Monsters We Became { Bleach Aizen Sousuke Fanfiction }

22 - In the Hollows, Perdition

"Get down!"

It happened in an instant.

At the sound of Mizuki's shout the twenty Hollows stationed at the rampart of that crystalline front gate ducked below the low walls as a Kido blast wider than the gate itself rocketed overhead. In a thundering explosion, the blast struck the petrified tree at Bosque Santuario's entrance. 'Branches' broke and the roof of civilization shook. Sand poured onto the fields. Panic. Those working the fields and too slow to move out of the way were crushed beneath the indiscriminate weight. Lines of color snapped along the pathway.

A wave of masked Shinigami flooded over the gate.

A blast of wind shot up into the stream of Shinigami overhead, cutting one in two. Several ceros shot up into the invaders. What wasn't blocked or deflected struck like a hot laser, but even with burned arms and clothes they moved forward.

They crashed into those on the other side.

In the panic caused by the explosion, many fled to shelter; to the trade district, to their homes, to Tower Vare. A single Hollow tried to free the others from the debris and was cut down from behind. Those that stayed stood prepared to engage the onslaught of Shinigami.

Blood soaked into the ground.

As the rush of twenty or more Shinigami subsided, four more landed on the ramparts. Numbers were on the defender's side, and the Hollows pounced upon two while Mizuki intercepted the others. With a sickening snap and rush of blood, one of the invaders succumbed to the hungry ghosts, but not before slicing one open in turn.

"Hurry up an' grab him, won't 'cha?" The words echoed from beyond the gate's entrance right as a single slice appeared on all the defenders, save for Mizuki. Those injured Hollows collapsed as though inflicted with a wound of infinite depth. Their obstacles now dead, the three remaining Shinigami moved upon Mizuki as one unit.

Even with a missing arm and exposed ribs, the masked Shinigami once pinned to the ground by Hollows struck towards the unmasked man who was gritting his teeth at the massacre at his sides. With a burst of wind, Ueta Kaze sent the two already engaged in combat with its edge backwards. A decisive swing and the already injured Shinigami found the blade embedded in his gut. But the other man's sword dropped and with a free hand held Mizuki in place, preventing blade from cleaving him in two.

"What are you doing?" Mizuki asked, desperately concerned. From within the masked figure a wicked gust formed, shredding his insides. The other two men's hands covered Mizuki's mouth and nose. Blood ran from behind the injured Shinigami's mask from shredded organs, but as the binding grip slipped, so did his consciousness.

At the apex of destruction three Shinigami followed.

One a woman with purple hair wielding a spatula nearly as large as herself as though the utensil was a weapon. Another held a blade with an edge so polished it reflected the surrounding carnage like a mirror, its owner, a dark-skinned man with curly black hair, looked on from behind a pair of goggles with a too-wide grin across his face. Unlike the other two, the third stopped for only a moment before dashing through the shaken refuge and towards Keep Paito in the distance, his long black hair a cape behind him. Explosions followed in his wake.

"Yoru 's always getting ahead of himself. What 'cha think, Hikifune? Is our target in the big glowin' tower or the old fort?"

"The reiatsu here is so dense, it's hard to tell."

Hikifune shielded her eyes from the burning light of tower Vare with an open palm and looked across the flat horizon. Translucent air turned to haze from the smoke of the burning fields and buildings.