As the hollows continued to rush towards Yuichi, he valiantly tried to block and deflect their attacks, but the relentless onslaught was taking its toll. Cuts and scratches covered his body, and he could feel his strength waning. His back pressed against a tree, he realized that he was running out of options.
Summoning his resolve, Yuichi was about to activate his Shikai, hoping that his zanpakuto's enhanced abilities would turn the tide of battle. However, just as he was about to speak his sword’s name, a sudden wave of dizziness and exhaustion overwhelmed him. His vision blurred, and his body felt heavy. With a final, desperate attempt to hold on, he pushed through the groggy feeling.
But it was too late. Yuichi's strength gave out, and he collapsed, unconscious, as the hollows closed in. When the closest hollow reached Yuichi and was about to grab him, a bolt of white lightning stuck it killing it.
This caused the other hollows to stop in their tracks, and look around for the attacker. Kira dropped from the sky and landed in the middle of the remaining 18 hollows. She looked around and said, “It looks like he really was unaffiliated with another noble house. If he were they would have had some guard watching him who would have interfered.”
The hollows began to roar causing Kira to yell, “Silence!”
As the hollows fell silent, Kira held her zanpakuto with both hands and said, “Twist, Hōtei no Kōi.” Her zanpakuto began to wrap and ripple, as if it were bending the space around it. When the distortion died down the sword, had become darker and the blade edge became a golden color.
As if frightened the hollows all took a step back, but it was no use, as Kira pointed her sword toward the sky and said, “Shinrai (信頼 trust). Now, kill.”
The hollows all became still at that moment and seconds later they began to slaughter and kill one another in a fervor. Like they were possessed they tore each other apart. As the Hollows turned on each other in a frenzied frenzy of violence, Kira wasted no time and made her way towards the unconscious Yuichi. Her zanpakuto, now transformed and empowered, exuded an aura of authority and control that kept the hollows at bay, as if they dared not challenge her.
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Kneeling beside Yuichi, Kira examined his condition. She could see the injuries he had sustained from the earlier battles and the scratches and cuts that covered his body. His breathing was shallow, and he seemed to be in a state of deep unconsciousness.
Kira's expression remained calm and composed as she reached out and gently placed her blade at Yuichi's neck. She pressed the blade against his neck drawing blood. Her gaze was cold and unyielding as she scrutinized his unconscious form. After a few seconds, the cold murderous look in her eye rescinded, “Looks like the kido was effective. You’re lucky Yuichi, normally I would have killed you regardless just to be safe, but we’re friends so I’ll let you live for now.”
With that, she withdrew her blade and stood up, her zanpakuto returning to its original form, before she sheath the blade. The few remaining hollows that had been in a frenzied state seemed to regain some semblance of control, but they no longer posed a threat. Kira then released a weak killing aura that caused the remnants to flee, as she released the barrier surrounding the area.
With the reaming hollows having fled, Kira walked away leaving the unconscious Yuichi lying on the ground. The kido she had cast would dispel in about 15 minutes, so whether he awoke and survived was his business as she had other things to deal with now that she had verified his allegiance.
As Kira walked away, leaving Yuichi unconscious on the ground, she dispelled the barrier that had surrounded the area. The remaining Hollows, no longer under the influence of her control, fled in fear. With the barrier gone, the natural sounds of the forest began to return, and the tense atmosphere gradually dissipated.
Yuichi lay there, unconscious and wounded, as the effects of the kido took hold. He had narrowly escaped a dire situation thanks to Kira's intervention, but his injuries and exhaustion remained. It would be some time before he regained consciousness.
As the minutes passed, the kido's effects began to fade, and as time passed, Yuichi's condition gradually improved. His breathing became more regular, and the color returned to his face as his body continued to heal itself. The injuries he had sustained from the battle with the Hollows were slowly mending, thanks to his innate Soul Reaper abilities and the reishi in the air.
After a while, Yuichi stirred, his eyelids fluttering open. He groaned softly as he became aware of his surroundings. He was lying on the forest floor, his body aching from the battle he had endured. Memories of the hollows and the overwhelming exhaustion flooded back to him.
Struggling to sit up, Yuichi took in his surroundings. The forest seemed eerily quiet now, with no sign of the hollows. He realized that he had been saved by someone, but the identity of his savior remained a mystery.
As he regained his senses, Yuichi knew that he needed to return to the Seireitei and heal his wounds, before he could figure out what had happened. Wasting no time Yuichi ran back to the closest district in the Rukongai.
Now that he had made it here, Yuichi needed to find some new clothes, as his current outfit was torn and covered in blood. If he returned in this condition he would be stopped and questioned for sure, something he wanted to avoid for now.