How can two captains hope to defeat this many ex-lieutenants? We stand alone and fall but together...we will kill you." The boy giggled. Suman's eyes narrowed, his spiritual pressure causing that dull roar again. The world quaked with his presence as he pulled his blade from its sheath. The ex-lieutenants were sweating, the leader asked "What the hell is with this spiritual pressure?!" in a tone of surprise.

"Have you any concept of the distance between our powers, boy?" Suman asked politely. "You are sweating from my reiatsu without me even releasing my blade. And you think you can win? Laughable!" Suman refuted his earlier statement, tying his Haori around his waist and taking a stance. His muscles knew the stance well: he'd been forced to stand in it for 3 hours a day just swinging his blade. "I will show you the power of a captain." Suman growled, the reiatsu around his body becoming dark red once more. The Lieutenant's eyes nearly popped when they felt the reiatsu increase further. Their lungs were constricted by it, their bodies protesting against the full force of Suman's reiatsu. But he knew it wasn't. He had more to go before he reached his limit.

"Exterminate, Ryugenkido" Suman whispered, the sword becoming enveloped in black fire. The leader smiled: his zanpakto was water. He would easily douse those flames.

"Flow, Mizu Hebi!" The leader commanded, his dagger becoming a long whip from the hilt down. At the end was a snake's head made of water. Suman didn't even flinch as the snake came rattling towards him, its mouth open.

Suman, at the last second, threw Ryugenkido at the snake. With a stream of steam, the snake was split in two...as was its owner. He had a look of blank incomprehension on his face before it too fell apart, that look on his face frozen forever.

"M-Monster!! Let no joyful voice be heard, Kraken!" The girl screamed, even as her comrades ran from the spiritual pressure that was causing them to spit up blood. The vessels in their mouths were popping from the pressure. Any more and Suman would have to unleash his bankai: Ryugenkido could not take it any more. The seal on his back was breaking with the level of reiatsu he was calling forth.

A giant tentacle wrapped itself around Suman's waist and tried to lift him, finding its arm had been cut off a second later, with Suman behind the girl.

"Come with me and I shall not kill you. Nor will my counterpart." Suman shot at Shinjou pointedly, hoping that he'd get the message. The girl was enraged and likely to lash out. Her face was contorted with rage at the mere thought of going with shinigami. She spat at Sumans feet, turning her now broken sword on him. Suman appeared to be unarmed and the girl looked like she'd stab him. Until her blade simply sparked against Suman's skin. She was confused before Suman ripped the sword from her grip and dragged her after him.

"We have apprehended a suspect. I'm sure you would like to study her yes?" Suman asked pointedly, hoping to scare the girl into talking. Deftly, Suman held up a hand and caught his spinning zanpakto. The flames disappeared and it became a harmless sword once more. Suman sheathed it and wiped his sweating brow. He needed to do that more often. His spiritual pressure was getting a bit out of control.

Shinjou watched as Suman cut down the opposers. He definitely wasn't afraid to show off his powers. This seemed quite idiotic to Shinjou. A Captain such as this one should reserve his powers especially among such weaklings. If he did this on a regular basis then he might find out one day that his enemies know his exact strategies. Kagaku would have to point this out later but now was not the time to undermine his authority.

Although, this could be a problem in the future, right now it would be useful to know this man's shikai. It seemed to be named Ryugenkido and a fire Zunpakuto. Which is quite odd. Shinjou always thought that a Zunpakuto reflected the owner's persona so this would mean that Suman was more rash then he first came off as. Especially, sense the reiatsu seemed to drain right out of him whilst using his Zunpakuto. This would normally mean that he wasn't as in touch with the spirit or his blade or he didn't have control over it. It must be a shame being a Captain but not having control.

When Shinjou assumed the battle was over, Suman had other ideas in mind. He seemed to be intimidating this person. It was obvious that she was going to lash out because the Captain had just killed her twin so of course she would be angry. The intimidation method was likely not to work because she was angry and this was likely to make her more angry rather than timid. But, no matter this was his rodeo and he would follow the other Captain's lead.

"Of course. The chance to experiment upon a Shinigami especially after they have unlocked their Shikai is extraordinary. I normally only get to conduct my research on Quincy or the occasional Bountou but never a Shinigami," replied Shinjou with his cold tone.

The girl's eyes went wide when she heard Shinjou. Suman nodded discreetly, hoping the girl would not notice. She looked pleadingly at Shinjou, her hand clasped as though in prayer. Suman's heart strings twitched to behold such a pathetic creature. It was almost inhumane of Suman to even contemplate torturing such a distraught girl. In fact, she was likely to say anything to stop the pain...no, torture never worked. What was he thinking? Was he going to become like the greedy Shogun who'd caused his death? No.

"I en't telling you bastards nuffink." The hostage growled, her eyes narrowing in sudden defiance. She must have decided to show off her cander and hope sheer guts would save her. "You slimy gits killed me brother, me mam...everyone! Even ma' father en't here no more. Go to hell you monster!" She spat in Suman's face at that, who looked calmly back at the girl. For once, he looked his age. His hair seemed grey and his face more lined.

"I did not kill your brother. He committed suicide the moment he raised his blade to me. I wanted to let both of you live...but duty comes first. I cannot let those who hurt the Seiretei go unpunished." Suman explained, taking a handkerchief from his robe pocket and wiping the spit from his face. Then, he lowered his face to the girl's and stared at her with incredibly old eyes.

"Tell us why the hollows were released on Rykongai and I shall let you go." Suman asked, his voice slow and clear. He was offering a pardon to the girl in exchange for information. If she was smart she'd accept the offer and run.

"I'll tell you one thing, then you let me go." The girl bargained. Suman nodded and narrowed his eyes. She'd never get away with betrayal. She'd be dead before she'd managed a Shunpo. "We wanted revenge on the Seiretei. Me and my brother lost our parents to a Shinigami raid...We felt that if we could open a Gargaanta then enough hollows would come through to destroy the Seiretei. Then we'd all become the captains and start over." The girl gushed. After a few moments, Suman threw her away from him in disgust. His hand went to his blade but he remembered his word. He stood there seething as the girl ran for her life. About 100 meters away she turned.

"Don't worry Shinigami, I'll give the Black Hyenas a message! Run, run because the monsters are coming! The Gotei 13!" She cackled, running away as fast as she could. Suman raised his hand, lightning crackling at his fingertips. He was quite tempted to blow her and half the street away. But what would that solve? It would only add to the Black Hyena register.

"Damnit! Late." Mayonaka grunts to himself, sprinting towards the two Shinigami at breakneck speed, his hand reaching for the red silken hilt of his Zanpakutou. His Long red hair bouncing off of his chest with every step, his feet almost gliding over the ground. His movements contain certain grace to them; each step well balanced and co-ordinated. His uniform black, and generic just like every other Shinigami's, flutters backwards as he runs, due to the loose design. His head is lowered as he runs, he puts his left foot out slightly and skids to a halt in front of the captain of the Twelfth division's captain.

He raises his head, revealing the three red lines that cross jaggedly across his face. "Sorry, Captain!" He says in a humble tone, seeming ashamed of having to have left two captains to deal with the Hollows, "I would have been here sooner had I not gotten held up." He bows deeply to both men. Looking briefly to the fleeing female. He draws his Zanpakutou, Kingu-en, and turns to the other Captain, standing with a kidou charging.

"Captain! Shall I give chase?" He asks, preparing to run again, as he looks back to the Captain almost as if trying to gauge what the command will be before it is said, so that he will not have as much distance to gain.

Captain Kagaku continued to stand perfectly still and observe. Shinjou preferred observing to acting. He felt that he could learn more about others this way, especially their weaknesses. Everyone had one; just for some it was harder to find then others. But, once you found that one little weakness you can exploit it and defeat your opponent. Easier said then done as Shinjou had already found out. Many a time had he first thought that he had found that weakness only to be later corrected and defeated. Although, that was when he still held the occasional emotion. Now, he used none of the sort and thought those who did inferior.

As Shinjou had first suspected when Suman continued with his verbal onslaught the girl replied angrily and bolted it. But, no matter the other Captain still continued to no prevail and so Shinjou thought it best to intervene. He was just about to do such when out of nowhere another Shinigami came running. At first Shinjou didn't know if he was another member of the gang or an officer in the Gotei thirteen but, when he came closer Kagaku realized what he was looking at. A member of the Gotei Thirteen and a new one at that. This girl running away now was judging from what Shinjou had gathered at least lieutenant strength and this man was not.

"Greetings," replied Shinjou as he unsheathed his blade a inch. "I would advise against such actions. If you still wish to continue you may but, if you face your demise, don't say I did not warn you," spoke Shinjou coldly.

This new Shinigami seemed fairly polite but outspoken at the same time. He didn't seem to have the certain code of honor that Suman operated by but he also didn't seem as confident. This made sure everyone around him new he wasn't strong. Even if you were weaker then your opponent Shinjou thought it best to put out the illusion of strength. This man certainly had a lot to learn although, he also had a lot of time.

Mayonaka sighs to himself, weighing his options. He could chase after the girl, going by the captain's words he would die, but his pride would remain fully in tact. Or heed the Captain's warning and take a blow to his pride. Shaking his head once, a quick grimace adorning his face as he does, and sheathes Kingu-en. He turns to the captain and nods, "Understood, Captain." He says quietly, not seeming intimidated by the Captain's word, but rather desperate to avoid conflict with the higher ranked man. He deliberately moves his hands further away from the hilt of his own blade, as he eyes the Captain's blade.

"I do not mean to be rude, Captain." He says, still quietly, but this time there is a slight hint of irritation in his voice, "but could you please inform me as to what that girl is, and why I shouldn't give chase?" He looks up briefly, a slight glint of defiance in his eyes. He looks down again soon after, as if he is keeping himself in check, as opposed to being a simply timid man.

Suman's eye slid sideways to stare at Shinjou as he made his threat. Suman then realised that the threat was directed to a member of his own squad. That did not make him feel any better in actual fact. Suman knew quite well that Shinjou was likely to kill him. Shinjou struck Suman as the analytical type. One who does not act but rather studies. Suman could hypothesis that was what his fighting style was somewhat like.

"I would strongly advise staying your hand this time. The Black Hyenas...I have heard of them somewhere..." Suman thought aloud. His eyes then narrowed to slits as the fabric of the world split open a thousand times, revealing a black abyss. Suman growled menacingly as hollow after hollow came through, all roaring and laughing and jeering as they chased down Rykongai residents. He looked back at Shinjou and his underling before settling into a thought.

"This many hollows would require quite a bit of technology to summon. Perhaps it is time to launch a full-scale inquiry into these Black Hyena people..." Suman speculated, just as a hollow landed before him. It was a regular, which Suman cut down easily. It was done in one move which was so fast that one could see naught but Suman sheathing his blade seconds after a bifurcated hollow hit the floor. Suman looked around for more hollows before continuing his earlier statement. "I fear that we may have to send order to my whole division to clean up this-" Suman suddenly sensed a huge spiritual pressure and whirled around to see a huge Menos Grande breaking into Rykongai. Suman's eyes widened before he huffed moodily.

"I am asking the 12th division to find this hollow generating machine. I and my subordinates shall deal with the hollow threat." Suman asked. It sounded more like a command than a request but that was just how it came across. Suman rarely thought he had any more authority next to the other captains.

"Sir! Our whole division cannot take on this many hollows!" The male of his subordinates shouted. The female just smiled knowingly. She knew what she was about to see and as such, condensed her spiritual pressure to protect her from the massive outpouring of Suman's.

"Enough! Bankai!" Suman roared, his whole form becoming swathed in black flames. This condensed into his ornate dragon-like armour. But the fire was still there, towering about him and burning the ground. His spiritual pressure was so immense that the ground at his feet cracked. He'd yet to release his limiter as well...

Mayonaka, tenses as he watches the many hollows appear, he smiles suddenly, seeming much more comfortable in the face of battle. He stands up taller revealing his full height, emphasizing the muscle on his chest and arms. He unsheathes his sword again, and as the Menos appears, he frowns deeply, and as the Captain dispatches it, he stares in awe of the man's power. His own Spiritual pressure, considerably lesser than the Captain's. He tries to reduce the effect of this by condensing his own spiritual pressure. Although he is still encumbered by it.

As the Captain's Bankai appears. A fairly large hollow does too; narrowing his eyes, noticing that it is heading towards one of the subordinates that is further behind from the group, he sighs as he points his blade in the direction of the Hollow. He shouts, "Release your rage! Kingu-en!" His blade becomes a deep crimson, and a faint glow of red envelopes the blade. His knees shaking very slightly from the pressure from Suman, he shouts again, "Disperse!" As he slashes the blade vertically up, "Kingu-en!" The blade disappears in a grand explosion of fire, the blast forming two balls of inferno, shooting towards the hollow. The two balls of flame blaze towards the hollow. One sinking into the base of it's skull to bring it down, as the other one smashes into the Hollow's mask. The hollow, although not dead, is not far from the state. Mayonaka grins a little as he brings his hands up and the flames move in the same direction. He then brings his arms quickly down, watching with a smirk as the two flames hammer into the Head and Back of the Hollow. The final blow ends as the Hollow dies and Mayonaka's flames rush towards him, colliding with each other and exploding once more to form the blade, this explosion is much more controlled and much less powerful, sighing to himself as he turns to the Captain's with a worried look on his face.

"Perhaps I should tell my Captain of these events?" He asks as he looks around, "The 6th division could probably provide extra man-power. Or if you would prefer send one of your subordinates, Captain?"

Shinjou payed little more attention to the non-Captain Shinigami as the lady fled. That is until he began to speak. He stated that he did not wish to be rude; this concerned Shinjou. He had never stated such a thing and above that the Shinigami had held the slightest bit of irritation in his voice. Why would he be irritated? If anyone should be annoyed it should be Shinjou. This man had said something that held no relevance to the task at hand or the conversation. Then he realized what it must of been. He had unsheathed his blade the slightest amount when speaking and he must have perceived this as a threat. Quite strange, quite strange indeed.

Kagaku began to access the situation and determine the best rebuttal when the other Captain spoke. He had drawn the exact same conclusion which also seemed quite odd. What kind of people were these two used to dealing with? They had jumped on him the moment he had unsheathed his blade the slightest. Not that they had been overly rude but they certainly had jumped to conclusions. Shinjou would have to deal with this before he dealt with these "Black Hyenas."

"You are rather quick to jump to conclusions aren't you? I was simply unsheathing my blade in case you decided not to follow that lady that just ran off. I was planning on catching up to her and disabling her before she could get away. Sense I would only have a matter of seconds to do such I though it only logical to begin to unsheathe my blade. That way I would already be in the correct position for an attack and the slowest part of unsheathing your Zunpakuto is when it is first moved after that it is rather quick," explained Shinjou as he took a breath then continued. "As for the "Black Hyenas", if a large machine such as you have described was activated is or being used, it would take a considerable amount of power and my Division would have already detected it and informed me. Sense they have yet to do so we can assume one of two possibilities. Either, they are using some sort of energy cloak or they are obtaining the Hollows some other way," articulated Kagaku.

Once he had finished speaking the Twelfth Division Captain re-sheathed his blade. He had no reaction to the Menos Grande that had just appeared but if he had it would have been a joyace one. They finally had some action in Soul Society. Not that Shinjou was always roaring for a fight but, things had been extremely boring as of late and it seemed as if things were changing. Whether for the best or worst, they were changing.

Mayonaka turns to the Captain, his voice humble once more. His head bowed slightly and his height seemingly reduced as he says, "I am sorry Captain, but I have heard rumors of the 12th division, and it goes without saying, they aren't very pleasant and involve Shinigami that harm or damage research materials."

He sighs to himself muttering quietly under his breath something about, hollows and food.

He looks to the other Captain, his thoughts in a wild array, he tilts his head.

"The most plausible answer would be the energy cloak." He said sheepishly, "Yet wouldn't such a cloak in turn eat up a large amount, or moderate amount of energy, and have to be placed in an industrial zone, so to speak?"

He pauses for a moment as he looks back up at The 13th Division's Captain's Bankai, impressed by it's form, knowing that it's of the same family as his own Zanpakutou made him feel some form of comradeship with the Captain, not to mention his previous service with him.

"Then would our best course of action, not be to try and find places within the Soul Society that normally eat up a lot of energy, maybe some may have grown largely; or shrunk." He hypothesized.

"Logically your theories are sound." Suman concurred, his voice echoing slightly from behind the curious visor. The four slats in the face led little of Suman's face to be shown. The flames that curled around Suman's shins and shoulders curled into the air and disappeared as Suman released his spiritual pressure.

As the hollows all descended, they soon found the high spiritual pressure and headed for the feast. Little did they know that this outpouring of spiritual energy would be their death. Many hollows fell from the sky, cackling and screaming at the foolish captain who did not move like the rest of his squad. His subordinates ran from the hail of hollows. Those that knew Suman well were running not from the hollows but from Suman himself. They knew what was going to happen.

As the hollows came within range, Suman's head shot up, his eye opening. the flames of his Bankai suddenly spread out, licking the sides of the buildings and burning any hollows that lay on the ground. It was then that the more intelligent of the hollows attempted to flee. However, it was too late. They were caught.

Suman spread his arms wide then clapped them together above his head. His reiatsu consumption shot up to twice its normal level as a hail of fiery bullets shot from the flames around Suman, hitting the hollows indiscriminately. Body after body fell, charred to pieces by Suman's fire. Sweat beaded his brow as the consumption of Reiatsu kicked in. But he was fine. It was like bursting a dam when the river had grown too massive. In a way, it was a relief for Suman to release that much reiatsu. If he'd kept it within him it would have destroyed him.

"Suman you idiot...is it so hard to keep a cap on yourself?" His zanpakto asked. Suman breathed hard then laughed slightly.

"It is dishonourable to not show your opponent the respect he deserves." Suman explained to his zanpakto in a whisper. The hollows seemed to have got the message though: They were staying back fore fear of what Suman would do to them. But they needn't fear: Suman was not in the position of fighting anyone for a few minutes. He needed to catch his breath as he wasn't as young as he once was.

"Ah! It has been so long since I've used Dragon Cannon! Hollows I say unto you now...if you wish to fight me then proceed to. However, if you have any brains you will run back to the abysmal dimension you came from!" Suman roared good-heartedly. He was doing it for his honour: one had to show no fear in the face of overwhelming odds. Suman was quite content to deal with this. After all, it was only 100 or so hollows of regular class and one Menos. He then added in an undertone to the others:

"If you wouldn't mind helping I'd be very appreciative. I'm not as young as I once was and I fear that I may be injured if I fought this many hollows at once." Suman punctuated the statement by lowering his spiritual pressure a bit. The fires returned to his armour and went towards paying the reiatsu debt caused by Dragon Cannon. If he wanted he could release his seal and fight well but...it was simply foolish to seeing as he would destroy most of this district if he did. "Also, members of my division...find that machine and kill any members of Black Hyena you may encounter." Suman ordered sternly as three more Menos Grande came into Rykongai. Suman swore under his breath. It had to be a Dimensional Machine. It had to be: nothing else could summon this many hollows at once.

Mayonaka looks at the Menos entering Rykongai. Cursing quietly under his breath he moves towards the captain. his sword held with two hands in a defensive position; he looks concernedly at the Captain, but only breifly. He looks up and suddenly a broad smile appears upon his face as he begins exerting some of his Spiritual pressure, to tempt a close menos into a fight. "If you've got my back Captain, I'll make sure these demons burn!" He says, with a slightly cocky tone, "Besides, I'm sure you could handle these on your own, but it would look good on my resume." He chuckles cockily as he notices he has attracted the attention of a couple of Hollows. Raising his sword above his head, in a position resembling one used in Kendo. He leaps up as the first one, that ran ahead of the others, a fairly small one. As it opens it's maw, Mayonaka brings his sword down, the blade cutting through the Hollow's mask causing it to fall to the ground dying.

As he looks up to the next one he frowns, this one being again small; it is also taking a more cautious approach. He smirks as he lowers his weapon, at this moment the Hollow begins moving forward, cautiously slow, speeding up not noticing as he murmurs, "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws." Grinning now as he roars. "Hado 33 Sōkatsui!" Releasing his Kidou at a very close range to the Hollow, it gives it a devestating boost. The Hollow is blown far back and lays on the ground motionless, smoke rising from its mask.

As he turns around he notices a Menos has picked up on the masses of Spiritual pressure, most likely the others have also but Mayonaka is focused on this one. A red ball of energy begins forming at its mouth. His eyes widen, "A c-cero!" He exclaims. Thinking quickly he uses a shunpo to move away as the Menos fires its attack. Growling as he looks up, beginning to doubt his abilities. Still, he picks up his blade and begins remembering. Remembering things that should have been forgotten and things that need to be remembered.

With a large grin on his face, he levels his blade, holding it one handed now. He charges forward as he cries out, "Disperse! Kingu-en!" Like before his blade disperses through an explosion and forms two balls of flame. They begin flying at rapid speed towards the Menos and he grins as he raises two arms and cries out, "Destroy them Kingu-en!" He brings his hands together, in a large clap. The balls of inferno charge into each other, and into the mask of the Menos. This causes a very large explosion, covering the entire of the Menos' face. Smoke making it impossible to see if the Menos is dead, but it falls to the ground, whether it is from it being unbalanced, injured or dead cannot yet be told.

Mayonaka's blade instantly reforms, the glow around it fading slightly. He pants a little and turns to the Captain, a smile of good nature, and slight pride, adorning his face.
"Whaddya think of that, Captain?" He asks innocently.

Kagaku looked to Suman and Mayonaka as they fought the Hollows. They both seemed quite satisfied with fighting these things. The other Captain had already released his Bankai and the third had released his Shikai which to Shinjou seemed quite idiotic. Not only were you revealing your powers to the enemies but you could also cause harm to the surrounding area. If you did cause damage it could take weeks to repair and it would take many workers who could be doing a plethora or other things that needed doing. These two were likely not to last long the way they were going.

Both were expending all of their resources. What if something bigger came along like an Arrancar? What would they do then? They would most likely parish, that's what they would do. If you are going to use your powers so sparingly they better have an ace up your sleeve and Shinjou doubted that either of them held any cards secret.

Kagaku heard the plea for help from Suman and he thought it best to help out. He unsheathed his blade again making sure he made no sudden motions as to scare the others. He drew his Zunpakuto the same as before; only pulling it out about an inch. Once he had completed the motion, Shinjou shupon'd to a group of Hollows charging towards the other two. When he drew his blade he slashed towards the first being in his way. The thing instantly vanished into the air. He was obviously not that high up in the chain of command.

The Captain then grabbed the end of his hilt with his other hand and brought it back to his left hip slashing through another. One that was completed he drew his sword backwards and then thrust it forwards but, the Hollow in front of him grabbed the blade of his Zunpakuto and laughed towards him. Shinjou simply gave him a cold, dead stare as he began uttering an incant.

"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 to the south!" chanted Kagaku as he held out his palm to face the Hollow in front of him.

After he had completed the incant a large ball of red energy fired towards the being. It hit it head on and the thing exploded into millions of pieces. Shinjou then spun his blade around to face himself and jabbed it downwards towards his sheath and slid it softly into the case. Once he had re-sheathed his blade he looked to the others once again and waited for them to act. Kagaku rarely liked to be the one first to act and this time wouldn't be the exception.

Suman sat in his armour and recovered his reiatsu further. The other two seemed to be doing a good job of killing all the hollows. His team had gone to find the machine and as such, the Black Hyena plan would soon be foiled. Suman blinked then gritted his teeth. Of course! How could he be so blind? He'd not thought this through at all! How could it be something so simple as wanting Hollows to destroy the Seiretei? There was something more going on here...

When asked what he thought of the boy's power, Suman simply looked up from the kneeling position he was in. The flames of his bankai had made a light heat haze around him, red in colour. Of course, he was tracking the reiatsu pattern of the girl he'd let escape. Something useful came out of letting her go after all...

"You handle yourself well." Suman noted haltingly. He had a fix on that girl's location now. She was running for a small town made of metal and pipes and smoke. The most industrial part of Seiretei...of course. Shinjou's prediction had been right: The Black Hyena's were there. Not only that, she was surrounded by many more 3rd seat reiatsu's. One was captain class.

Suman got to his feet and tottered over to rejoin the fight with the hollows, knowing that eventually he'd die. His division members were not strong enough to deal with this many people! The Black Hyena's far out numbered any one division. They also had the technology to summon hollows to this world. Their members were also strong. If he was going to die then he'd die using his powerful techniques.

"Suman don't be an idiot. You're hardly gonna die against these small fry. Especially with...that technique." Ryugenkido corrected Suman, putting a metal hand to Suman's shoulder. He'd manifested? But why? "You need an extra guy. I might not even have half of your reiatsu but I've still got the powers of one of the most powerful Fire Zanpakto in Seiretei." Ryugenkido assured. Suman shook his head, a smile on his face. Suman summoned his reiatsu to bear and the flames rekindled. He and his Zanpakto became as two pillars of fire in the sky. Suman did not want to use Ryugenkido for this particular fight. Any more and he'd hurt his sword.

"Such a stubborn boy." Suman grinned, looking at the oncoming hollows through his mask. Without a second's delay he raised his hand, reiatsu flaring. [b]"Hadō #88, Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!"[b] Suman roared, a huge blast of blue lighting screaming forth from his hand. The hollows had time to look at it and some fled. Most however were cut down by Suman's massive Kido. While in the air, he could show the hollow exactly why he was a captain of the Gotei 13!

Ryugenkido was using their shikai and throwing it through hollows. They both killed hollow after hollow, hoping to God that this would not last too long. Suman had realised long ago that his reiatsu was too massive for tiny techniques. He had to use flashy and dangerous kido or else his own reiatsu would begin to burn him. This was the price of Ryugenkido: beginners burn.

Mayonaka looks up, worried slightly by the number of hollows. He remains silent, his face anxious, as the Captain begins his kidou. Many thoughts rushing through his head. Questions about how much reiatsu he is using. A powerful spell, being used in such a flashy and large scale way, is bound to be eating up his reiatsu very quickly. His eyes widen as he realizes that with a potential ability to summon countless hollows. The Captain could be overwhelmed, especially if he uses up all of his reiatsu.

"Damnit!" He curses to himself as he tightens his grip around his blade, but doesn't yet move to rejoin the fight, "There must be a way to divert some of the hollow." He blinks as he looks at the Captain, fighting against countless enemies. He shakes his head as he mutters to himself, "A Captain is worth more than an unseated man, for the good of Soul Society... I need to make myself bait, if those Menos decide to involve themselves I will be no use anyway." He deliberates as he stops hiding his reiatsu, "so I may as well take on the enemies I have a chance with. Kingu-en? Are you with me on this one?" The Zanpakutou glows a little more brightly, as if in acknowledgement. He looks up as he gets ready to enter the fray, not exactly sure how he will be able to convince the Hollow that his reiatsu is worth more than the Captains.

He blinks again as he gets ready to jump, but stops himself. Looking to where some of the 13th division are engaged in combat. He looks again to the Captain, then he sighs. "A whole division is worth more than a Captain." He states coldly, and begins running towards the other Shinigami are fighting. He raises his sword. as he leaps over a fallen Shinigami to deliver a vertical slash into the mask of a Hollow, readying itself for the killing blow against the downed man. The blade sinks into the Hollow's mask with ease, the demon lays dead in seconds as it begins to fade. He grins, finally relishing the heat of this next battle. He spins on the balls of his feet, elegantly bringing his arm outwards with the sword pointed at a near perfect horizontal line. He runs forward and horizontally slashes his blade through the flesh at the back of a Hollow's neck. The beast is then finished by another Shinigami.

Mayonaka grins slightly as these Hollow's begin losing the advantage of numbers they had, some of the Hollows attracted to the higher reiatsu of the Captains, others being killed. Very quickly this small skirmish has turned. Hollow's are being killed with less and less to take up the fight after them. It is not long before the Hollow's will be cleared out of the way so these men can continue their task. He grins as he looks at a Hollow preparing itself to cleave into him, he chuckles as he roars, "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo number 9! Geiki!" The hollow becomes unable to move it's arms and as it was about to swipe the Hollow loses balance and falls to the floor just as Kingu-en slashes into it's throat. The hollow begins to disintegrate.

Mayonaka, worriedly looks back to check on the Captain, as the group from the 13th division push through and run off to complete their task.

Shinjou cared little for the battle now. Nowadays things bored the Captain quickly now and battles bored him even faster. He had little time for things and this was taking up quite a bit of that valuable resource. Kagaku had research to conduct and experiments to continue; battling was at the bottom of his very long list of things to do. He had better wrap this up quickly.

Captain Kagaku made his way from the group of hollows in front of him. He turned his back on the group and slowly made his way back to the ground. However, he kept his left hand tightly wrapped around his Zunpakuto as he made his descent. Once the hollows thought they had the upper hand they hastily charged at him and left they guard open. As soon as they reached sword range of him, Shinjou spun around and unsheathed his blade at the same time slashing one across the chest killing it instantly. Right after the blade left the beast, the Shinigami quickly drew his blade back towards him so the back of the blade was parallel to his body as he began to speak.

"See through all lies, Sono Senkensha," chanted the Captain as he summoned his shikai.

Shinjou swung his now bone blade towards the growing number of enemies now facing him. This time he didn't swing for a spot general as the last attack; this time he attacked one hollow's kneecap. The thing winched in agony as the leg was severed from his body and he fell tumbling to the ground below. The body made a huge cloud of smoke as it hit the ground. The dust flew up covering the small battlefield of Shinjou and the small crowd of Hollow; concealing the Captain's position for his next attack.

"Enough of this foolishness." Suman complained as the hollow army simply beat itself to pieces upon the wall of Suman's fire. He was getting bored of simply standing and letting the stupid creatures murder themselves. There was no honour in being defeated by running into another's sword.

Suman held out his hand and send a bolt of fire flying through the ranks of the hollows. The blast was so powerful that it rent the air with a screech, leaving a crater after its wake. Suman remorselessly sent another three blasts at the hollows over running the place. Then he set his eyes on the Menos.

With ones gigantic leap Suman ploughed through a Menos, giving it a second to realise what had happened before the flames burnt it into nothing. Suman rounded on the other Menos with an absolute resolve. With an unshakeable will he clapped his armoured hands together with an audible clang. Everyone in Suman's Division knew what was coming and ducked to avoid the explosive out pouring of reiatsu.

"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired" Suman chanted precisely. Hollows were gathering around him, eager for blood and his flesh. Suman's eyes opened just as he bellowed "Hado No. 91, Senjū Kōten Taihō!"

The resulting effects shredded the hollows to pieces, cutting into the Menos before him and killing it. Suman panted at the strength the took out of him. True, it was a strong Kido in its own right but Suman had felt it necessary to power it up with his own reiatsu. But regardless, his flames flared up again moments later. He was not in the mood to show mercy on these hollows.

"Break forth and disappear spiritual demons!" Suman growled, his hands directing the flames to burn away any hollow that came near him. At last their numbers seemed to be thinning. Finally Suman took down the last Menos. He laughed before his Bankai dissipated into black flames that reformed into his sealed sword.

~Exit to Karakarura Town due to inactivity.