Hanabi's Rank-Up Request

Recently, there has been a huge rise in the intelligence level of hollows.

For a shinigami, this was definitely not a good thing. These monsters were starting to think like intelligent beings – today they actually pulled off a successful ambush on a team of able shinigami. Normally a change in hollow activity would’ve intrigued Hanabi greatly, but somehow things were less interesting and much more horrifying when it was her team that was being ambushed. As Hanabi barked out orders, she considered praying to god to keep them alive.

It was a rather silly thought. Very few shinigamis actually believe in god – for them, the spirit king resided in the Zero Dimension is probably the closest thing to a god this world has to offer. Of course, there was that traitor Sougetsu who fancied himself a god, but Hanabi thought that was ridiculous. Nobody was powerful enough to call themselves a real god. Real gods can do anything they wished, and the idea that someone can change your life on whim was just creepy.

For the twentieth time that day, Hanabi wondered if gods deliberately killed people for their own sick amusement because hey, if you can have all you ever want with a snap of your finger, life’s bound to get pretty boring. Perhaps her team is getting butchered right now because some god felt like it. Maybe he’s laughing his head off at their misfortune right now. Or maybe the pressure is just getting to her and she’s going mad.

To her horror, she realized that the last one made the most sense.

“Fall back and flee!” her desperate orders were lost in the chaos. The few that heard her attempted to follow instructions, but with all the hollows around it was impossible to do so. They were doomed, doomed! Hanabi could feel tears pricking at her eyes and a crazed giggle threatened to burst from her lips. She forced it down – seeing their leader go insane probably won’t help her team.

How on earth did everything go so wrong? She was suppose to lead a small team to ambush some strayed hollows in District 78, Inuzuri but due to unforeseen circumstances the hunters are now the hunted. A girl had been able to send a distress signal to Seireitei before they were forced to start fighting for their lives, but by the way things were going the backup wasn’t going to arrive in time.

None of the hollows were menos, but they had the advantage in numbers and surprise. In their initial attack they took down a quarter of the team, and before the shinigamis could regroup the hollows forced them into a clearing and formed a tight circle, blocking the escape routes. Half of the reapers were dead already, and the rest were injured and quickly losing. Hanabi was no exception; nasty gashes covered her limbs, her left ankle was twisted in a weird angle, and her head was still ringing from the blow she took from a bear-like hollow a few moments ago.

To make matters worse she didn't dare release her zanpakutou yet. In a crowded place like this she wouldn’t be able to tell friend from foe and would probably end up cutting a shinigami down. Fortunately – or unfortunately, this probably wouldn’t be a problem in a few minutes. Soul reapers were going down left and right, and soon there won’t be anyone left for her to accidently cut. Assuming that she had enough energy left to release it at all. What a shame. She really wanted to meet that new captain of hers…

Gritting her teeth, Hanabi dragged her sword arm up again. If she can’t live long enough to meet her captain face-to-face, then she’ll die with honor. Or try to, anyways. Right now it was kind of hard to stand up straight and confident with her busted ankle. Her blade met the hollow mask again and again as she tried to cut it through but her blows only left tiny scratches. The mask refused to break under her pathetic strength, even when she used Tsuzuri Raiden to assist her strikes. In an act of desperation Hanabi raised her left hand and shot a hasty Sokatsui to the hollow’s face.

At point-blank range the hado was deadly, and thin spidery cracks began to appear on the bear-like mask. Now that it was damaged, it was simple to cover her blade in lightning again and sneak a clean hit at its face. The hollow had good defensive abilities, but it was painfully slow. Hanabi backed away and tenderly poked at her new burns. In her ragged state she lacked her usual control, and Sokatsui wasn’t meant to be used at point-blank range anyways.

Miraculously, no more hollows came at her and Hanabi ran for the tree lines. She sank down behind a thick trunk and tried to catch her breath. Her heart fell when she took a good look around. There can’t be more than four shinigamis left now, struggling against the dozen of hollows surrounding them. The forest that was their battleground was now mostly on fire, and she could see that all the survivors – all of them must be fairly strong to last this long – are all in their shikais. They were still losing, though. The backup wasn’t going to get here in time, and she was going to die with her squad members.

Why do you not follow your own advice? Fall back and flee.

Hanabi shuddered as Kamakaze made herself known, the child spirit’s soprano voice echoing creepily in her mind. “That was an order from their leader. This is different, I can’t just leave them here,” she whispered out loud. She raised her zanpakutou until it was parallel to her face and stared at its metallic blade. She knew she was being foolish. As a stealth squad member she was trained to act like a ninja, and that meant using her friends as a distraction to run from this impossible situation.

She could make a break for it right now and would probably make it out of this mess. The surviving shinigamis had the hollows’ full attention right now and she could run. But then she would be throwing her subordinates to the wolves and she knew this action would haunt her for the rest of her days. “As a fourth seat, my duty is to lead my subordinates. I’ll stay with them until I die,” she told her sword seriously then added with considerately less confidence and a hint of hysteria, “Now please friggin’ help me!”

What an overly kind fool you are, Kamakaze simply replied and fell silent without offering another word. Seconds passed and just when Hanabi was convinced that her zanpakutou spirit was going to desert her, the blade pulsed under her fingers and began to grow colder and colder, its edge quivering. Then a voice that was definitely not her own pierced the air like a bell.

“Disappear.”

The next word fell from her lips naturally. “…Kamakaze,” Hanabi finished the release phrase that her zanpakutou started. The silvery blade quivered once more then quite literally fell apart, scattering into the air like a bunch of metallic fireflies. They raced past the tree she was hiding behind and whirled around the hollows, kicking up dust and pebbles everywhere. Hanabi took a few steps forward and gave the four survivors a weak smile. “Run,” her voice was soft, but the tone clearly told them that if they disobeyed there would be consequences.

Hanabi didn’t know if she should feel proud or hurt when they followed orders without question. In swift bursts of shunpo they left, and the second they disappeared Hanabi’s shikai fell apart and the plain, metallic katana was back. A sad smile appeared on her face and Hanabi sighed. There was no denying it anymore. She was too tired to activate her shikai again and soon she would become a hollow’s meal.

Why did you send them away? This time Kamakaze's voice was sad. Hanabi's choice was unexpected.

Hanabi gave a weak, crazed giggle but no answer. Her entire frame was shaking and she could barely keep her grip on the hilt of Kamakaze. She could quite literally feel herself snap under the pressure. She was afraid of death and did not want to die, not yet, but it would be selfish of her to condemn her teammates too. There was no chance of survival and she’s long lost hope for the backup. She would be the last sacrifice tonight.

The whirlwind of dust and leaves cleared, and the hollows roared angrily when they saw that they prey had disappeared. Together their beady eyes peered at her through bony white masks hungrily. Hanabi tried to pull herself together – she had hoped to die with dignity and honor, but right now she probably looked more like a broken, half-insane wreck. Her knees trembled and despite of her efforts they soon gave out. At the same time a hollow leapt, its mouth open.

What happened next was a blur. The hollow was cut down in the mid-leapt and she vaguely heard someone yell orders. Then people dressed in black flooded into the clearing. One of them caught her before she could do a face-plant, and said something about…backpacks? Bottles? She couldn’t hear him through the ringing in her head, but she understood the message when he began to wave a communicator in her face. Back-up has finally arrived. She wasn’t going to die.

You’ll probably spend the next month in rehab. You went quite insane there, lady. Were the last words she heard before darkness took over.