Pain and... something slimy?

My consciousness slowly came back to me. With a painful groan I opened my eyes. I had expected the sky, but instead I saw only darkness. It was also pretty slimy around me, but I had other concerns right now. Slowly the memories came back, the execution, a giant phoenix - and then Ichigo Kurosaki.

He had stopped the Sokyoku, also we were betrayed by two of our captains, I could still see shards of the once mighty Zanpakuto lying all over the place. My eyes focused the execution pole. Shattered. Then I looked at the **** bodies of my comrades.

“That’s right.” I mumbled and rose in the darkness. Renji Abarai had taken out most of them and just as me and the lieutenants wanted to intervene in his escape with Rukia, Ichigo had stopped us. Carefully I rubbed the part where his fist had connected with my stomach, weirdly enough the pain slowly subsided.

How the hell did he get that strong? I thought my growth had been extraordinary, but his was simply perverse. Taking out several lieutenants with just his fists.

That’s when a ray of light suddenly pierced through the blackness. I made a surprised sound as on over dimensional tongue suddenly threw me out and into a courtyard. I found myself among other injured Shinigami in front of a giant manta.

Which quickly vanquished into Gotei 4 captain Unohana’s sword. ‘A healing Shikai, how fitting.’ I thought to myself and tried to stand up. Instead I coughed blood. “Bastard.” I mumbled and coughed a second time. Guy punched me so hard it must have ripped something inside me.

Stubbornly I fought myself on my feet. “You really shouldn’t do that.” A nearby Gotei 4 member said and stepped next to me. “Shut the hell up.” I said and grabbed his shoulder, partly to intimate him but mostly to stabilize myself. “Just answer one question for me.”