Hunting for hollows in the night (Open)

Karakura town...a semi-large city who had a rather large amount of spiritual aware humans. The town had been through a a lot the past decade, it was only now that the town had started to look like itself. Hollows was still trying to eat the spirits, bounts still lurked in the shadows waiting to strike, and the some rouge shinigami was hiding among the humans, their gaiga being provided by an illegal source. It was the job of the shinigami`s to prevent creatures like them to harm the innocent spirits that they were meant to send to the soul society in order to keep balance between earth and soul society. Recently there had been a lot of activity in the town since a couple of strong hollows had been roaming around the southern downtown of Karakura, one of the busiest parts in the entire town. The soul society had send shinigami after those hollows for a couple of months now, but so far non had managed to kill the damn things. They had decided to send a higher ranked shinigami, a lieutenant to be exact.

A bright light and sudden strong wind broke the silence in the small alleyway that lied not to far from the main center in the area the hollows resided in, the cause of this was a Senkaimon, the way the shinigami traveled between their own world and the living world. The wind began to whirl around the shinning gate that was formed like a traditional Japanese sliding door, indicating it was about to open. True enough, the doors slided open and a hell butterfly flew out, holding itself in the area above the gate so it would`t be blown away by the wind currents. As the person stepped out from the gate, all that could be seen was something very long and red whirling around the person dressed in a shinigami uniform. The long and red thing turned out to be knee-long blood red hair that was held back with a crown-alike figure, preventing it from falling into the face. The person had let two shoulder long bangs frame their face. The person was revealed to be a slender woman with pale skin and strong brown eyes. Her face held a emotionless expression as she turned her head to the left and right, maybe keeping an eye out for enemies? Her shinigami attire was the standard one, the only change was that the sleeves was slightly more body-hugging than the usual uniform, and that the uniform had been split into two. The upper part stopped around 5 inches under her rather busty chest and had a V cut that caused the very top of her cleavage to be shown, it wasen`t really revealing considering how low the other busty shinigami woman wore their uniform. The lower part started at her waist and was held up by a narrow white obi that was tied at the front, leaving her belly and lower back exposed. A dark red zanpaktou holster was hanging on her lower back, the tip of the red hilt sticking out from her left hip. A second zanpaktou holster in the same color was hanging across her back, the tip of the handle pointing out from her right shoulder. The two holster`s was connected by a cord that ran down over her chest. The two zanpaktou`s meant she was a double wielder, only a handful of such shinigami had appeared since the foundation of the soul society. Finally, a armband was tied around her upper left arm, it bore the kanji for lieutenant and had the symbol of the 8th division.

As the gate closed behind her, Kemiko closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, it had been a few months since she last had been to the human world. She leaned her head back slightly and enjoyed the view of the star filled night sky. Even know she always focused on getting the job done fast and right, Kemiko enjoyed peaceful moments like this, as a shinigami of her rank these moments were rare. "...to think such a beautiful place could be so infected..". She mumbled the words to herself and lowered her head slightly, letting the chilly night breeze play with her long hair.

Bastian made it to one of his favorite places in the world, his apartment. He had dealt with alot this night and was more than happy to sleep it all away. He walked up the steps that lead to the front door of the apartment complex when he felt a spiritual pressure that made him stop. He argued in his head whether or not he should bother with finding out what it was, he had already seen enough crap tonight and really didn't want to deal with another crazy run in. "Then again it could be a demon," he said referring to the hollows, "I get the feeling I might regret this." The source was coming from the alley next to his apartment so he simply peaked around the corner and he found the source. It came from a girl this one wearing those ghost robes, they belonged to a group who called themselves the shinigami. He nothing more than that they guide lost souls to the otherside, "Great the grim reapers now come in all varieties even hot girls."

He watched from a distance as the woman stared into the sky, this made Bastian look up as well. He guessed there must be something interesting up for it to get her attention, he half expected to see a giant face by the way she looked up but it was nothing more than stars. The stars were more clear than usual this night however, Bastian couldn't recall the last time he looked at the stars. Deciding that the grim reaper girl wanted nothing from him, after all he was very much alive, he turned to walk away only to stumble over a trash can that he hadn't noticed causing a loud crashing sound. If the woman didn't notice Bastian before she would surely know he was here now, several lights came on with people shouting to shut the hell up and stop making so much noise. Bastian shouted for them to mind their own business as he stood up and put the trash cans back in place. He was out of his homemade cigars, no drinks, and now he was running into dead spirits left and right, "Dear Journal, best day of my fucking life," he said irritable.

A loud crashing sound of trash followed by the angry yelling of people broke her out of her relaxed "trance". Looking towards the direction, she spotted a man with neck long brown hair and a cigarette in his mouth. The man had a tall and strong build, even from a distance Kemiko could see he was around a head higher than herself. She felt a rather strong spiritual force, for a human, coming from him, so he had most likely already noticed her. Kemiko kept her gaze on him for a few moments before returning it to the sky, closing her eyes. Just a spiritual aware human...not uncommon in this city... All of a sudden, a roar from a hollow filled the night air, followed by a small shock wave from the realsed reaitsu. Kemiko looked around and noticed the sky above the street was being ripped open by a large bone claw. A rather large hollow that resembled a wolf slightly in the mask jumped down through the rift, landing onto the street. The ground cracked under the weight of the large beast as it laid its head back, letting out anthoder hungry roar.

"...it hurts....it hurts..". The hollow turned its head towards Bastian, its red eyes shinning from the two holes in the mask. "..Let me eat you...i`ll promise it wont hurt..". The hollow charged towards him with its open mouth, the long bony tail swiping after it. As it was about to enter the alleyway, the sound of metal hitting against something hard could be heard. "...making so much noise while people are trying to sleep...you have no manners, have you?". Kemiko had used shunpo and appeared in front of the hollow. She had drawn the zanpaktou from her hip holster and had stuck it inside the mouth of the hollow. "...A shinigami eh?...its been so long since ive tasted someone like you...i can´t wait to devour your soul..", "...I`m afraid that wont happened", "Heh, stupid woman!...you cannot use your sword, you can`t fight me bare handed!". The hollow had closed its jaws down around the zanpaktou that Kemiko had stuck into its mouth, preventing her from using it. With a light sigh she drew her second zanpaktou from its holster on her back and narrowed her eyes at the hollow. "N, Nani(what!?, two zanpaktou`s!?". Before the hollow had time to withdraw, its mask was sliced by the second zanpaktou. As the hollow dissolved into spirit particles, Kemiko slided her two zanpaktou`s into their holster and turned towards Bastian.

"...Human, i know you can see me...i wanna ask you something" . While her face was voided from emotions, her strict voice had a soft undertone to it, making it more pleasant to listen to.

Bastian was content with letting the female grim reaper star gaze, and he turned to continue back to his own business which was getting home. Once again fate would spit on this plan, this time in the form of a white face demon. This wouldn't be the first time Bastian had a run in with these creatures but tonight he really didn't want to be bothered. "..Let me eat you...i`ll promise it wont hurt..", the demon said which made Bastian chuckle. He cracked his knuckles and readied himself to deal with this creature, but almost instantly the young woman appeared in front of him using her sword as a means to stop the first attack by the demon. The monster boasted about her not being able to attack now that her weapon was wedged in his mouth, "This demon must be blind as well as dumb," Bastian mumbled as the second sheathe was easily visible on the womans hip. With a swift attack the mask of the demon was split and it began to vanish.

Bastian whistled at the technique and strength of the swing, he always had a eye for skill, "Well thanks for saving my life, I may have been demon chow if you hadn't been here." He was lying after all, he could have easily turned that demon to ashes, but he was never one to use his abilities unless he had to. "...Human, i know you can see me...i wanna ask you something," the woman said her voice like music to Bastian ears. Before he couldn't get a good look at her as there was some distance between them, now he could see this woman was hot at least as far as dead spirits go. "Ask me something huh, I suppose I can answer though I doubt any I have to say would be relevant to a ghost," he said plainly. He had a rather confused look on his face, he had spoken to ghost before one was interested in vomit and the other was apparently haunting a old parking lot. None of which very eager to have conversation, he was curious as to what this ghost grim reaper would want with him.

Kemiko raised her eyebrow as he thanked her for saving his life, he wasen`t good to hide when he lied directly into a person`s face. "Why are you telling me that lie? Based on your stance, you could easily had taken it yourself..". As he accepted to answer her question, he refereed to her as a ghost, causing the blood red haired lieutenant to sigh. "A shinigami aren`t ghosts....we have once been human and have died, but we have obtained new life by training ourselves to become a shinigami. "Ghost`s" are the souls roaming the earth in a endless escape from the hollows". Kemiko had already formed a picture of what kind of personality this man had based on his words. He seemed to be rather laid back and have known about hollows and shinigami for quite awhile for him to be so calm around the whole situation. "..Before i ask my question, i believe a proper presentation is needed. I`m Hijami Kemiko, lieutenant of the eight division". As she spoke her name, her tone changed into a more intimidating voice.

"The hollow you just saw was apart of 6 large hollows that has been eating souls and shinigami in this district for a couple of months now. I would like to ask you if you have seen or engaged in combat with anthoder of these large hollows within the past month". A few moments after Kemiko had spoken her words, she looked towards the alley way, the sound of crying could be heard. She walked past Bastian and stopped at the garbage cans he had tilted before. "..Come out now, the monster is gone", she said in a more gentle and relaxed way. A boy that looked around seven or eight walked out from behind one of the cans, his eyes being full of fear. He was wearing relatively clean clothes, but you could see a few scrapes here and there. A 2 foot long chain was extending from the middle of his chest, meaning he was a soul. "There, there...what`s your name?", "..Makino Shiro...", he said while looking at the ground, wiping his wet eyes with his sleeve. "What are you doing here all by yourself?", "...looking for papa and mama". Kemiko patted the boy on the head and let out a light sigh, these kind of souls always bothered her the most.

"I suppose we may never find out now," Bastian said in response to the womans statement about him being able to kill the hollow. As far as anyone knew he was just a guy who can see spirits, and he was completely content with that image. Bastian smiled as the woman explained that she wasn't a ghost, the way she explained still made it sound like a ghost just a special fighting ghost rather than those kind that wander the world looking for some piece of mind. "I see, I suppose I should keep that in mind," he returned plainly, "As far as the demon goes I have ran into a few, but nothing as big as that. For some reason they like to come around my apartment, I am beginning to think I have shitty luck."

He had noticed the woman introduced himself, and judging from the title she gave she must have been one of the big wigs back home. "I am Bastian by the way," he said about to offer his hand when low clang could be heard. Bastian knew all to well who it was as the spirit had been hovering around the building alot. He was a good kid, and he always found the kid watching his tv or jumping out from corridors in attempts to scare Bastian when he came home. He normally met him at the door, but today it seemed he ventured outside and happen to see the demon attack. The boy said he had lost his parents a while back, though when dealing with spirits it was hard to tell how long was awhile back. The woman approached the boy who was a little shaken up, and tried to comfort him which seemed to be working. "What are you doing out here kid, you know its not safe," Bastian said. Makino looked over to Bastian, with a sad look in his eyes, "Well I was in your house but you forget to leave the t.v. on, so i decided to see if maybe I can find my mama and daddy out here," the boy said his voice rather shaky. "Kid, I doubt just coming on the front steps will find you your parents," Bastian said slowly approaching. "I know...I just thought maybe if I was in plain sight they might see me this time," Makino returned looking at the ground.

"Makino showed up a few months back around the time the demons started showing up, I don't want to alarm the boy but his parents may well be dead already," he said to the woman in a low tone so the Makino couldn't hear. Bastian kneeled down so that he was eye level with the boy and placed a hand on his head, "Sorry kid, I was kinda rushing this morning next time I will make sure to leave the t.v. on for ya." The boy sniffled a few times before smiling, "Thank you Bastian," Makino said. Bastian was a only child but he had come to taking a liking to the boy, he was indeed like a young brother its to bad he was a ghost pretty soon those robe...

Bastian stood up again and this time his expression alot more serious, "Your gonna take his soul to the afterlife, aren't you." Bastian knew little about the process however he did know that these groups of ghost, these shinigami, were grim reapers of sorts taking souls so they can pass on.

"...Please stop calling them demons, they are called hollows..", she said in a rather annoyed voice, apparently not liking his way to naming the enemy of soul society. As Makino eventually stopped crying, she walked over to the wall of the building and placed her hand onto it. There`s trace of the hollow`s reaitsu on this wall...this isen`t the first time it has been here...but why this place? This man, Bastian...his reaitsu isen`t so much stronger compared to others in this town, so i can`t see why they would come to his apartment for months without eating his soul...whats going on?". Kemiko closed her eyes for a brief moment and listened to Bastian exsplainning about Makino. He showed up around the same time as the hollows?...could it be he is the reason they keep returning..or?. Kemiko was brougt out of her thoughts when Bastian kneeled down, apolizing to Makino for not letting the TV stay on.

With emotionless eyes she watched as Bastian stood up one more with a serious exspression on his face. Kemiko tilted her head back slightly and looked up at him, listning to his words. "...Of cause...its my duty as a shinigami to escort the souls to soul soceity..", she responded in a low tone while lowering her head slightly. Since Bastian was standing right next to her now, it became clear he was around a head, give or take a few inches, taller than her. Kemiko kneeled down next to Makino and placed her hand onto his smaller shoulder, smiling a little smile.

"Say, Makino-san..my name is Hijami Kemiko....have those weird monsters tried to talk to you?"

Bastian, even though it hardly ever seemed he did, paid close attention to the woman. She was business like with how she handled the situation, he had yet to see any emotion from her like she was a machine. He loathed people like that, they always seemed to be a buzz kill whenever he spoke to them. However she had a cute face and for some odd reason his spiritual presence felt similar to his own, he couldn't understand why and after a quick thought tossed the feeling aside altogether.

After mentioning that the demons started appearing around the time the kid showed up, he failed to mention a few months before he had also just moved in. And the reason he had moved from his previous home was because they began to get more aggressive in their attacks. Though seeing that he truly didn't care and was more than willing to kill whatever demon attacked him he was fine with it. Sadly though, the boy would have to be sent to the afterlife or soul society as the woman had said. Bastian thought the name was dumb and she called the demons "hollows" which he found to be a idiotic name as when he hit them they were indeed quite solid.

"Will sending the boy help him find his old man and old lady," Bastian said calming a little seeing that this was alot safer than him being eaten by a bunch of demons..erm hollows. He at least wanted to know the boy would be happy if anything, "The kid deserves that much." As he finished his statement another howl resounded this one distant but could tell it was getting closer. "More than one this time, I swear my luck is so bad I could fall in a field of breast and come out sucking my thumb," he said taking off his jacket and folding it up so it would get dirty. Normally he wouldn't use his abilities but the number of the demons or hollows were larger than usual, that last hollow must have sent out a call to others. He allowed his spiritual pressure to soar being careful not to use to much that would harm the kid, he assumed that the woman would most likely be fine. Flames began to seep from his eyes like tears and from his mouth, but instead of falling down they flowed up. His red hair stood flowing upright as if he was under water, he smiled as he glanced at the woman, "I guess the secrets out," he chuckled and fire a flaming bullet at the first white mask that appeared. The bullet struck the mask and turned the entire mask to ash on impact causing the body of the creature to instantly dissipate. Afterwards he leaped away from the building and realized his the culprit as to why so many hollows were coming were apparent, as the remaining hollow all closed in on Bastian. "Oh for fucks sake," he shouted again at his own bad luck.

"..If his mother and father has been send to soul society, there`s a chance he will them there...families finding each other again in soul society is very rare unless they travel together...even if he dosen`t succeed in locating them, he will probably join one of the family groups and soon forget about his birth parents". Kemiko didn`t know what it was like to be in one of those family groups since she had been reborn in one of the "nicer" districts of rukongai, and that she had gotten adopted into the Hijami family, one of the four high ranked shinigami noble houses, within the first two years of her arrival. She had been raised to follow the rules no matter the sacrifice that had to be made, and to follow orders no matter how gruesome they may be. She had spend most of her shinigami life in the 11th division, but due to her shikai being kido-based she had recently been transfered to the eight division were she had been promoted to lieutenant.

Kemiko felt the reaitsu of several hollows coming from all directions. She observed Bastian unleash his powers, holding his reaitsu on a level so it would`t harm the young boy. "Fire huh?...quite ironic..". She mumbled the words to herself with a small and brief smirk, being a fire user herself she always found it interesting to observe how other fire user`s fought. As Bastian turned one of the hollows to ash and leaped off the building out on the street, she noticed that she hollows followed him. Kemiko took Makino up onto her back and felt how tight the scared boy held around her neck, he was shaking. With a light sigh she used Shunpo and appeared between Bastian and the hollows, drawing her katana`s.

Within the first 30 seconds, nine hollows was sliced or penetrated by her blood red zanpaktou`s. "Bastian, take the boy and get to safety...but make sure you can see me in case you need help". Kemiko took the terrified Makino off her back and guided him over to Bastian. Kemiko turned towards the hollows that was roaring of hunger and took a fighting stance, she would wait with unleashing her reaitsu until Bastian had taken the boy somewhere safe nearby.

Bastian prepared to wrap this up quickly as he prepared for his attack only to stop when the woman appeared with boy on her back. "Are you out of your damn mind," Bastian shouted lower his reiatsu so that it didn't cause to much strain on the boy, "This attack could have killed you both." She passed the boy to Bastian and told him to find somewhere some safety. Bastian was rarely insulted but that statement was like a slap in the face. Was she thinking him to weak to handle the situation, if he wanted to could level the whole neighborhood along with the hollows and her right along with them. However, looking at the scared boy Bastian calmed himself, "Fine, have fun princess," he said as he took off with the boy. Using his technique he master from watching the Quincy he dashed off carry the boy until he was well away from the battle. "Bastian I am scared," Mikano said still holding on to Bastian. "Hey, what did I tell you, men don't get scared. Trust that I got your back kid and everything will be fine," Bastian said smiling at the boy.

Looking back up he could see the woman starting to get surrounded by demons, "I guess its your turn to show off," he said folding his arms and smiling,"Alright Hijami, lets see what you can really do with those swords." Bastian had never seen a shinigami in action he had only heard stories of their skill, this would be a good chance to assess how strong these beings are. Even more lucky is that she claimed to be a lieutenant, he guessed that had to be some high rank in the "soul society" as she called it.

Kemiko watched them until they had gotten around 50 feet away, which went by quickly since Bastian was using some sort of travel technique that resembled shunpo, perhaps the Quincy weren`t the only humans with some sort of flash step. She turned her head towards the incoming hollows and narrowed her eyes at them, with her restriction she only had 20% of her maximum reaitsu...had he gotten the boy enough away so he would`t be harmed by her reaitsu? A red light engulfed Kemiko as she began to gather reaitsu, causing her long blood red hair to sway around her like it had a will of its own. As she drew her zanpaktou`s from their holsters, she took a diffrent fighting stance.

"...As their life is taken by your mighty sword, rise from the flames, Senshi Byoga!(warrior dragon)". A strong burst of reaitsu swept across the area, causing the nearest windows to shatter and the ground below her to crack slightly. Her two katana`s turned into two 2 foot long tanto`s that each had a foot long tanto tip on either side of the 2 feet one(just look in the signature). The blade of the first tanto was white, while the other was black. Kemiko held the black one towards the nearest group of hollows with a small smirk, was she enjoying the fight? A strong stream of fire bursted out from the black tanto, turning the hollows in that direction to ash. The last couple of hollows meet a quick death since Kemiko stabbed the tips of the tanto`s directly into the space between the eyes in the mask.

Kemiko suppressed her reaitsu once again and used shunpo, appearing in front of Bastian and the boy once again. "Is he alright?"