Chapter 12: Encounter in Hueco Mundo

AN: Once again just want to thank everyone for your continued support! Hope you all are doing well!

Reading the story:

-Scene change: "888"

-Hello, how are you? (Someone in their own thoughts)-Hello how are you? (Zanpakuto Spirit speaking in a Shinigami's mind)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 12

The sands of Hueco Mundo softly fluttered about shifting the shape of the dunes ever so slightly as a gentle wind breezed through the air. The constant darkness of night was always present in the sky, but even still the world around was lit a glow in the light of the silver moon. The crystalline soft sand of Hueco Mundo reflected the light of the moon, further giving illumination to this dark world. Dead white and gray trees could be found every so often. Sometimes clumped together creating a small forest, but oftentimes spaced apart accentuating the difficult nature of life in a desert.

The world of Hueco Mundo had a quiet stillness to it that gave it a feeling of both peaceful solitude and silent danger, however this seemingly colorless world at this moment was contrasted by the movement of a certain bright crimson red haired person. It was obviously Kishin. His red hair truly stuck out in Hueco Mundo. He had been walking for about an hour already trying to find something to alleviate his boredom, but he had yet to come across anything interesting. Only more sand and trees. He was careful in ensuring that he didn't leave any footprints or tracks behind that could lead back to the campsite by using his Shunpo to make giant leaps to cover more ground. Only when he had gotten far enough did he begin to walk casually on the sand.

It had already been two months since they arrived in Hueco Mundo. It was both fortunate and unfortunate that nothing happened. The team wasn't in danger, but he on the other hand was dangerously bored. His attire currently consisted of his standard black shihakusho and a white colored cape-like cloak with a hood on the back to cover his head. Due to his still short stature in his childish body at 144cm tall he still had to carry his Zanpakuto around his back.

Just as Kishin let out a bored sigh he slightly flinched when he noticed the presence of a powerful reiatsu signature northwest of his position. "Hm?" He furrowed his brow in seriousness after taking a moment to truly take in the presence. "This reiatsu is at the Captain's level. And it's not just your average Captain's level reiatsu either. Don't tell me it's a Vasto Lorde? However, it seems like it's alone."

Kishin felt the presence move in a linear direction with no intention of approaching him. The presence simply continued to walk in one direction without stopping with a slow and steady pace.

"Huh...with how powerful that reiatsu was it should have been able to sense my presence at the same time that I sensed it, but it completely ignored me and just kept walking eastward." He gave a toothy grin. "Two months of nothing happening and the first thing that peaks my interest is a Vasto Lorde Menos. I wonder if I should go take a look or let it be."

He paced back and forth for a good minute before shrugging his shoulders. "Well it can't hurt to take a look. Worst case scenario is that I'm forced to fight it...judging by the weight of its reiatsu my Shinigami powers alone might not be enough...it might be a good chance to test my Hollow powers...ehhh...but should I really gamble my life like that...then again with my powers I might be able to kill it should I need to...decisions decisions."

Just as Kishin took a step forward he was halted by the sound of his denreishinki.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Tsk. Talk about bad timing." He grumbled a bit before taking a look at who was calling and picked up.

"Yo, Akon-senpai. What's up?"

"HURRY BACK TO CAMP!"

Kishin frowned in seriousness noting that something must have gone wrong and immediately began dashing back.

"Calm down senpai. Explain the situation."

He heard Akon take in a deep breath on the other end of the line. "Haaaaah...sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Nothing has happened yet, but we've detected several Hollow signatures approaching the camp's direction on the monitors that I've set up. These aren't any ordinary Hollows either. The signatures are too strong. It's very likely a group of Adjuchas."

"How long until they reach camp?"

"10 minutes at the most."

"Tsk. They must be moving pretty fast. How many were you able to detect?"

"Six in total."

"10 minutes huh...guess I'll be running at max speed."

"Will you make it?"

"Barely, but I'll make it."

"Tsk. I see. It just had to happen while you were out on your adventure."

"Hahaha, I didn't think you'd miss my presence so much senpai."

"Hmpf. I acknowledge that you have skill."

"Right right. You just don't want to die right?"

"Of course I don't want to die."

"Hahaha! Alright senpai, no need to fret. I'll be back soon."

"Haaaah...fine. But hurry it up. These are Adjuchas! There's no telling just how powerful they have become."

Click.

Kishin hung up and grinned with excitement. "Finally I get to see some action in Hueco Mundo. A fight with some Adjuchas huh? Should be fun! I wonder how strong they'll be. And although I was curious about that Vasto Lorde menos from earlier it can't be helped that I'm needed back at camp. Maybe it was for the best."

After nearly 10 minutes of running he could see the campsite in the near distance and slightly grinned as he could also feel the powerful reiatsu of six Adjuchas as well.

BOOM!

CRRRRSSHHH!

The sounds of a loud battle could be heard from the direction of the campsite while smoke and sand debris could be seen rising into the air.

"Seems the battle already started."

FWISH!

With one final push off the ground he whizzed through the air in one giant leap of Shunpo and arrived above one of the tall hilly sand dunes that shielded the campsite from view.

Boom! Bam! Bang!

Kishin observed Nemu and the other four officers facing off against six powerful looking Adjuchas just outside the entrance to the campsite. Just as one of the Adjuchas stretched out its long skinny arms to snatch up two officers, a giant blast of wind intercepted the attack and created a huge sandstorm as coverage that blocked everyone's vision. The giant sandstorm raged on for several seconds before dissipating. Taking its place was Kishin who stood nonchalantly between the Adjuchas and his teammates.

The 4th ranked officer couldn't help feeling a bit emotional and joyful as he stared at Kishin's back. The breeze in the air caused Kishin's white cloak and hair to flutter about in the wind and the moonlight that reflected off of his crimson hair made him seem very imposing. A silence filled the air as both sides had to take a moment for themselves in order to register what had happened.

Kishin smirked at everyone's silence. "Yo. Since no one died then I guess I got here just in time."

The 7th ranked officer finally returned to reality and pointed at Kishin while shouting in a flustered tone. "O-Oi! Kishin! What the hell kind of entrance was that?! And where the hell were you! Always taking a stroll on one of your outings! What if you didn't make it in time?!"

Kishin simply laughed amusedly. "Ha! Hahahaha! Come one, cut me some slack. You can't really expect me to just hang out around this place all day long right? That's so boring. As for my entrance, wasn't it cool!"

Everyone could only drop their jaw in disbelief at Kishin's current attitude. No one knew exactly how to respond to him, however their reunion was cut short as one of the Adjuchas spoke up. "Enough! We didn't come here to watch some sort of comedy show."

Kishin raised his eyebrow in curiosity and took a quick moment to observe the six enemies. "Oh? I forgot we had an audience. And who are all of you?"

The tall, skinny, completely white one with a long whip-like protrusion hanging from the back of its head spoke up. "I am Shawlong."

The one named Shawlong then proceeded to introduce the others. The giant and burly bull looking one that had yellow hair on its head was known as Yylfordt. The giant burly and masculine looking one with giant arms and red hair was called Edrad. The very tall, black colored, Gillian looking, white masked one was called Nakeem. The second tallest with a gray snake-like body, hammerhead skull with a bandage wrap on its right side looking one was called Di Roy. And finally Shawlong pointed to the smallest of the Adjuchas. A four legged panther and said, "This is our leader. Our king. Grimmjow."

Kishin tilted his head to the side as he had patiently waited for Shawlong to finish his introductions.

Hmmm...Shawlong, Yylfordt, Edrad, Nakeem, Di Roy, and...Grimmjow. Not bad. I can tell just from their presence that they're tough customers. They all possess near Captain class level reiatsu. In fact the one named Shawlong and Grimmjow already possess Captain level reiatsu. Furthermore this Grimmjow...the reiatsu he possesses, even for an Adjucha is incredible. Don't tell me he's near the evolution stage of a Vasto Lorde? It's not as strong as the reiatsu I felt from earlier, but it's at least as strong as Captain Soi Fon's reiatsu. Even a little stronger maybe. And that name...where have I heard of the name Grimmjow before…

Kishin didn't have any more time to think on the matter as Grimmjow had dashed right in and attacked with his claw. Kishin grinned and disappeared in a flash of Shunpo before reappearing by Grimmjow's side and slashed out with his Zanpakuto.

CLING!

The loud sound of his sword meeting Grimmjow's sharp claws rang in the air.

"Eh? Nicely blocked little kitty."

Grimmjow growled and slashed with his other claw, however Kishin easily blocked it and dashed backwards to distance himself. At this moment the other Adjuchas began to engage Nemu and the other officers in battle as well.

Ting! Clink! Ting!

Clank! Zing!

The sound of a fierce battle rang through the air as both sides continued their clash, however in only several minutes of battle the Adjuchas began to gain the upper hand. Kishin frowned and parried a claw strike from Grimmjow before expertly twisting his body to reach right beneath Grimmjow's chin and said, "Hado #1: Sho."

Bam!

The force of the strike sent Grimmjow flying back through the air for several meters while Kishin quickly stuck out his palm and shouted, "Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan!" Instantly a hundred blue and white rods flew through the air aimed right between the other Adjuchas and 12th division members.

Fwish! Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!

This forced both of their sides to immediately separate. The 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th ranked officers panted for air trying to catch their breath completely bloodied while Nemu stood in front of them. Her clothes were torn in multiple places and she had scratches and marks all over her body. She glanced over to Kishin and asked with her indifferent tone of voice, "Why did you intervene?"

"Because if I didn't then you all would have died. Well, everyone other than you Lieutenant."

Nemu turned to look behind her and noted how badly beaten the other division members were. "I see. The situation does not look good for us."

Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "Not necessarily."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I acknowledge just how strong these Adjucha are, however to deal with them, I alone am enough."

Nemu inwardly frowned but her indifferent facial expression didn't change. "I don't understand. As powerful as you are even you wouldn't be able to fight against six Adjuchas alone."

"Lieutenant, how do you think the Captain would fair against these six?"

"Hm? The Captain? Why are you asking that?"

"Just answer the question."

"If the Captain were here then I think the Captain would be able to defeat these six."

Kishin smirked and nodded in agreement. "True. I think so too. And who is technically the Captain's replacement for this trip?"

Nemu slightly flinched at the question. "That would be...you."

"That's right. The Captain didn't come because I came. That means I'm the military deterrent. If the Captain wouldn't lose to these six then I won't either. Take the other members back inside the safety of the camp and treat their injuries."

Nemu hesitated for a moment before asking, "Will you be alright?"

"Don't worry about me. Killing is a specialty of mine."

Nemu wanted to question him more, however in the next instant Kishin unleashed his powerful reiatsu into the area creating a heavy and dense pressure to loom in the air. His aura was cold, dark, ominous, and bloodthirsty. Even Nemu couldn't help but feel as if she had entered the lair of a demon. She didn't waste anymore time and picked up the other four division members before dashing off into the safety of the campsite. The six Adjuchas on the other hand stood near one another as they stared at Kishin with extreme caution and wariness. Even Grimmjow had a slight frown as he gave a low growl. The reason why he felt a bit hesitant wasn't because the reiatsu coming off of Kishin was slightly more powerful than his own, but rather the murderous nature of Kishin's reiatsu was more ominous than his. He had killed many Hollows and didn't entertain the idea that he was a good guy, far from it, however when faced against such a dense bloodlust it truly made him wonder who was the predator and who was the prey.

Kishin noted the hesitant look in all of the Adjuchas eyes and gave a toothy grin. "Oi oi, don't back down now. I even went through all the trouble of sending my teammates away so neither of us have to hold back. Please entertain me for a bit. At least until I bathe in your blood."

Grimmjow and the others frowned at Kishin's nonchalant and taunting attitude. Shawlong turned to Grimmjow and asked, "What do you think boss?"

Grimmjow gritted his teeth and shouted, "What else! Kill him!"

At Grimmjow's words none of the Adjuchas held back any longer and dashed in to attack. Kishin grinned and tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto. "Finally. I was getting tired of this standoff."

BAM!

Yylfordt's giant fist came crashing down on Kishin's head only to hit nothing but empty sand. Kishin's speed was simply too fast. Before Yylfordt could even retract his fist Kishin had already slashed several times leaving several deep gashes on Yylfordt's arm causing him to scream in pain. "AAAAARRRGH!"

Kishin smirked and ducked his head avoiding Shawlong's giant claws before twisting his body while swinging his Zanpakuto to deflect Grimmjow's attack.

TING!

Grimmjow growled while Kishin just grinned. "Not bad little kitty. You're definitely faster and stronger than the other bumpkins around you."

Edrad scowled when he heard Kishin mock them and screamed in anger. "You bastard! Die!"

WHAM!

Edrad's fist hit nothing but empty sand as Kishin Shunpo'd right on his shoulder.

"See. So slow."

Everyone widened their eyes in shock at how easily Kishin was able to outmaneuver them. Without giving Edrad or anyone else a chance to respond he slashed out with his Zanpakuto and instantly blinded Edrad's left eye.

"AAAARRRRGGGH! MY EYE!" Edrad screamed in agony. He swung his hand up to his shoulder trying to swat Kishin away, however Kishin had already Shunpo'd next to the tall Gillian looking one named Nakeem. Nakeem panicked and stomped down with its feet only to meet the same result as Yylfordt and Edrad. Hitting nothing but sand. Before Kishin could strike Nakeem he was forced to parry an attack from Grimmjow.

Ting!

"Hahaha, wow little kitty. You got good reaction speed. Want to be my pet?"

A thick vein popped on Grimmjow's forehead as Kishin's taunting only egged him on. Kishin smirked and continued to dodge, block, parry, and defend against Grimmjow's ferocious claws.

Ting! Cling! Clink!

Ting! Zing! Zang! Zing!

The sound of two sharp objects clashing with one another rang loud and clear. Mixed within those noises were the sounds of Grimmjow's frustrated growling and shouting and Kishin's occasional taunts and laughs.

FWOOSH!

After several minutes of their close quarters clash they both separated and distanced themselves from one another. Grimmjow howled in anger before quickly forming a red colored Cero by his mouth and firing it out. Kishin raised his eyebrow in curiosity and quickly dodged it with a flash of his Shunpo.

BOOM!

A crater was formed where the Cero had hit and shot a mass of sand and debris into the air. Kishin gave a thoughtful look at the destruction the Cero had left in its wake.

"Hmmm...pretty strong."

Grimmjow growled and howled once more in anger and frustration before firing off another Cero.

Kishin simply held out his left palm shouting, "Hado #63: Raikoho!"

CRACKLE!

EEEAAARR!

BOOM!

The yellow thundering of Kishin's Kido and the red beam of Grimmjow's Cero collided in the air causing a giant force of wind to burst in the surrounding area. Sand and debris kicked into the air from the impact. Several seconds later the wind died down and the sandy smokescreen dissipated. The attacks had neutralized one another leaving both sides unscathed.

Kishin grinned and nodded in satisfaction. "Mn. Just as I thought."

Grimmjow frowned. "What do you mean just as you thought."

"The power of your Cero is about equal to the strength of my level 63 Kido. That's very impressive, but a regular Cero of that level won't be enough to kill me."

Grimmjow was now fuming with anger. Never before had he been met with such humiliation and constant taunting. Never before had he been faced with someone belittling his power like this.

"You damn Shinigami brat! You're just a kid! You dare speak to me about strength and power? I have killed and devoured countless Hollows and today I shall add you to my list of victims."

"Is that so?" Kishin then gave a sinister grin with a dark expression. "Then maybe I'll get a little serious."

Grimmjow and the other Adjuchas couldn't help but feel their soul throb and palpitate slightly in hesitation as the aura around Kishin became even more bloodthirsty than it was before. Kishin began to take slow and steady steps forwards as he unleashed his Shikai.

"Wash all things in a river of blood, Sekiken Zansatsu."

The six Adjuchas couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding at the sight of Kishin's released Zanpakuto. Kishin had an innocent smile plastered on his face, however the look in his eyes told the true expression he was exhibiting. Reflected deep within his golden colored eyes was the skilled monstrous killer that he was at this moment.

"So, who wants to play first?"

Di Roy gritted his teeth and shouted with a war cry, "Don't underestimate me! AAAAHHHH!" He charged forward slithering across the sand with his large snake-like body and hammerhead looking face. He opened his jaw revealing his large fangs and attempted to rip Kishin into pieces.

Kishin stood unmoving and gave a toothy grin as he whispered to himself, "Dead."

The moment Di Roy's face got within 3 meters of Kishin he simply swung his sword twice and said, "Saku." Two crescent shaped bloody colored blades flew out from Kishin's Zanpakuto with incredible speed. The sound they made when flying through the air was like two sharp pieces of metal sliding against one another. Di Roy realized his mistake too late. Even if he wanted to dodge he no longer could. Before anyone could even do anything his head had been sliced clean off by one of the crescent blades before his dislodged head was cut right in half by the other crescent blade.

Silence.

Flop.

The sound of Di Roy's headless body crashed on the ground completely lifeless in the next moment.

Put. Put.

After that, the sound of Di Roy's head that was split into two pieces hit the ground.

Dead. In mere seconds Di Roy had died.

Kishin scoffed and walked around the giant corpse before he once again stood face to face with the five remaining Adjuchas. He noted the stunned expression on all of their faces and smirked. "Next."

His nonchalant tone and belittling attitude immediately angered all of the remaining Adjuchas.

"UWAAAAAH!" They all shouted in anger and dashed right for Kishin.

"Hahahaha! That's it! Come on, don't hold back! I'll show you all what a true god of death is."

WHAM! FWISH!

Whoosh! Bam!

Boom! Bang!

BOOM!

Fists and claws thrashed through the air. Sand and debris flew towards the sky. Blasts of Cero crashed towards the ground. The battle had become completely chaotic and disoriented, however it was actually to Kishin's advantage. Due to the Adjucha's having such large body's they couldn't effectively fight together and were more hindrances to one another than being a threat to Kishin's life. This made dodging and deflecting their attacks even easier. Kishin dodged a fist strike from Edrad before spinning his body to avoid Shawlong's claws. He then slashed with his sword and cut Nakeem's legs several times before backflipping away to avoid Grimmjow's assault.

Just as Edrad slammed downwards with both fists at Kishin, he simply smirked and said, "Hado #58: Tenran!" A fierce whirlwind erupted from where he stood and staved off enough power from Edrad's attack to slow down the incoming fists. This let Kishin attack and move backwards to avoid being hit while saying, "Shitsuyona Shukketsu." A subtle red glow glinted from his sword as he slashed out creating a gash across Edrad's fingers. The cut wasn't shallow, but it wasn't deep either.

Kishin backflipped in the air escaping their encirclement and created some distance between himself and the five remaining Adjuchas. Aside from having some dirt stains on him he was relatively unharmed, however the same couldn't be true for the Adjuchas. They were all relatively frustrated and angry. Grimmjow, Shawlong, and Yylfordt didn't have any notable damages on them, however amongst them Di Roy was already dead. Nakeem's legs had multiple cuts and scars on them and a long gash ran across the top of all of Edrad's fingers oozing out blood. Once more both sides stood unmoving simply staring at one another in a standoff.

Kishin had a relaxed toothy grin expressed on his face while the Adjuchas had an angry, frustrated, and wary expression on their faces. Edrad frowned and shouted, "You bastard! You're pretty slippery aren't you?!"

Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "You're just slow."

Edrad growled and was about to rush in for another attack when Kishin shook his head in disapproval. "You might want to make sure you're fit for battle before you start rushing in."

Edrad narrowed his eyes in caution. "What the hell are you ta-...HUH?!"

It was then he noticed that the blood bleeding out of the gash on his fingers began to bleed more and more. Not only that but what was more alarming was the fact that the gash had grown larger.

"W-What-What is this?! What did you do to me?!"

For every second that passed by the gash only continued to grow. It became longer, wider, and deeper. The blood didn't dry out or clot up. Instead it only continued to ooze out faster and in more copious amounts. Edrad panicked as he tried to stop the bleeding, however nothing he did worked. By now so much blood had bled from his wounds that the sand beneath him turned completely red. Edrad continued to scream in agony until Grimmjow growled and cut off both of Edrad's hands.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Edrad screamed in pain and agony. "G-Grimmjow...why?"

"You fool! The only reason you're bleeding like that is because he used some sort of technique on you. Right before he cut you he said something and his sword glowed red. If you want to live then you can only go on without your hands."

Edrad panted for air trying to calm his emotions down. While his hands had been decapitated causing him to bleed out he was no longer bleeding as much as he was from the wound that was inflicted on his fingertips.

Kishin clapped his hands in approval. "Mn. Not bad little panther. Not bad. Good move."

After seeing what one slash of Kishin's sword did to Edrad, Nakeem who had been cut several times on his legs by Kishin was now extremely nervous. Kishin picked up on that and smirked. "Right, big Gillian guy. Your name was Nakeem right? Don't worry, I left you a different present."

Nakeem panicked after hearing that, however Kishin didn't care and simply said, "Guren."

At first nothing seemed to happen, however as the seconds passed by Nakeem began to scream in agony. The cuts on his legs began to swell and bleed profusely. Soon after the wounds split open Nakeem's legs as his blood began to protrude outwards in the shape of a lotus flower. Nakeem shouted in agony, "What is this?! AAAAAHHHHHH!"

The lotus flower made out of Nakeem's blood continued to grow and ooze out of his legs. With each passing second more and more of his leg began to rip and tear open in order for his blood to spew out in the shape of lotus flowers. Once more Grimmjow frowned and instantly made the choice to cut off both of Nakeem's legs.

FWIP!

Kishin smirked and clapped his hands again in approval. "Very good little kitty. Excellent choice. By your actions you just saved both of your subordinates from death. For now at least."

Grimmjow glowered at him, however Kishin just scoffed. "Alright, playtimes over. Saku!"

SHIIIIING!

Kishin swung his sword twice creating two giant red crescent shaped blades of blood and reiatsu that sliced through the air with incredible speed aimed right for Grimmjow and Shawlong. The both of them reacted by quickly moving out of the way, however Kishin smirked in triumph. To everyone's shock the crescent blades that Grimmjow and Shawlong dodged didn't continue forwards in one straight line, instead they had changed directions and flew at an angle right for Edrad and Nakeem. Edrad quickly did his best to dodge on his side, however the crescent blade still sliced off a good portion of his right arm. Nakeem on the other hand wasn't as lucky. Without his legs he couldn't even move and was instantly bifurcated, dying a bloody death.

Kishin grinned at how shocked the remaining four Adjuchas were. "Well, I'd say good job at avoiding being hit, but my true target was actually Edrad and Nakeem from the beginning. Although I will say this. Edrad, not bad at avoiding death, for now."

Edrad was so angry, but at the same time he feared for his life. The little Shinigami kid that they were facing was the most fearsome foe they had ever encountered. Never had they imagined the predicament they would be in. As Kishin took a step forward cloaked in his red, ominous, and bloodthirsty reiatsu holding out his Zanpakuto looking like a demon from hell, Grimmjow growled and commanded, "Shawlong, Edrad, Yylfordt, get out of here. You all are no match for this guy."

Shawlong wanted to retort, however Kishin sent another red crescent blade flying their way. It was so sudden that they all separated from one another dashing in different directions to avoid being hit, however even though they avoided the initial attack the crescent blade changed directions just as quickly as they had moved.

SCHLICK!

In merely a second later Edrad's head was sent rolling off of his body and onto the soft white sand staining it red with his blood.

Thud.

Edrad's large headless body collapsed onto the ground in complete stillness. Kishin smirked as the remaining three Adjuchas fired off their Ceros at him.

"Saku!"

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kishin countered by firing off three bloody crescent blades at the three Ceros causing a giant blast of smoke to fill the air. He smirked in amusement after the smoke cleared several seconds later and deactivated his Shikai.

"So they left huh? Not a bad choice."

He sheathed his Zanpakuto and took a look around at the destruction of the battle. Three corpses laid lifelessly on the now red colored blood stained sand. Di Roy, Nakeem, and Edrad. All dead. As he stared off in the distance at the direction that the Adjuchas escaped in, he slightly flinched as a thought suddenly surfaced in his head.

Hold on...Grimmjow...wasn't that the name of a pretty popular and famous villain in Bleach? I may not have ever gotten past the Bount arc but...I could have sworn that the name Grimmjow has popped up before when I browsed random information on the story in the past. Was this Grimmjow the one who later became popular? Maybe...I should have prioritized killing him instead?

It was then Nemu, Akon, and the others rushed over to Kishin's side after they felt the reiatsu of the other three Adjuchas disappear into the distance.

"Kishin, are you alright?" Akon asked concernedly, however after he took a moment to observe Kishin's form he couldn't help but be a bit stunned. He found no injuries on Kishin at all, only dirt stains.

Kishin simply grinned and began walking back towards camp as he replied, "Akon-senpai, you can have these dead bodies. I'm sure they'll be useful research material. If nothing else I'm sure Captain Kurotsuchi would find them interesting."

His attitude after the fight left everyone completely speechless. Nemu ran up beside Kishin and started to walk beside him as she commented, "I watched the entire fight."

Kishin had an indifferent expression on his face as he simply responded, "And?"

Nemu stared at Kishin for a few moments greatly intrigued and asked, "I was trying to analyze your Zanpakuto's ability. The red crescent blade that you fired from your Zanpakuto, you called it Saku right? That means to cleave. My guess is that every time you utilize this ability it absorbs some of your reiatsu and fires it out in an amplified swing, but you have a more refined control over its movement and can even change its trajectory giving you more versatility and lethality in battle."

Kishin halted his steps prompting Nemu to stop as well.

"Let me guess. The Captain wanted you to figure out what kind of abilities I possess."

Nemu simply nodded. "That's right."

"Heh, you're very honest about it."

"Well there's no need to hide my mission from you. You already discovered the nano cameras. Instead of an indirect approach I decided a more direct one might work better."

"Are you prone to telling others what your plan of attack is? It's not very strategic."

"That's true...but I don't want to use underhanded tactics against you."

Kishin grinned and began walking off again. "Why's that?"

"Because...I think I would like to be on good terms with you."

"Hahaha, is that so?"

Even though Nemu had an indifferent expression on her face she couldn't help but feel a slight hint of joy and nodded in response. "Mn. And also I have a feeling that any underhanded tactics I try won't work on you anyways."

"You have a feeling you say? See, so you can feel things."

"I...wouldn't know for sure. It is a simple phrase to convey one's thoughts isn't it? It doesn't actually refer to having emotions."

Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "You still have a long way to go I see. Well, at least it seems you're making some progress."

Nemu tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing of import."

Nemu could only stare with curiosity at Kishin, however she soon remembered that they had gone off topic. "Kishin, you haven't answered my question."

"About?"

"About your ability. Was I right? About your ability called Saku."

Once more Kishin paused in his step and turned to face Nemu directly. "Alright, I'll tell you a little bit about my power since you and the Captain seem to be so interested, but on one condition."

Nemu obediently nodded and agreed. "Alright. What is the condition?"

"I know you have more tricks and devices hidden around camp to try and fulfill your...not so secret task from the Captain to implant nano camera's and who knows what else on my body. I'll tell you a little bit about my abilities on the condition that you give up and stop following the task that the Captain gave you. Also, remove all the traps you laid in place."

A second passed, then another and another. Soon several minutes passed by in silence as Nemu struggled to make a decision, finally after 5 total minutes passed by she nodded her head in agreement. "Alright. Since it'll probably be impossible for me to catch you off guard anyways causing me to fail in my task, I will agree."

Kishin just shook his head in amusement. "Glad to hear it. It was seriously getting annoying."

"Then, your ability?"

"Fine. Just so you know I'm not repeating myself."

"Don't worry, I have a good memory. So your ability is called Saku. Was I right when I said it absorbs your reiatsu and releases it in an amplified swing? And that you can change the trajectory of your attack?"

"So that's what it looked like to you huh? Your analysis is very close. Every time I utilize this power it drains a bit of my blood and reiatsu allowing me to fire out a sharp crescent blade. That crescent blade is made from my blood that is reinforced by my reiatsu. You're also correct when you guess that I can change the attack's trajectory."

Nemu stared at Kishin to which he stared back. A silence filled the air between them before Nemu blinked a few times and questioned, "Is that all?"

Kishin smirked. "Why? Are you disappointed?"

In truth there's a bit more to my ability. I can increase the sharpness and cutting power of the attack if I enforce the crescent blade with more blood, and I can increase the power and speed of the attack if I enforce more reiatsu into the crescent blade. In essence, the more blood I use the harder and stronger the attack. The more reiatsu I use the more aura and Kido-like the attack becomes. I can also only change the attacks trajectory once. And because each use drains my blood I need to be a bit careful of how many shots I fire at a time and how much blood I put into each attack.

Nemu took a moment to observe Kishin's frame before she questioned in confusion. "If it drains your blood your body should be quite pale then. You used the technique several times in the battle, but right now your body looks fine. Unless...the blood drain requirement isn't very high?"

Kishin smirked. "That's a secret. I did say that I would only tell you a bit about my abilities, not all of them."

Nemu blinked a few times before giving a slightly downcast look. "I-I see. It appears my negotiation skills are lacking."

"Don't take it too hard on yourself. I would have never agreed to reveal all of my secrets to you anyways. You should just take what you can get."

"I see...then, what about the ability that caused that Adjucha named Edrad's fingers to bleed so much? What kind of ability is that?"

"Oh, that? It's an ability called Shitsuyona Shukketsu. It means relentless bleeding. When activated my blade glows a subtle hint of crimson red. After that any cut, wound, gash, or damage that I inflict on the opponent will bleed continuously no matter how shallow the wound inflicted on them is."

Nemu gave Kishin a doubtful look. "But...didn't the cut continue to grow? Does your ability only cause the target to bleed?"

Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "Secret."

If she observes a few more times she would eventually figure out my ability. When I leave a cut on their body it continues to grow longer and deeper until one end of the cut loops all around the body part and meets the back end of the cut I made. It also continuously forces the target to bleed faster and faster as time goes on until the target completely bleeds to death, but no need for Nemu to know all of that.

Kishin could tell that Nemu was about to ask about his other ability so he simply continued, "Okay, you seem a bit dissatisfied so I'll tell you about this last technique I used against that Adjucha named Nakeem. The technique's name is called Guren. The name of this technique is also known as the crimson lotus. Tell me Lieutenant, are you familiar with the buddhist teachings of the eight cold hells?"

Nemu shook her head to which Kishin just closed his eyes and began walking off again prompting Nemu to follow.

"I see. Then let me enlighten you. In Buddhism the term Guren can also be referred to as the name Guren Jigoku. It is the seventh of the eight cold hells. It is said that those who commit great acts of evil are sent to the eight cold hells as punishment. Each layer of the cold hells becomes colder and colder. In the first hell one would be afflicted with chilblains all over their body. In the second hell those chilblains would burst. The third to fifth hells are so cold that it is named after the shrieking cries from those who suffer there. In the sixth hell one's flesh would turn completely blue due to the severe cold. And finally the last two hells. The seventh and eighth hell. Here it is so cold that one's body and flesh would no longer hold its form and split apart cracking open like the blooming of a lotus flower. Well, obviously my ability doesn't have anything to do with the cold, however my ability does somewhat resemble the seventh and eighth cold hell."

Nemu tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "How so?"

"Hmmm...let's see...when I cut my target and activate the ability of Guren their blood will begin to clump together into the shape of a blood lotus. The petals formed from their blood are so sharp that it will puncture and wound them both externally and internally. Furthermore, with each passing second the blood lotus will draw in more and more of their blood to form a larger and larger blood lotus. The blood lotus will grow on the site of the infected wound and split open the skin, flesh, and body of the victim. It will not stop growing until the blood lotus has completely absorbed all of the target's blood and completely split open the body of the victim leaving nothing of them left. All that would remain of them is a pile of tarnished flesh and bones and a giant blood lotus made from their blood."

Nemu slightly shuddered at the image Kishin painted for her of his ability while Kishin smirked at her reaction. "Well, what do you think? A pretty gruesome ability huh?"

Nemu simply nodded her head. "Yes. I believe that ability of yours is...very dangerous."

"Yes well, it is dangerous, however one can save themselves as you saw during the fight. As long as you cut off the limb that is infected you can stop the ability from affecting the rest of the body."

"That's...that's true, but that is a heavy price to pay as one would still need to give up an entire body part just to survive. Furthermore what if you had cut someone on their back. I doubt the victim would survive by cutting off their entire back."

Kishin just let out a small laugh. "Hahaha, I suppose it depends on who the victim is. Anyways, that's why I always tell people that my Zanpakuto isn't meant for dueling, but for killing and slaughtering."

Well, my ability Guren is only effective if I cut my target with the bloodstained edge of my blade.

Nemu gave him a curious glance before she questioned in curiosity, "Kishin. When I saw you fight I noticed that every time you cut someone, one of the lotus flowers on the hilt of your Zanpakuto would begin to glow more and more red, but also at times it would dim a little bit. What does that mean?"

Kishin furrowed his brow and turned to face Nemu as he responded with a hint of a surprised tone. "I'm actually impressed that you noticed that Lieutenant. You really pay attention to detail don't you? Unfortunately that's another secret that I won't be telling you."

The two of them were interrupted by Akon's voice the next moment. "Hey, you two. We're done packing. You guys pack your things too. Since we were found by those Adjuchas and three of them got away it's best for us to relocate. Only you two are left. Once you're both done we'll head out."

Kishin and Nemu nodded as they both quickly gathered their things. In less than 10 minutes they all set out and began searching for a new place to set up camp. Kishin took note that the three dead bodies of the Adjuchas he killed from earlier disappeared so he gave a curious glance over to Akon.

"Senpai, how'd you store the dead bodies of those Adjuchas? I don't see you lugging around some sort of giant box around."

"Oh. Those guys?" Akon pulled out three small black colored cubes to show Kishin. "These things are reconstruction and deconstruction reishi storage devices. They're called reivices. They can only hold inanimate or dead objects since they can't store things with reiatsu. There's also no breathable air inside. After you killed those Adjuchas they stopped leaking out reiatsu and only their bodies made of reishi were left. These devices can analyze and deconstruct those bodies into pure reishi, absorbing it and storing them inside. When we need to take them out the device will perfectly reconstruct the reishi body as it was originally found."

Kishin tilted his head seemingly intrigued by the small black cube. "Interesting. Is that what you used to store all of our tents and lab equipment?"

"That's right. Since our equipment doesn't possess any reiatsu it's easy to store, but things like Zanpakuto's and living organisms can't be stored inside since those things possess reiatsu. Other things that can't be stored are souls. Many people who live in Rukongai don't exhibit the capability of producing reiatsu, however since they have a soul they can't be stored and relocated using these devices."

"Hmm...I see. Did the Captain come up with this invention?"

Akon's cheeks turned slightly pink so he quickly turned his head away from Kishin's sight. "Ah...Actually I was the one who created it."

"Oh! Not bad senpai! You are indeed the vice chief of the R&D department."

"It's not that impressive of a feat. I still have a long way to go. This small device can't be considered a huge contribution."

"You may say that but the truth is that it's a very useful tool. How do I get my hands on one?"

Akon awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and responded, "If you really want one then...I'll gift you one when we return to Soul Society."

Kishin happily grinned. "Okay! Oh, senpai, did you discover anything useful during the couple months we've been stationed here?"

Akon furrowed his brow and gave a thoughtful look. "There does seem to be...a strange irregularity."

"Such as?"

"Well, after taking the time to monitor and measure the stability of the rift that separates Hueco Mundo from Soul Society I found that there seemed to be some interference in which at certain time intervals, the connection between the two realms is completely tuned out."

"Okay...which means?"

"It means there are times when I can't accurately measure the stability of the rift that connects Hueco Mundo and Soul Society. You can think of it as a security camera that overlooks a room. Then someone takes a picture of the room at the exact same angle that the security camera is watching and tapes that picture near the lens of the camera. On the security camera it looks like everything is fine, however in reality there is movement in the room. In short, someone has tampered with the R&D's equipment in Soul Society which prevents us from being able to monitor the crossing of Hollows into Soul Society. If we never came to Hueco Mundo to check the connection on this side then we may have never discovered the fact that someone has been manipulating the surveillance in Soul Society."

Kishin frowned as he already knew who was responsible for this. "Akon-senpai, didn't R&D check if the surveillance was tampered with after the first time that they were unable to detect Hollows entering Soul Society?"

"That's right, we did. The strange thing is that we didn't find anything wrong."

Kishin frowned once more. "Then...how does that make any sense?"

Akon pondered for a bit before frowning. "It's possible that someone installed a virus into the lab equipment in the department. It would have to be an incredibly subtle virus that is being masked as some sort of other program in the system, but if that's the case then it'd be a huge problem. We wouldn't know which of the millions and millions of programs the virus is being masked as. It'd probably take years to find it and delete it. Worst case scenario would be having to delete all of the programs at once and re-inputing them into the system one by one. At this point though that might just be what we have to do."

"But senpai, who would be able to do something like that? One of the Captain's maybe?"

Akon gave it some serious thought before shaking his head. "I highly doubt that. While I don't doubt the intelligence of any of the Captain's of the Gotei 13, in all honesty I can only think of two people who could devise a virus that could escape the detection of the R&D department. That'd be Captain Kurotsuchi and the former 12th division Captain, Urahara Kisuke."

Kishin inwardly sighed at how well Aizen had built his character into fooling everyone in the Seireitei. Just as he was lost in his thoughts he halted his steps and frowned becoming fully alert. His actions caught everyone's attention so they also stopped.

"What's wrong?" Akon asked nervously.

Kishin walked forward standing in front of everyone with a serious expression.

This reiatsu...feels like the one I felt earlier before heading back to camp.

"Everyone, if I tell you to run then run and don't look back."

Akon frowned in seriousness. "What is it?"

"You'll be able to tell soon enough once it comes a bit closer. But if you're really curious then I'll tell you. Just don't start shouting or making any unnecessary moves."

"Okay, better to be aware than lost."

Kishin nodded. "Alright. Since you're curious to know then I'll be straight with you. It's a Vasto Lorde."

Immediately everyone froze up and widened their eyes in shock. They felt genuine despair and fear inside their hearts. Akon clenched his fist as he nervously commented, "V-Vasto Lorde? A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah. There's no mistaking it. This level of reiatsu is at the very least three times that of Captain Kurotsuchi's. The denseness and heaviness of this reiatsu is also at least three times that of the Captain's."

It was then that everyone felt the reiatsu of the mysterious Vasto Lorde menos approaching closer and closer to their current position. Everyone couldn't help but feel lifeless the moment they felt its reiatsu. Being enveloped in the presence of this mysterious Vasto Lorde's reiatsu made them lose all hope. In fact they couldn't even feel hope because all they felt was...nothing. And that scared them, all but Kishin who narrowed his eyes in focus.

Akon took a step back and asked nervously, "Shouldn't we be making our escape right now?"

Kishin simply shook his head. "No. With something this powerful and this close to us it wouldn't matter if you started running now or if you started running 10 minutes ago. If it wants you dead then you'll die. If you run then you might peak its interest and it'll chase after you. And if you run then it could create a chaotic situation. I wouldn't be able to properly defend you all in a situation like that. It's better if you all just stick close to me for now. If it wants to fight then I'll lock it down in a battle. You all can use that chance to run then. If we're lucky then it'll just leave us be."

Not a moment later a figure could be seen in the near distance. Kishin narrowed his eyes and took a good moment to observe the appearance of this Vasto Lorde. It was completely white in color including its mask. It seemed to be about 170cm tall in height with its Hollow hole in the middle of where its sternum would originally be. Two large horns protruded from the side of its head and a long line ran up the middle of its mask before diverging into three lines near the forehead. It didn't seem to possess any mouth or ears and two black wings stuck out on its lower back. It walked with a slow and steady pace as if it were merely taking a stroll around Hueco Mundo with no destination in mind. Everyone but Kishin felt fear well up inside them the moment they laid eyes on the approaching Vasto Lorde. Every second and minute felt like years to them until finally, that strange and imposing looking Vasto Lorde stood 10 meters away from them. It glanced over at them to which they simply glanced back. Both sides simply stared at one another for several minutes before Kishin closed his eyes as if coming to an understanding.

"Let's go. Don't make any unnecessary moves unless you wish to die."

When they all heard Kishin telling them to go they had all inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief and immediately walked off without taking one look behind them. Kishin stayed back a bit longer as he and that Vasto Lorde exchanged a few more glances at one another before they both turned away and walked off into the distance. Neither side ever exchanged any dialogue. In fact, without a mouth Kishin wondered if that Vasto Lorde could even talk. He quickly caught up to Akon and the others.

"Kishin, where the hell did you go? Why weren't you following us?" Akon whisper-shouted.

Kishin just grinned and continued walking onwards. "It's fine now Akon-senpai. You can speak normally again."

"Tch. I don't really understand. Did that Vasto Lorde really not care about us at all? It just let us go?"

Kishin furrowed his brow and deeply contemplated for a moment. The image of that Vasto Lorde popped in his head. "Who knows...it seems that Vasto Lorde we encountered wasn't interested in us. Or perhaps it was, but maybe it has its own principles in attacking others. Whatever the case may be, just be glad that we didn't have to engage that thing in a fight."

Akon let out a sigh and nodded in agreement. "You're right...let's just...let's just hurry and find a new place to set up camp and finish our mission here."

MISC.

-Reivice: It is a small hand held black colored cube that can analyze and store reishi matter. It cannot store things that exhibit reiatsu or the device will break. It also can't store living things or things with a soul. It is an object that was created by Akon.

Kishin's Zanpakuto: Sekiken Zansatsu (Blade of Crimson Carnage)Shikai Release: Wash all things in a river of blood.Shikai Abilities:-Saku (Cleave): Kishin channels some blood and reiatsu into his Zanpakuto and fires out a red crescent blade at his target. The more blood he infuses the harder, stronger, and sharper his attack becomes. The more reiatsu he infuses the faster and more aura and Kido-like his attack becomes. He has the ability to change the trajectory of this technique one time after it is fired.-Shitsuyona Shukketsu (Relentless Bleeding): When activated his blade glows a subtle hint of crimson red. Whatever he cuts, no matter how shallow the cut is, it will grow and spread until one end of the cut loops around and meets with the other end of the cut. The wound created by this ability will continue to cause the target to bleed profusely. It will not clot or slow down. With each passing second more and more blood bleeds out faster and faster until the target bleeds to death.-Guren (Crimson Lotus): When Kishin cuts his target with the bloodstained edge of his katana it creates an infected wound on their body. When he activates this technique the targets blood around the site of the infected wound clumps together and forms a dense and hardened sharp crimson colored blood lotus. That blood lotus grows by continuously aggregating more and more of the targets blood tearing and puncturing the target's internal organs and ripping open their flesh and body. The blood lotus only stops growing when the target has no more blood left to offer leaving them left as only a pile of tarnished flesh and bones.

KIDO:Hado #1: Sho (Thrust)Hado #58: Tenran (Orchid Sky)Hado #63: Raikoho (Fiery Lightning Howl)

Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan (100 Steps Fence)