Malcolm coughed and sputtered as his seizure ceased his hand still gripping tight to his hammer as his eyes levered slowly open. The scene around him was very different from what he last remembered, some large hollow appearing from a stand of trees, three of them, and then things went very hazy. Looking around he saw walls, clearly made from some kind of reishi, and letters floating in the air. It wasn't the language they used in the Seireitei but it was something they were taught to get around in the human world. Looking down Malcolm was immediately reminded that his body existed below the neck and a wave of pain caused him to close his eyes and lay his head back with a groan.
He ached! Everything seemed to hurt, but there were certainly victors in the 'most intense pain' category. His leg felt as if something had been rammed nearly through it, the muscle binding and pulling on a void, and his chest, oh the pain in his chest. Wrenching his eyes open and gritting his teeth the man looked down at the damage to see a large laceration over his left pectoral muscle that angled down and did a fair job of bisecting his abdominals. His bleeding seemed to have been staunched, clearly thanks to Shin who's haggard features seemed like the man had run 10 miles only to be told he'd been going the wrong way and still reached his original destination on time.
"Shin," Malcolm said in a rough beat up voice barely loud enough to be heard within the walls of the small area, "Shin, what happened? I...I don't remember anything after those first three hollow appeared. Why is your face covered in blood, and what happened to me, and where did this woman come from?"
He knew it was a bit rude to ignore her question, but there were more pressing concerns. If he failed here, after what had happened with Tsuneo, it was possible that he would be expelled from the Gotei despite his current power and his skill in smithing.