Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Sleeping with the Enemy ❯ Hollow ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Hollow

 

Blades flashed in the light and clanged together as the opponents repelled from one another. Nina took a swing at Lieutenant Hinamori who quickly dodged, spun, and then parried with Tobiume. The two had been at it most of the morning alone in the privacy of the Fifth Division forest rather than the usual training grounds to ensure that there were no distractions on Hinamori's part from other division members.

Nina parried with Kiyohime, nailing a good hit on Hinamori's zanpakuto. Hinamori was young - almost too young to be a lieutenant - but she was far more formidable than she looked. And, of course, the lieutenant could say the same for Nina as she pushed her opponent back with the force of the hit and made her stop and shake out her hand.

“That was a hard hit, Seito-san,” Momo remarked. “You managed to hurt me a little.”

“I didn't mean to do so, Lieutenant,” Nina responded.

Momo smiled. “Nah, it's fine. I've had worse, and really, I was hoping you'd be a little forceful with me. Even Captain Aizen tends to be overly gentle on the occasion that he spars with me.”

Nina sheathed Kiyohime. “I can imagine that Captain Aizen is a strong man, Lieutenant. I could only guess that he is afraid he will be too rough on you.”

Momo put away her own weapon. “I think that's what it is, but he's getting better about that.” She paused. “And you don't have to be so formal with me, Seito-san. Please call me by my first name.”

Nina blushed. “Um…I'm not certain I feel comfortable with that since you are my senior officer, and I must also point out that I do not know you well enough to merit calling you by your first name.”

“But I do have one, and it's Momo,” Hinamori responded. Then she smiled. “But would you feel more comfortable simply addressing me as `Hinamori-san'?”

Nina nodded and ventured a small smile. “I think I can manage at least that.” She put her arms at her side and bowed at Hinamori respectively. “And I thank you for inviting me to train with you today, Hinamori-san.”

The other girl smiled brightly, her big blue eyes lighting up with a cheerful sincerity. “Ah, it's not a problem. I've been anxious to get to know you since you got here. It's so wonderful that we both draw! I do illustrations for Division Nine's Seretei Times, and I'd love to have you help me with some.”

“I would enjoy that very much. Let me know when you're working on some new ones and I'll provide some art supplies.” Nina glanced up through the canopy of trees toward the sun. “Don't you have to be back at the office to help Captain Aizen?”

Hinamori's eyes grew wide. “Wah! I almost forgot! I'll see you later, Seito-san!”

Nina watched Hinamori leave before wandering off into the forest on her own with her messenger bag full of art supplies and, of course, her trusty sketchbook. She and her division were off from training today, and Nina wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity to spend her afternoon drawing out in the woods. She hoped that if she hid out in the branches of a tree long enough, she could observe some woodland animals and draw them in her blissful solitude.

She finally settled in the perfect tree that was just great for watching an open clearing. Nina sat for hours sketching in her book, having concealed her reiatsu so that no living thing, animal or person, could detect her. This was her time, a time where she wanted nothing to do with the outside world, where she simply wanted to draw and be completely to herself.

She drew for hours on one drawing as a bird had landed in front of her, and with her photographic memory, she captured it before it flew away to somewhere in the upper branches of her tree. She was shading the leaves when suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

Nina glanced up and looked around as she sensed the ominous aura and the pain and turmoil held within it. It wasn't anyone she knew, rather, it was a Hollow - and it was close. The girl held her breath for what seemed like eternity as she suppressed her reiatsu until she couldn't suppress it any more. Nina peered through the branches at the clearing, and she could have sworn she saw something move. If a Hollow were truly in the vicinity, Nina wasn't sure she wanted to get tangled up with it alone, yet, there was no way she could make it back to summon her division and bring them here to help her purify it as it stood too much of a chance that it would be gone. And to face something so massive alone without knowing its abilities was outright foolish.

It was the typical juxtaposition - she knew she needed to flee, but Nina also knew that if she let it run loose, people could get hurt. She didn't want her division to think that she'd led them on a wild goose chase if she fled the scene to tell Captain Aizen or Hinamori-san. So, she sucked in a breath, swallowed hard, and jumped down from her perch with Kiyohime in hand. Sure enough a Hollow had appeared in the clearing, and at the moment, Nina's reiatsu was invisible to it.

The female Shinigami narrowed her blue eyes in thought as she unsheathed her zanpakuto. If she could sneak up on it with its back turned, then perhaps she could get the upper hand and remove the mask before it had a chance to attack her. She broke into a run, shunpoing up over its head and then bringing down Kiyohime on it as hard as she could.

But something went wrong - the mask did not even crack like she expected it to, and the beastly thing roared up and back in a mixture of both anger and pain. Nina's eyes grew wide, and she dodged the counter attack and rolled across the ground into a crouching position. The scream had startled her so much that she relinquished the suppression on her reiatsu and now here she was staring down this…thing.

The sudden force of her reiatsu's release made even the birds flutter from the trees and leaves to fall. Back at Division Five, Hinamori dropped the stack of papers she was carrying to the filing room and glanced toward Nina's direction. She'd felt the rippling consternation and fear in Nina's reiatsu when it was normally calm and subdued. Immediately, Momo grabbed Tobiume and shot out the office door, forgetting about the paperwork she had to do for Captain Aizen for now. A friend and subordinate needed her, and that took precedent over anything she was doing at the moment.

Nina was dodging attacks and using her shunpo ability to stay out of the Hollow's grasp while she looked for an opening to attack and do some real damage. She'd hoped that perhaps the sudden release in her reiatsu would have someone worried and would come help her, but for now, she decided that keeping it entertained would be best until someone got there.

Nina finally turned, seizing a rare opportunity to cast a kidou spell. She lifted her hands up and focused her reiryoku on the target ahead of her. “Way of Destruction Number 31: Shakkahou!”

Energy materialized at her fingertips, and Nina fired a thin bolt of lightning at the Hollow piercing it straight on through its torso. It screamed and doubled over from the force of it, and Nina took the chance and sliced it with her zanpakuto.

She nailed it, but as she recoiled back, the Hollow reached out with its claws and grabbed her by the leg.

“Shit!” she exclaimed as she jerked her leg out from its grasp, its claws ripping the flesh of her leg as she did so.

“You are a very foolish Shinigami,” it growled as it began to foam at the mouth.

Nina's leg was bleeding under her hakama, and she looked up at it, contemplating retreat. She noticed that the drool that fell from the Hollow's enormous and hideous mouth that it was burning the ground at its feet, sizzling the green grass away leaving nothing but bare spots.

It laughed at her before shaking its head and throwing the acidic secretion her way. Nina took off for the forest in the hopes that the wood would block at least some of the discharge. Droplets of the acid burned her right arm - the arm that wielded Kiyohime - and she cried out. She ducked behind a thick tree trunk as the substance sizzled away part of the bark at her back and held her arm, hissing in pain.

You can take care of this, Nina. I'll help you.

That voice…it came from the back of her mind, and immediately, Nina recognized that Kiyohime was speaking to her. She lifted her zanpakuto and looked at it.

“Kiyohime?”

Hinamori is on her way, but it's very possible that she will not make it in time. Wield me properly, Nina, and I can help you defeat this monster.

“Wield you properly? But I thought we already have a good relationship. Have I mistreated you?”

Of course not, Nina. I love having you as my partner. We are as much as a team as we are equals, so…command me, Nina. Remove the seal.

“But…but…I don't know how, Kiyohime!” Nina sputtered.

Do not panic, Nina. You can do this. Close your eyes and find me, and then I will tell you how to release me.

Nina closed her eyes and suddenly found herself removed from the battle scene and in the world where Kiyohime resided. She was moving over the terrain of her spirit world at shunpo speed until she came upon the familiar figure of Kiyohime who stretched out her arms to embrace Nina. But Nina wasn't slowing down. Instead she collided with Kiyohime, and was unexpectedly thrown back out into Soul Society.

Nina's eyes flew open, and she knew what she had to do. She stepped out from behind the tree and held Kiyohime out in front of her. “Slither, Kiyohime.”

Nina suddenly began to glow red as her zanpakuto glowed wildly and began to stretch. Nina's arm hurt like hell, but the pain had oddly subsided as her reiryoku flared to levels she'd never dreamed possible. The Hollow looked startled, but it didn't back down as her weapon finished its reformation. She held in her hand not the blade she'd begun with but a naginata. Its blade gleamed atop a red metal shaft, and from the end of the pole arm hung a tassel. Though Nina had never practiced naginatajitsu, she knew instinctively how to exercise Kiyohime and did so with confident and unbridled force.

As Nina parried her weapon, the blade extended into a chain of blades that she targeted with her will giving her a long distance advantage. The link wrapped around the Hollow and severed its arms and legs. It fell to the ground with ground shaking force, and Nina flicked Kiyohime into retraction. As soon as the blade returned, the Shinigami mounted the now helpless creature and slammed the blade into his mask, efficiently cutting it apart.

The Hollow went screaming into dissipation as Nina settled onto the ground once more. She felt the Hollow's reiryoku disappear leaving the area at peace once more. She heaved a relieve sigh as Kiyohime resealed herself in her hand.

Well done, Nina. We will work together to hone your new skill in the near future…

As Nina put Kiyohime back in her scabbard, Hinamori rushed up upon the scene out of breath and with Tobiume withdrawn. “Seito-san! Are you okay?! Where is the Hollow?”

Nina blinked but calmly told her, “It's fine, Hinamori-san. I took care of it.”

Hinamori looked taken aback. “By yourself? How did you…?”

The Third Seat shook her head. “It wasn't that strong.”

Momo looked Nina over and noticed her charred fingers from the kidou spell that she apparently casted. “You're a mess, Seito-san. Are you injured or anything?”

“I'm fine.”

Hinamori looked skeptical, but if Nina said she was fine, then she was. Truth be told, however, Nina's leg was badly damaged and so was her arm. She could feel the blood running down her left leg and the sting that the Hollow's claws left behind. What was more, her arms burned from the acid, and she needed to get home and wash her wounds immediately. Nina knew that she ought to tell Hinamori the truth, but she did not want to burden either her or Captain Aizen with what she felt were overall minor injuries, nor did she wish to inconvenience Division Four.

“Well…okay then. I'm glad you're safe, but I'll gather a squad together just to be sure that it's completely gone and it didn't bring any friends.” Hinamori smiled. “I have confidence in your abilities, but like Captain Aizen always says, it's better to be safe than sorry.”

“Would you like me to assist you?” Nina offered.

“Nah. You look tired. You should go back to your quarters and rest. I'll take care of reporting it to Captain Aizen.”

 

 

Later that night, Nina limped her way through the dark Division Five forest to a small clearing that contained a natural hot spring that she'd come across during her explorations over the past month. She carried with her a bucket with a towel, toiletries, and a bag of medicinal herbs that she kept in her quarters.

She had washed and bandaged her injuries upon return to her quarters, and the achievement of shikai had left her fatigued to the point where she needed to lie down and sleep it off. When she awoke, her leg throbbed more than it previously had, and her arm had sustained more of a burn than she was willing to admit. Both appendages hurt, but still, Nina was unwilling to trouble anyone about it.

She had hidden her reiatsu once more in order to keep anyone from knowing what she was doing. Nina sat down on a rock and lifted the hem of her pastel pink yukata to examine the bandage; it was soaked with blood from her injury, and she carefully began to unwrap it to have another look. It stung every time she touched it, and Nina hissed a little from the pangs of tenderness as the bandage removal neared the affected flesh itself.

Somewhere in the Division Five forest, Aizen was taking an evening stroll, and this was an area that he often frequented; it was peaceful and soothing after a hard day of managing the affairs of his division. However, he was unaware of the other presence that inhabited the area until he felt a slight flicker of a reiatsu he recognized as his third seat. It spiked slightly, and he turned his attention toward the hot spring, sensing another flicker. The flickers he'd sensed, however, were not those of inexperience at hiding themselves; it was that of pain.

Aizen moved quietly into her proximity, using a tree to hide himself. There he found Nina unwrapping what looked to be a serious injury on her leg. As she pulled away the last of the bandage, he could see in the dim light her lantern had to offer that her left leg was black and blue, and in the middle of the extensive bruising, there were a set of deep gashes, almost to the bone.

Hinamori said that Seito-kun wasn't injured. Seito must have lied to her because she didn't want anyone to know. Was it because she didn't want to trouble anyone with this? Aizen thought.

Nina examined her leg in detail. “Damn…it got worse,” she muttered.

Aizen watched as she pushed back the sleeve of her yukata and examined her badly burned arm. He knew that it was some kind of acid burn, and he recalled that he'd come up with a Hollow that secreted acid in its saliva. It appeared that Nina had encountered that very Hollow, and now the question was, how on earth did she manage to destroy it on her own? Surely she wasn't experienced enough to reach shikai.

Nina got out the healing herbs she'd brought along with fresh bandages and laid them out on the rock. She stood up and untied the sash of her yukata, completely oblivious to Aizen's presence in the surrounding foliage. His eyes grew wide, and as she dropped her clothing to reveal her naked body, Aizen turned around and flattened his body against the tree, rapidly going red in the face. He hadn't seen anything, but it was enough to make him realize that it was time to go and leave Seito-san to her privacy for now.

The captain hurried out of Nina's proximity and away from the clearing. It was dark, but he could tell from the heat that radiated from his face that he was blushing furiously over what he'd almost seen. He glanced back over his shoulder before focusing his attention on the path ahead of him that would take him back to the Division Five compound.

"My, my who would of thought that Captain Aizen could be so…heh," a voice called from behind him.

Aizen winced before turning around and facing the Third Division captain with complete composure. "And just what are you insinuating, Gin?"

"Nothin' Captain, ya simply amuse me that's all," he replied approaching Aizen and joining his stride.

"Amuse you? And how is taking a walk amusing, Gin?"

"That all ya were doin'?"

"Of course. What else would I be doing?"

"Oh…I thought ya was starin' at that girl what with yer face lookin' red like that,” Gin prodded, his grin stretching even more.

Aizen inwardly blanched at Gin's words. How long had he been close by? And how did he even know she was there? She was concealing her reiatsu quite well - well enough that even he didn't notice her right off the bat until he sensed a flicker of it.

"I'm not a peeping tom, Gin," Aizen finally said. "What sort of man do you think I am?"

Gin stared at his former captain for a long moment before his grin twisted into something dark.

"A man like me," he replied. "Anyways ya should go back now, act like a caring captain and make the girl feel welcomed when she returns." Gin suggested the kind words sarcastically and gave every indication of ill intention toward the innocent Third Seat.

"Ah so you're the peeper now," Aizen joked. "And I assume from your sarcasm that I should take her back to my quarters and have my way with her. Is that a correct assumption?"

"Shame on you, Captain fer tryin' to take advantage of a poor injured girl!" Ichimaru exclaimed slapping his hand across the captains back.

"You were the one who suggested it, Gin, not I. I would never think to do such a thing." His mouth stretched into a slight smirk. "Besides, it wouldn't be a good idea to take advantage of a girl without first gaining her trust, and that, my friend, will happen in due time if I play my cards right."

"Ah...yer a cruel, cruel man ya know that?" Gin pointed. "Now…buy me somethin' to eat,” he whined. "And get somethin' for yer girl too, to build up that…trust."

Aizen sighed. "You really should stop spending all your money on comic books, Gin..."