Benihime and Mongoose

Ye Yang slept in a tree for a while, then picked a few squads at random to observe. The students were a little inexperienced, but fortunately, they worked well together, and the simulated Hollows posed no threat to them.

As Ye Yang was thinking, a violent surge of Spiritual Pressure suddenly interrupted him. This is bad. That Spiritual Pressure is—Hollows! Damn it, how could real Hollows have appeared? And there are so many of them! These students can't possibly handle them. What is Soul Society doing? How could this happen?

Ye Yang's first thought was to notify Soul Society and ask what was going on. He took out his communication device and spoke into it. "Hello? Soul Society? I'm a student in charge of this Shin'ō field exercise. Real Hollows have appeared here, and we need backup."

A voice came from the other end. "What? Hollows have appeared? Don't panic. First, tell us their level and how many there are."

Ye Yang made a quick estimate. "They're all low-level Hollows. We haven't spotted any Menos Grande yet. As for their numbers, there are too many to count. Send backup quickly. We'll try to hold them off."

"All right, we'll send a rescue team to support you soon," the voice replied.

After contacting Soul Society, Ye Yang immediately fired a signal flare to notify Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara. He trusted that they would sense the Hollows' Spiritual Pressure when they returned. Ye Yang threw a black rod into the air, and it traced unfamiliar symbols on his arm. He chanted, "Heart of the south, eye of the north, fingertip of the west, heel of the east, gather with the wind and scatter with the rain! Bakudō number fifty-eight—Kakushitsuijaku!"

Having located all the students, Ye Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there had been no casualties yet. He said, "Everyone, the field exercise has been terminated. Please don't panic when you hear this. A large number of Hollows have entered the area. Please return to the assembly point as quickly as possible. If you encounter any Hollows, don't engage them. Come back here and wait for rescue."

Before long, Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara were, of course, the first to return. As soon as she arrived, Yoruichi asked, "What's going on? Why is there Hollow Spiritual Pressure here? Are the students all right?"

Ye Yang replied, "I don't know. I only just sensed the Hollows' Spiritual Pressure myself. I've already notified Soul Society and told the students. They should be here soon."

Yoruichi asked, "Can't we just go kill all the Hollows? Why are we staying here?"

Ye Yang said, "The students' safety comes first. There are too many Hollows to wipe them all out. The only thing we can do now is gather the students here and hold out until help arrives from Soul Society. We'll stay here and pay close attention to their Spiritual Pressure. If any students engage the Hollows, the three of us will go help and bring them back here."

Kisuke Urahara agreed. "That's the only thing we can do for now."

Suddenly, an unusual surge of Spiritual Pressure reached them. It seemed a student had started fighting a Hollow. Ye Yang immediately ran to the scene and saw a brown-haired boy battling a Hollow. Though his body was covered in wounds, a look of determination was unmistakable on his youthful face. Ye Yang rushed forward and sliced the Hollow in two with a single stroke, then demanded loudly, "Didn't I say not to engage the Hollows head-on? Why didn't you follow orders?"

The boy said nothing, merely pointing to a trembling little girl nearby. Ye Yang understood at once. Was he trying to protect her? How beautiful. He then asked, "What's your name?"

The boy finally spoke. "Sōsuke Aizen. Senior Ye Yang, will we be rescued?" His words revealed his desire to live.

Ye Yang was shaken. Isn't this the biggest boss in this world? He thought back to the last episode he had watched in his previous life. Aizen's parting words had been full of the imposing bearing of a superior. Ye Yang studied the Aizen before him again. There wasn't a trace of falsehood in his eyes. It seemed Aizen had no intention of betraying anyone yet. Ye Yang wondered what would cause the sincere youth before him to change so much.

Aizen noticed Ye Yang staring blankly at him and couldn't help asking, "Senior Ye Yang? What's wrong?"

Ye Yang realized he had lost his composure. "It's nothing. You can still move, right? If you're all right, bring that girl and follow me."

With that, he took Aizen and the girl back to the assembly point. By the time they returned, all the students were there. They all had injuries, some worse than others. More seriously, the Hollows had sensed the Spiritual Pressure here and were converging on them. Ye Yang turned to everyone and said, "Don't panic. Those of you who can still fight, harass them with Kidō. Whatever you do, don't engage the Hollows head-on. Those who can't fight, take care of the seriously injured students. We just need to hold out until help arrives from Soul Society. Leave the attacking to the three of us."

With that, Ye Yang charged forward, Asauchi in hand, and cut an oncoming Hollow in two. Yoruichi followed close behind, while Kisuke Urahara supported them with Kidō. The three of them moved freely among the Hollows, slaying quite a few.

They fought like that for about ten minutes. Ye Yang thought they could keep holding out, but then he sensed several powerful surges of Spiritual Pressure nearby. One of them was even approaching Captain-level.

Ye Yang shouted, "This is bad! Menos Grande! There are more than ten Gillians, and there seems to be an Adjuchas-class Menos Grande too. We're in big trouble."

Sensing the arrival of the Menos Grande, the low-level Hollows stopped attacking and scattered. More than a dozen enormous Gillians came walking toward them. They opened their mouths, red light flashing within, and their violent Spiritual Pressure left most of the students unable to fight.

Ye Yang shouted, "Watch out, it's a Cero! Kisuke!"

Seeing this, Kisuke Urahara drew his Zanpakuto and chanted, "Cry out, Benihime! Blood Mist Shield!" His Asauchi vanished, replaced by a slender Zanpakuto. A red cord knot sat where the guard should have been, and the end of the hilt curved back. This was the Shikai of Kisuke Urahara's Zanpakuto, Benihime! Its ability was to release and control red light for attack or defense.

When he finished the Shikai command, a red hexagonal shield appeared in front of Kisuke Urahara. An instant later, the dark-red Ceros collided with the bright-red Blood Mist Shield, causing a tremendous explosion. The blast sent several students flying, and they were all seriously injured by the aftershock. Then a familiar voice cried out, "No—! Don't!"

Ye Yang saw that it was Sōsuke Aizen, whom he had saved earlier. He was shouting because the girl was one of the unfortunate few caught in the aftershock. She had already been injured, and now she had been gravely wounded and knocked unconscious.

The young Aizen roared as he held the unconscious girl. Ye Yang immediately used Shunpo to reach him. Seeing Ye Yang as though he were a savior, Aizen grabbed him and said, "Senior Ye Yang, please save her! She'll be all right, won't she?"

Ye Yang first held Aizen by the shoulders and said, "Calm down. I'll do everything I can to save her." Then he crouched down to examine the girl. Fortunately, her head hadn't been struck; otherwise, not even Captain Unohana could have saved her. His brow soon furrowed. The Saketsu and Hakusui in the girl's chest were severely damaged. Even if she recovered, she could no longer be a Soul Reaper, and there was a strong possibility she would be left with lasting effects.

Ye Yang gave her some basic treatment and bandaged her wounds, then said to Aizen, "Her life isn't in danger for now. Take good care of her. I'm going to check on the front. Remember, as soon as the rescue force arrives, have the medical team treat her."

Aizen calmed down considerably upon hearing that. "Thank you, Senior Ye Yang. Go ahead."

Ye Yang used Shunpo to reach Yoruichi and asked, "How's the situation?"

"The dozen or so Gillians are easy enough to deal with. They have no minds of their own, and they're slow. We should be able to kill them if we keep at it for a while. The difficult one is that Adjuchas-class Menos Grande. They already possess considerable intelligence, and its strength is probably close to Captain-level," Yoruichi said gravely.

Ye Yang thought for a moment, then said, "I'll hold off the Adjuchas. You two deal with the Gillians as quickly as you can, then come help me. With the three of us together, we should be able to stand against it."

Yoruichi was still worried. "Can you hold off the Adjuchas? Don't push yourself."

Ye Yang smiled bitterly. "What other choice do we have now?"

"Why don't I hold it off? I'm faster, so I should be able to do it," Yoruichi said.

Kisuke Urahara said, "No, Yoruichi. You may be fast, but this Adjuchas isn't something you can deal with through speed alone."

Seeing this, Yoruichi could only agree to Ye Yang's plan. "Then that's what we'll do. We'll finish them off as quickly as we can, so make sure you hold on."

Ye Yang nodded without speaking. Kisuke Urahara murmured, "Awaken, Benihime!" His Zanpakuto instantly became a slender blade, and he charged forward with Benihime in hand.

Yoruichi called out, "Hum softly, Mongoose!" Her Asauchi shortened, and the Zanpakuto seemed to melt and cling to her hands, gradually transforming into a pair of gloves. Sharp blades tipped the five fingers, as though ready to tear an enemy apart at any moment. This was the Shikai of Yoruichi's Zanpakuto, Mongoose. Its ability greatly increased its wielder's speed, and any target struck by Mongoose became sluggish. It could even affect an enemy's optic nerves, making them think Yoruichi's speed had increased many times over. It was a Zanpakuto that lived by speed. It also had a very interesting special ability: it could turn Yoruichi into a cat. Anyone who wasn't extremely familiar with Yoruichi would never recognize her; even Captain-Commander Yamamoto wouldn't be able to identify her otherwise.

With her Zanpakuto in Shikai, Yoruichi shot into the group of Gillians like an arrow loosed from a bow and began to fight...