Chapter 4 - They Shall not Pass 

   A shower of dirt falls over Katsumi as a Hollow detonates in a violent fiery explosion. The young Shinigami pants and sweats as she jumps across the sodden fields at incredible speeds. She was never one to truly master flash step, and it shows, as multiple Hollows quite easily match her movements, swarming around her like starving hyenas. They scream and roar like beasts, and vile ooze seeps from between their fangs as they lunge at Katsumi one after the other.

   She spears the side of one large gorilla-like Hollow with her Zanpakuto, burning her crest into its skin before uttering her command. She continues on, leaping out of the way of razor sharp claws, and dodging snapping teeth, each time countering to land a blow against these vicious monsters. 

   “Repent!” she calls out, exploding several Hollows at once, but it isn't enough, as more and more descend from the swirling grey sky. One Hollow leaps into the air and attempts to land a crushing fist down on the girl, only to miss by a hair, creating a blast all too similar to that of the human’s artillery shells. The shockwave knocks Katsumi off balance and she stumbles, catching her uniform on a tangled mess of barbed wire. 

   In the blink of an eye she notices a sharpened tentacle coming right for her, and she quickly discards her shihakusho to the mud, just avoiding the murderous appendage. She slides through the dirt, splattering foul water up her legs, staining her white under-uniform black and brown - but she keeps on fighting, a look of intense, agonised anger burning behind her eyes.

   “I will kill every single one of you!” she screams out, charging the tentacled octopus Hollow to burn her brand right through its eye-socket. “Repent!” she says through clenched teeth, the subsequent explosion going off and being contained within the Hollows skulled head, bursting the creature like a balloon. 

   Another Hollow dies, and another, and another, more and more, in a seemingly endless onslaught coming at Katsumi from every possible direction, pushing her back across the apocalyptic battlefield. The Soul Reaper defeats them in the remains of a hillside forest, passing through the barely noticeable ruins of a village, over abandoned trench lines and dugouts, across shell craters and small lakes of poisonous water, explosions ripping up the ground, the air filled with demonic screams.

   The young officer can hardly breath, she is exerting herself so hard. Her eyes are growing heavy and dim, her hands have become sore from gripping her polearm so tightly. Her ears ring from her own sword blasts, and her body has become sodden in filth. How much longer can she keep this up for she wonders, her rage at long last finally giving way to rational thought, to an inkling of fear. She must have defeated two dozen Hollows already, yet the sky is still a mass of monstrous apparitions vying for her death. 

   By this time Katsumi has been pushed back far from her landing point, and has become surrounded by unusual ruins. In a moment of distraction as she catches her breath an unseen Hollow catches the Shinigami by complete surprise, smashing her with a wreckingball of a fist to send her careening through the air into a half buried wall. Her head slams against the concrete and she hears something snap in her arm. She can feel an intense pain radiating up her whole right hand side like she’d been doused in acid, and she struggles to keep her weapon raised. All around her, as she stands momentarily immobilised against the wall, the Hollows charge together. 

   “Not like this.” Katsumi pleads with herself as they approach like a wall of teeth and tongues. She glances down, as if instinctively expecting her death, only to notice the ground below her feet is also concrete: and it's cracked. 

   In a move of desperation, and with the last of her strength, Katsumi slams her brand down against the floor and cries out its command. An explosion goes off beneath her just as the Hollows crash into the wall and she falls into a space below ground. The chaotic mass of Hollows destroy the ruins and churn the earth to the point that Katsumi’s lucky escape-hole caves in behind her, half burying her battered and broken body in rubble and mud. She can hear the beasts roaring and fighting among themselves above ground, their movements shaking the walls and dropping yet more dirt down on the girl.

   She claws her way forward, slipping out from under a large stone that had pinned her leg, crawling on all fours a ways down this subterranean passage for several feet before she turns back to make sure where she fell in from is completely sealed up. Thankfully not even a shred of light comes in from the outside, leaving Katsumi alone in this cold, dark tunnel. 

   She slumps backward, laying on the floor exhausted. She can feel the ground shaking as the sound of the Hollows begins to fade into the distance. Her breathing is heavy and pained, and her arm feels like it is on fire, but… she is still alive. She heaves a sigh of relief, and tries to push herself to sit up, but in doing so the last of her energy leaves her and she falls into unconsciousness. 

   Three years prior - A small group of Soul Reapers emerge from the light of a senkaimon out into a dense forest, Katsumi among them, bathed in the glow of a midnight's full moon. 

   “Okay you lot I’m only gonna say this once!” One slightly older Shinigami calls out authoritatively. “This is your last exam in the World of the Living before you can graduate! We are standing in the Concentrated Spirit Zone, which means there will be a large number of Hollows in this area. You will split into groups of two, and track down and defeat a Hollow each! This will not be easy for you! You will have no backup! If you get into trouble out there… die well.” 

   In all honesty the instructor's words unnerve the Shinigami students. Surely they can't just throw them to the wolves like this? Killing a Hollow should be easy, but what if something goes wrong some of them think to themselves. An air of sudden apprehension comes over the young recruits. Even Katsumi seems nervous all of a sudden. 

   “We’ve got this Kat, no worry!” says Katsumi’s older brother, placing a hand on her narrow shoulder with a huge confident smile on his face. Haru always was the more faithful of the two. Thankfully his overbearing cheesiness snaps Katsumi from her moment of fear.

   “Really? You want to pair up with me? After what happened last time?” she jokes, wiping her brother's hand from her shoulder playfully.

   “Uhh, I saved your ass last time.” quips Haru with a sarcastic smirk. 

   “I saved your ass last time!” 

   “No no, that was the time before last time.” Haru smiles back, drawing a chuckle from his sister as a confirmation of their partnership in this last test.

   “Alright. You have two hours. Your exam begins… now.” the instructor demands. Instantly the group of Soul Reapers disperse, flash stepping away in every direction into the dark of the forest. 

  The Shinobu siblings walk side-by-side along a small dirt track along the banks of the calmly flowing Karasu River. The water bubbles and breaks against mounds of stone at its shores, splashing up against large tufts of reeds. The moonlight shines down giving the slowly shifting waves a glimmer like that of glass or crystal, and a gentle breeze rustles tree branches high overhead. 

   “It’s quiet here.” says Haru softly, keeping an eye on the under-canopy to their right, a place imperceptible for its shrouded darkness. 

   “Are you worried about the forest?”

   “I feel like something is watching us…”

   “What!? You couldn't have said that earlier!?” whispers Katsumi harshly, placing a hand tentatively on her sword's hilt. “I don't sense any spiritual pressure though.” 

   “I just feel like there is something out there. Wait! Look!” Haru gestures, placing out his arm to stop his sister walking forward. As he does so a small figure emerges from the brush just in front of the two: stepping out into the light. The Shinigami breathes a sigh of relief as a lone racoon dog shuffles across the track and quickly down to the river bank for a refreshing drink. The pair can't help but smile, watching the tiny creature go about its business completely unaware of their presence. 

   “Well: I was right. There was something watching us.” Haru says as he slowly approaches the nocturnal animal to get a closer look.

   “It can't see us.” remarks Katsumi. 

   “You don't know that. I’ve heard that some animals are more attuned with the spirit world than most humans.” Haru continues, almost reaching out to touch the furry mammal. As he does so however the animal perks up, seeming to look directly at him before darting off back into the dark foliage of the woods. “Hmm. Let's keep going, this track must lead somewhere.” 

   Indeed Haru and Katsumi brush off their brief encounter with the local wildlife and continue their journey along the riverside path. Eventually after a few minutes of travel they both arrive at the edge of a small human settlement. The forest clears out, giving way to a number of wooden homes and houses, interspersed with gardens and quaint fields. The banks of the river have been reinforced with piles of stone, covered in moss in their old age, flanking the Shinigamis path to their left. In the distance the sound of wind chimes echo on the wind, and the sound of clothes rustling on a line somewhere gives the entire place an air of cool stillness. 

   The houses are all of varying craftsmanship: most made from planks and timber, some with thatched roofs, others with tile. At the side of the road numerous large poles stand tall, supporting a tangle of wire and cable, the purpose of which the Soul Reapers are unsure. They pass by a shop, outside of which many boxes and barrels stand piled up, and outside of another a large wooden cart has been propped up against the wall, its wheels slowly spinning almost invisibly in the wind. 

   “Wow. It almost looks like we’re back in the Rukon District doesn't it?” states Katsumi, fascinated by her surroundings. Despite all the training the two have had in the World of the Living in the past - this is the first time they have come anywhere near a Human village. 

   “It really is. I was happy to leave that place behind but, eh, this does feel a little nostalgic I admit. I wonder if they have a place here that sells those rice cake things, you know like that one guy sold around the corner from grandma's house?”

   “That mochi stuff? I can't believe you still eat that, it's disgusting.”

   “I like it. Besides you know what they say; when the hunger kicks in you’ll eat pretty much anything, and then you’ll become a Soul Reaper!”

   “We’re not Soul Reapers yet, Haru. We need to pass this exam.”

   “C’mon it's basically a given. They’ve already decided what squad we’re going in: Squad Ten. Besides, we've killed Hollows before… We just need to find some, where are they all?” 

   “This area is supposed to have the most spirits of anywhere in the World of the Living. So why is it so quiet?” ponders Katsumi as the two stop to take in the unusual solitude. There are plenty of humans around, both Haru and Katsumi can sense their spiritual pressure, but there is a strange lack of wandering souls. The wind seems to die down suddenly, everything goes quiet, even the sound of the splashing river water fades into the background as the two Soul Reapers focus on detecting their surroundings. 

   “Wait, listen.” whispers Katsumi as a new sound emanates from the distance. It's quiet, barely noticeable, a faint shrill cry. At first Haru wonders if it's a nearby Hollow, but that doesn't feel right, it's too constant. The pair begin to make their way down the road towards the sound, past more shops and houses until they approach the other side of the tiny village. By this time the sound has become quite identifiable. 

   “It's a baby.” states Katsumi, pinning its location down to a small shack just a ways off near the forest edge. She takes a quick moment to think: it's probably human, so there is no reason for her to interfere, surely its parents will help out… But that crying does sound desperate, and that house: it's practically ruined, falling apart, as if it were burnt down. Katsumi can feel a knot growing in her heart, she can't just leave it, she’ll just take a quick look she decides, slowly stepping off the path towards the shack. 

   “Wait, Kat! You sure about this?” asks Haru, a little unnerved about the whole situation. Something doesn't feel right. Regardless he soon falls in line behind his little sis to follow her into the dark, abandoned home. 

   There’s a terrible smell inside the ruins, somehow an odour of rotting, damp wood and ash at the same time. The beams seem cracked and split, and they creak loudly as Katsumi moves a plank of wood from in front of the open doorway. A slither of moonlight shines in through the holes in the roof, highlighting floating specks of dust or soot. Everything seems destroyed, left in total disorder. Something terrible happened here she thinks to herself sadly. 

   All the while the crying has grown louder and louder, piercing through the dark from the far side of the home. Then the two notice it - a crib sat near the middle of the room, just as ruined as everything else, but distinctly occupied. Katsumi approaches cautiously, leaning over the side and finding what she feared most: a lone baby, the tiny Chain of Fate embedded in its chest a clear indicator of the infants passing.

   “Oh no, you poor thing.” Katsumi coos as Haru comes near to get a better look. “How long have you been here? This is just horrible. Haru, we have to help her. Let's perform a Konso.” 

   “Has this child really been here all alone? Katsumi this doesn't feel right.” 

   “Maybe it died and its parents didn't. Either way let's send her spirit on to the Soul Society. We can tell someone what we did-” Katsumi says, her words cut off just as she puts a hand on her sword by a sudden surge in spiritual pressure. 

   The room almost seems to shake intensely, a rumbling which rattles the siblings to their core, creating a pressure in their ears, drawing sweat from their skin. Their pupils dilate and bodies lock up as a great and powerful presence begins to make itself known. Haru sees it first, a shimmer in the air behind the crib, as something invisible interacts with and bends the moonlight. Katsumi takes a step backwards, her foot sinking into a deep layer of ash, and she does so a loud roar booms out into the night and the entire shack explodes into a shower of splinters and scrap. 

   Katsumi rolls across the ground, her face bloody from a painful shrapnel wound in her cheek, until she comes to a stop at the bottom of the roadside ditch. A plume of smoke rises from where the shack had been standing moments before, and as the young girl staggers to get to her trembling feet she notices a dark shadow moving within the mist.

   A victorious howl disperses the smoke, revealing her attacker: a large Hollow with a form like that of a humanoid tortoise, with a thick spiked shell on its back, although its mask appears almost insectoid, like a praying-mantis. Katsumi wipes the dirt from her eyes to get a better look and notices, much to her horror, that from its human-like hand swings the baby from its chain of fate. For a moment Katsumi fears the Hollow is about to devour the child, but then it is quickly pulled up and into a void on the beast's palm, like a toy, or a fisherman's lure. 

   “Katsumi! Are you ok!” calls out Haru intensely as he jumps from the smoke out into the field. He likewise appears injured from the blast, but has his Zanpakuto drawn, determined to defend himself. 

   Katsumi whimpers for a moment, fighting through the pain as she also draws her sword. For a Hollow to use the spirit of a mear baby as bait, she can hardly imagine anything more disgusting. It churns her stomach how vile these demons can be. But together with Haru she should be able to defeat one lone Hollow, even if it got the drop on them. Then they would be one step closer to becoming true Soul Reapers. If only it were that easy…

  Haru makes the first move, lunging at the beast with all his might, but it's too quick and it leaps out of his path. Katsumi joins the skirmish, her blade shining in the moonlight as her somewhat slow and unrefined flash step brings her within striking distance of the monster. She manages to land a strike on its flesh, granting an opening for her brother to jump up and attack from above - only for the numerous spikes on the Hollows shell to burst out like spines to impale the boy through the shoulder. 

   Haru cries out in pain, distracting Katsumi enough that she is unable to block the creature's punch which sends her tumbling across the field. Through blurred eyes Katsumi watches as Haru slices the spike through to free himself. He jumps away, only for the creature to lunge after him with its jaw wide open. Haru is too slow and his left leg is caught in the Hollows snapping teeth, cutting it clean off and sending the young boy crashing hard to the ground below, his stump spurting blood like a crimson fountain. 

   The Hollow roars in satisfaction as the two trainees lay incapacitated and broken. Katsumi reaches out for her brother helplessly as he lays in the grass with the massive monster perched over him. She can hardly speak, but pleads desperately to save Haru, trying with all her might to move her body with no effect. This wasn't supposed to happen…

   Then, all of a sudden the Hollow’s arm bursts and falls from its body as it stumbles backwards in pain, howling as it slams against a nearby tree trunk. Katsumi is stupefied, what on earth just happened? Then she feels it, a new spiritual pressure standing right next to her that wasn't there a moment ago. She painfully rolls onto her side to look up at her saviour, only to see a towering figure, tall, with broad shoulders and a square bearded chin. His Shinigami uniform billows in the wind as his sword drips with the Hollows' fresh blood.

   “A Captain?” Katsumi whimpers softly. 

   “Did you really think we’d let students die out here? That's not the Soul Reaper way.” smiles Isshin Shiba confidently. 

   “My brother. Save my brother.” Katsumi begs.

   “Don't worry, he’ll be fine.” says Isshin just as the instructor from before flashes in to grab Haru, giving Katsumi a sorrowful look before flash stepping away with the badly injured boy. 

   “We weren't expecting a Hollow this strong  to be in the area. Our scouts must have made a mistake, I’m sorry… Umm, I’m sorry I haven't remembered all of your names yet!” jokes Isshin as he steps in front of Katsumi, between her and the quickly recovering Hollow.

   “That creature is “Mother Hunger”. It's been on our wanted list for years. So, Hollow: what do you have to say for yourself for hurting my students!?” Isshin shouts across at the beast, only to receive a demonic roar in response as it begins to charge at the Captain. “Yeah, that's what I thought…” Isshin sighs. He raises his sword moments before the Hollow sets upon him, and everything goes a brilliant, blinding white.