Chapter 27: Terrible News

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Remember to join the discord! discord.gg/yFMYSWxaUY

AN: From now I'll be calling Spiritual Pressure "Reiatsu" because it's shorter, and doesn't sound as obnoxious when reading. 

Also sorry for the short hiatus, I've been burnt out and busy as hell as of late. Hopefully I'll be able to upload every other day or something, but no promises.

Chapter 27: Terrible News

It had a monstrous cat-like body with disheveled bleached and apricot fur. It wore an upside down trivet on its head as if it were a crown, and sported two elongated tails with small flames on the tips which protruded from its back. For some reason it was carrying with it a bamboo shoot as it darted through the forest. 

Upon closer inspection, its breath was labored and drab patches stained with claret were scattered all over its frame. Even the flames on its tail weren't kindling as vigorously as they usually did. 

It continued to stumble over the rock, soil and dead fauna that laid on the woodland floor.

Constantly looking behind itself as if it were being followed, and even though it seemed to have evaded its supposed assailant, it picked up the pace even further. 

Everything about this creature brimmed with desperation, it didn't want to disappear, it didn't want to die, no matter the cost. 

"This can't be the end! I can't die just yet!" 

Eventually it finally made its way out of the thicket, met with the sight of an enormous spherical structure. Its walls were so high that even a hundred of him stacked on top of each other wouldn't be enough to scale it, even his home didn't have anything so— monumental. 

His feline pupils were utterly fixated on the complex, something about it called to him. 

"A vessel…that might work!" 

It had found its answer. 

——

Weeks had gone by in what felt like a matter of moments to him. This time he was the first to awaken from his slumber, staggering to his feet in order to try to find out how early it was. 

His body was still riddled with deep-orchid bruising as his muscles ached and bones creaked. Chōjirō's routine merciless approach to training him hadn't wavered in the slightest, but that didn't bother him all that much. He knew better than to think that mere weeks were enough to start landing hits on that behemoth. Although it wasn't as if all the pain he endured went unrewarded. 

By letting his body recover on its own rather than using Kaido to speed the process up, his cartilage and tendons had both grown significantly tougher following each of their sessions. 

As time went by he found himself handling the strain marginally better than the day prior, keyword— marginally. 

"Look who's up early" Shunsui's morning voice and usual voice were practically indistinguishable, which in hindsight made sense seeing as he was normally half-asleep during the day anyways.

"And look who's not" He turned to the still snoozing Ukitake, a dry chuckle escaping his lips as the former earliest riser had become the latest. 

"Haha, it's probably a result of all that Kido training. This gung-ho lunatic is already pushing himself to the 70-level's, it's a wonder that his mind hasn't fried itself by now"

"Figures, I'm no good when it comes to that stuff" He shrugged as he started to set up a new plan to try get the better of Chōjirō, even if it was a venture that would bare no fruit, not trying would make him feel more pathetic than he already thought himself to be. 

"Don't stress it, nobody is good at it when they first begin. Learning Kido does require a bit of talent, but most of one's progress is dictated by how long they can endure studying it. If you continue to tackle it head on, a day will come where you suddenly comprehend heaps more than you did the day before" In spite of a part of him believing them to be nothing but words of comfort, he still nodded appreciatively regardless. 

"Wanna head to the roof before Chōjirō starts brutalizing you? I still have some leftover wine" He proceeded to pull out a large bottle out of seemingly nowhere, not that Koda seemed to care much. 

"Alcohol first thing in the morning? That's not very healthy you know" He folded his arms as he feigned the expression of a cross parent. 

"So are you coming or not?" 

"Of course I am" Shunsui scoffed as the two left their dormitory, leaving Ukitake to his slumber. 

——

"Is that all?" Chōjirō effortlessly evaded all of his swings, his hands left to hang listlessly at his sides as he punted Koda in the gut with his foot. 

But instead of keeling over, he tanked the hit and continued to look for an opening in the man. Of course, no such thing existed. 

"Alright, that's enough" He caught Koda's fist in the clutches of his palm, causing his student to tilt his head in confusion.

"Apparently, I'm supposed to start preparing you for your first trip to the realm of the living, not that I think you're ready, but it isn't my call to make" His ears instantaneously perked up, he had been waiting for this moment since he first heard of the place. 

"Hoh, and what division will this be under?" Shunsui's grating voice reached the other end of the room, albeit his curiosity also extended to Koda, with luck it would be the 8th Division. 

Thanks to Chōjirō he had found out which squad Hikaru belonged to, and meeting the man again was on his to-do list. 

"The 11th" And with nothing but two words, all the excitement from before had been drained from Koda's entire being. The color drained from his face as he started to radiate with despair.

The two of them hadn't met in weeks, and knowing her personality. It was quite safe to say that their reunion wouldn't be so pretty, especially for him.

And it was now Shunsui's turn to become giddy as his expression grew increasingly animated, though whether it was for the right reasons was debatable. 

"So I'll get to meet Mrs. Yachiru at long last? In that case I'll need to make a good first impression" Koda wanted nothing more than to drive his Asauchi through Shunsui's chest, and then maybe himself so he wouldn't have to confront his fate. 

"I must admit, I am also somewhat curious…" Koda looked at Ukitake with utter disbelief, never could he have anticipated a betrayal of such magnitude. 

"Settle down, I don't care what agendas you two have, I expect you to treat Captain Yachiru with utmost respect. Failure to do will result in you being met with punishment far worse than I could ever conjure, have I made myself clear?" 

"Crystal" The duo responded. 

"Good, and as for you…" He turned to Mr. Yachiru, who had a look on his face as if Chōjirō had stabbed him in the back. 

"Uhm, good luck I suppose?" There hadn't been a single day where Unohana had failed to request for an update on Koda's status, to which very little of her inquiries had anything to do with his actual training. 

'Who could've guessed my second life would come to an end so soon, I haven't known you for very long partner but I can say this much with confidence, it was an honor!' 

He could count on one hand the amount of times he had experienced true helplessness, today added to that tally. This wasn't how he expected this long-awaited trip to go, he should've known better than to think all good things came without a catch. 

"Thanks to me receiving this news on short notice, I only have a day to get you caught up on everything you need to know so listen up, I won't repeat myself" Koda sluggishly took a seat, his mind was far too preoccupied to pay much attention but he made an attempt nonetheless.

Hollows, as they were appropriately labeled are the result of Human Souls lingering in the realm of the living for too long, failing to cross over to Soul Society for various reasons whether it be regret, attachments or even having their souls consumed by lurking Hollows. 

These beasts will consume anything and everything their path in hopes of achieving greater strength and filling the voids left by their missing souls, however this didn't mean all of them were completely instinct-driven. 

Hollows came in different tiers, starting with normal Hollows who were in the most basic stage of their evolution. Low-threat entities that could easily be slain by any Shinigami worth their weight, weren't worth worrying about and someone of Koda's caliber could probably slice through them like butter. 

After that, came the Menos Grande, this is where the trouble started. 

The Menos were separated into three different tiers, starting with the Gillian. 

Once a Hollow's hunger becomes so out-of-control that a singular Human Soul can longer withstand its starvation, it will start to consume others of its own species.

Eventually intertwining with other Hollows and amalgamating into one giant abomination, a much more powerful entity that could stand up to six stories tall and fire attacks that could even threaten a Lieutenant-Class Shinigami, granted Gillian's tended to attack in a group rather than on their own. 

Their most notable attack was the Cero, a staple of the Menos Grande. It was essentially a concentrated blast of energy capable of varying degrees of destruction, completely dependent on the prowess of its wielder. 

With the right approach, Koda could most likely dispatch of them, but confronting them carelessly was never a good idea unless you were a Captain. 

"After that is when your lives are put in genuine danger. I don't care what's going on in that mind of yours, but I expect you to take note of each and every word that comes out of my mouth" Koda finally snapped out of his trance, all eyes on Chōjirō as he continued his explanation. 

Naturally, all this information was common knowledge to both Shunsui and Ukitake, but a refresher never hurt. 

"Next up are Adjuchas, though they are much more scarce than Gillian's they are exponentially more dangerous. Don't approach them on your own no matter what, they are both more intelligent and more shrewd than any common Hollow. Thus you not only have to worry about their freak strength, but also their strategies"

It was good that Chōjirō was giving him a rough idea of what Hollows were like before he faced them, but he would never truly understand what they were until he met one face to face.

"But we Shinigami are capable of more than just slaying beasts, our Zanpakuto's have an ability known as Konsō. Through tapping the foreheads of a wandering soul with the hilt of our blades we can help them cross over, you will be expected to do this should you meet anyone who requires it. The less Hollows there are, the better" He nodded in acknowledgement, trying his best to remember Chōjirō's monologue. 

"Now get some rest, you'll be needing it" Chōjirō started to walk away before he was interrupted by Koda, something had been purposefully left out. 

"You said there were three classes of them, what's the third?" 

"If by some terrible stroke of luck you do meet the third, the mission will conclude, you don't need to know anymore than that" Leaving him with that both cryptic and ominous message, Koda could do nothing but prepare himself with what information he had.