Itsu Kurisumasu Itaru Gaiku
Yosh! I am back! Insert Sweeny Todd opening here I said I would right a sequel to Aishiteru, Taichou no Gouka Kanojo, so here it is! DAMN 1.25" MARGINS! Angrily changes them to 1" any who… The title translates to "When Christmas Comes to Town". Totally not the right season to write this, but I was listening to the song "When Christmas Comes to Town" from The Polar Express (I love to sing this song), and got the idea for it. I'll be back; I'm hungry.
I'm back! Yet another Juushiro/Retsu fanfic to add to the collection! YAYZ!
Disclaimer: I don't own bleach. Bleh…
Note: This takes place after Sasuke-I mean Sosuke (gawd it's so easy to mix those two up; them and Kisuke) and them go to "Heaven". (they take some part in this fic) Some phrases are in Japanese because it's cool. (Nods) once again, random cameo of Sakana Satoshi and the fourteenth division. They take a huge part in this fic.
Line
It was December, and the entire Soul Society was getting ready for Christmas. Juushiro was on a ladder, helping Retsu decorate her giant tree. The couple had been dating for five months now, and formed a bond closer than colleagues.
"A little to the left… little more… little more… to the right a little…"
Juushiro was attempting to place the ornaments perfectly spaced on the tree. He was precariously balanced on one foot.
"Little more… Perfect!" Retsu said. Juushiro got off of the ladder and sat down next to Retsu.
"Kiyone! Sentarou! Isane! Are you done untangling the lights yet?" Juushiro called into the other room. Juushiro and Retsu had gone into the 4th Division's storage rooms to get the lights when they discovered they had been hopelessly tangled up. Isane came through the doorway carrying one string of lights. "Here, Ukitake-taichou. We WOULD have the others untangled by now if they weren't goofing off…" she said. Laughter poured out from the room and Retsu sweatdropped. Juushiro's third seats were very… odd.
After another hour Juushiro left for his own division. The taichou was feeling exhausted. He gave Retsu a quick kiss on the cheek and shunpo'ed to his own division.
Line
Juushiro was tossing and turning in his sleep. His brow was furrowed in pain, and he whimpered slightly.
Dream
Juushiro was walking through the quiet streets of the Seireitei. He had decided to take a walk in the night air. Suddenly, he felt someone's reiatsu fade suddenly. "What the heck?" he said to himself, then started to run towards the place he had once felt the spiritual pressure.
He felt his heart sink when he realized he was running towards the fourth division. Normally he wouldn't react this way if a Shinigami died, but this was different. The reiatsu was familiar…
He rounded a corner, and almost screamed. Almost.
Tosen and Gin were standing in the way. Gin shook blood off of his Zanpakuto, the fox-like grin plastered evilly on his face. Tosen was holding up a body.
"Oh, dear. I'm so sorry, Ukitake-taichou, but your friend seems to have had an accident." Gin said, the usual sarcasm in his voice. Tosen dropped the body onto the ground.
"What did you do? What are you doing here?" Juushiro growled, pulling out his Zanpakuto as his heart filled with dread. He reached out for Retsu, trying to find her reiatsu.
"It's no use." Tosen said. He turned the body with his foot and confirmed Juushiro's fear. He stopped trying to find Retsu.
They had killed her.
These… these BASTARDS…
Dream End
Juushiro shot up, wheezing. Tears formed in his eyes as he coughed. He grabbed his handkerchief from his nightstand and coughed again, this time coughing up blood. Tentatively, he reached out, searching fearfully for Retsu. Thankfully, her reiatsu was still there; she was still in her room in her division. He looked at his clock; it was only four in the morning. He coughed again, more blood coming out.
What had caused him to have such a dream?
He got up and went to his cupboard. There, in the very back, was a bottle of sake that Shunsui had given him. He kept it, just in case. He poured himself a glass and took a drink. The sake calmed his nerves.
What had caused him to have that dream? He would never dream of hurting Retsu in any way…
After he had taken a cold shower and gotten dressed, it was already time to get up. As he walked through the streets, he noticed that the entire Soul Society was on edge. Unfortunately he had a big meeting, so he flash-stepped to the first division meeting hall.
When he arrived, he saw Retsu. For a brief moment, he felt sick, so sick he wanted to pass out. Retsu went up to him. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine." Juushiro said. Together they walked into the meeting hall.
Yamamoto hit his staff/Zanpakuto on the ground. "We have a problem. As you know, Sosuke Aizen, Kaname Tosen, and Gin Ichimaru betrayed the soul society. Now, we believe that there might be others in the Seireitei conspiring with them. I want you to be especially careful with your divisions, and watch them closely." Yamamoto said.
As the captains filed out, Yamamoto stared at Juushiro, Shunsui, Retsu, and Sakana (14th division captain, remember? Pokes). "You four are my prime suspects… The truth will be revealed." The Soutaichou thought.
"Jeez, watch our divisions closely? I think only you two need to worry about it." Sakana said, gesturing towards Shunsui and Juushiro. Juushiro had a bewildered look on his face. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, nobody in my division would even THINK to betray me, much less the Soul Society (it's so small, anyways), and c'mon. Nobody in the 4th is willing to become evil." Sakana said matter-of-factly. Retsu sighed. "I think I'm going to have to go with Sakana-chan on that one."
"Humph." Shunsui said, not liking the fact that he would have to keep tabs on all the members of his squad all the time, "I think I'll have my Nanao-chan do it for me."
Juushiro sighed. "Just as lazy as ever, aren't you, Shun?" he said, laughing.
"Well, we'd better get going. C'mon Retsu, let's go shopping!" Sakana said excitedly. The two flash-stepped away to get ready to go shopping for Christmas presents.
Line
After a few more nights of having the same nightmare of Retsu dying at the hands of Gin and Tosen, Juushiro woke up one night. It was one in the morning. Sighing, he threw his captain's cloak over him to keep him warm and took a walk.
As he was walking, he felt a very odd spiritual pressure. It seemed so familiar… Before he moved any further, he reached out for Retsu's reiatsu. It was where it was supposed to be.
So what was this odd feeling he was getting?
Juushiro turned a corner, stifling a cough. He looked up and gasped.
"…Ichimaru?"
Gin leered at the surprised captain. "Hello, Ukitake-taichou. How nice to see you again."
Juushiro cursed himself for leaving his Zanpakuto in his bedroom. "What the heck are you doing here?" He growled, trying to think of a strategy to save himself. Unarmed, he didn't stand a chance against Gin.
"Oh, I was just coming back to see who we would have to kill on our return." Gin said, snow swirling around him. Juushiro shivered.
"You don't have to do this. Come back; I'm sure we can work something out…"
Meanwhile, up in the shadows, the 1st division lieutenant was crouched on the roof, watching the entire exchange. Unfortunately, the Mexican Zorro look-alike (funny story about this later) wasn't listening to the conversation.
"So, it's true…" Sasakibe said, "Just as Yamamoto-soutaichou said." The fukutaichou shunpo'ed away back to his division.
Juushiro suddenly burst into a fit of coughing, blood falling to the floor. When his bout had stopped, Gin had disappeared. Juushiro wiped his mouth with his handkerchief, blinking. "Was it an illusion? He said to himself as he walked back to his division to go back to sleep.
Dream
Juushiro was running full-tilt down the streets of the Seireitei. He felt his lungs straining to keep up with him, but he continued. Retsu's spiritual pressure was so close; he wouldn't lose her this time.
On his heels were very strange purple and tan beasts. Two of them. Juushiro coughed and fell to his knees just as Gin rounded the corner, holding Retsu's decapitated head. He felt someone shaking him and calling his name.
"Juushiro…
Juushiro…"
"Juushiro, wake up! C'mon, Juushiro!"
Juushiro sleepily opened his eyes to see that Shunsui was inches away from his face. "Um, Shunsui? What's going on?" he mumbled. Shunsui got off of him as Juushiro sat up, rubbing his eyes. He opened his eyes fully only to have his line of sight blocked by a load of clothes.
"Get dressed; we have to get out of here." Shunsui said, carefully staring out the window. Juushiro had never seen Shunsui this tense before, except when the two were fighting Yamamoto. He did as he was told, thoroughly confused.
"What's going on, Shunsui?"
"Yamamoto thinks we're the traitors. Tell me; did you have a meeting with Gin last night?" Shunsui said, turning back to Juushiro, who had just put on his captain's cloak. Juushiro had never seen his friend this serious before.
"Yes."
"Hmm. I ran into Tosen last night. I think that they thought that we were conspiring with them. All the squads are after us; they're threatening to hurt Nanao-chan and Retsu-chan if we don't surrender."
Juushiro stood up quickly and instantly regretted it as he had a coughing fit. "What… not fair…" he said, coughing.
"I know. All we can do is run and hope we won't get caught. Sakana said that she'd try to help us, but it's not very likely; she doesn't want to get caught up in this." Shunsui said, peering out of the window again. He could faintly see a few groups of Shinigami in the distance. The black outfits against the white snow made them stand out more.
"We have to get out of here." Shunsui said, helping Juushiro up.
"Where exactly are we going to go?" Juushiro said. Shunsui closed his eyes and sighed.
"A secret place. The only three that know about it are me, Sakana, and Sakana's mother." He said, "Now, conceal your spiritual pressure and let's get the hell out of here." Shunsui said. Juushiro picked up his Zanpakuto and quietly followed his best friend out the window.
"Retsu… I hope you're okay…"
Line
"So they're chasing Shunsui and Juushiro?" Retsu said worriedly. Both were standing outside in the snow. Sakana nodded.
"Yes. Yamamoto wants to execute them himself. I'm so worried…" Sakana said, dragging her foot through the layer of snow. Retsu gently wrapped her arms around the younger captain.
"I'm sure they'll be alright." Retsu said.
"Juushiro, nanitozo… daijoubu…" (It means Juushiro, please be alright)
Line
Shunsui and Juushiro finally stopped running and fell into the snow, gasping for air. Juushiro had stopped three times, coughing so hard blood almost came out, but they had kept going.
They had to escape until they uncovered the truth.
"Dou…shita… Juu-chan?" Shunsui gasped. Juushiro nodded. After lying in the snow for about fifteen minutes, they looked up.
"So, this is it?" Juushiro said, looking around. It was beautiful, even though the secret field was covered in snow. Shunsui grinned and nodded.
"Yep! Nobody else knows about it. As far as I'm concerned, we can stay here for a while, at least until this all blows over." Shunsui said. Suddenly he leapt upright, entire body tense. Juushiro once again was confused.
"What's wrong, Shunsui…?" Juushiro asked softly.
"It's Sakana… she's in trouble." Shunsui said, a slight growl in his voice.
Line
"I will ask you again. Where are Kyoraku and Ukitake?" Yamamoto said. He was holding Sakana by the neck, practically strangling her.
"I… don't… know…" Sakana gasped. Retsu backed up a little bit, not wanting to feel Yamamoto's wrath. She was scared. For once in her life, the fourth division captain was terrified.
"Do not lie to me, Satoshi. Where are they?!" Yamamoto said, glaring into Sakana's eyes. Sakana was also known as a genius, but she couldn't think of a solution. It seemed like Yamamoto wouldn't take no for an answer. She felt Yamamoto's hand tighten around her neck, and she then knew what she had to do to survive.
"I'm sorry… Juushi-chan… Sui-chan… forgive me…" Sakana thought.
"They… might be…at… secret… field…" Sakana wheezed, struggling for breath. Yamamoto loosened his grip around Sakana's neck, and she felt some feeling come back into her fingers.
"There's a secret… field… that me and Shunsui… usually go to… get away from stress…" Sakana said weakly. Yamamoto roughly dropped Sakana into the snow, where she started to cough heavily.
"Show me where this field is."
"It's… (Cough, cough) next to the… eighth division…" Sakana coughed, feeling lightheaded. Yamamoto flash-stepped away, leaving Retsu to take care of Sakana. Sakana sat up, breathing normally.
"Retsu…"
"Hai, Sakana-chan?"
"I want you to wait here. I've got a bad feeling about this." Sakana said, opening her eyes. She whistled, and a small raccoon came running to her.
"What's up, Sakana?" the raccoon said.
"Kaihaku-Gaara, let's go. We've got to get to Juushiro and Shunsui before Yamamoto does." Sakana said, picking up the raccoon. Retsu watched as the two flash-stepped away. It wasn't often that you got to see the 14th Division captain actually fight with her spirit animal beside her.
"Be careful!" Retsu shouted after her colleague.
Line
Shunsui flopped back onto the ground. "This is horrible. They're accusing us because we ran into them. I didn't even have my Zanpakuto on me at the time." He grumbled, displeased.
"Neither did I. Something doesn't seem right." Juushiro said, coughing. Suddenly, Juushiro leapt to his feet.
"What is it, Juu-chan?" Shunsui asked. He didn't get a response as they felt an overwhelming reiatsu. Shunsui also leapt to his feet. "Crap, he caught us." He turned to his best life-long friend.
"Old friend, we're going to be fighting for our lives." Shunsui said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Juushiro nodded and drew his sword. "I know."
(A/N: This would be the best place to end this. We'll get to the Juushiro/Retsu in a minute, just be patient!)
Yamamoto stepped into the snow-covered field. Everywhere he stepped, the snow would melt, revealing the thriving green grass underneath. "Shunsui, Juushiro. I am highly disappointed in you."
Juushiro tried to reason with their old teacher. "Yamamoto-sensei, if you'll let us explain…"
"SILENCE!" Yamamoto roared, his Zanpakuto already in its released form. Juushiro didn't want to fight. All he wanted was to spend time with his friends, Retsu, and his division… He didn't want to fight, not now…
"You will pay for your treason!" Yamamoto bellowed, swinging his Zanpakuto at them. Shunsui and Juushiro leapt up, dodging the flames.
Juushiro momentarily flashed back to the last time they had had to fight Yamamoto. He hadn't wanted to fight then, either. He started coughing, and Shunsui looked at him with concern.
"Are you alright?" he said worriedly as they landed on the ground. Juushiro nodded. "I'll be okay." Juushiro was then forced to do the matrix as Yamamoto swung his Zanpakuto at him.
Line
"Can you feel it? His reiatsu is getting closer." Kaihaku said. Sakana only partially heard her spirit animal. She reached behind her with her left hand and drew her Zanpakuto. It shook, then got a little bit warmer.
"Just wait, Kyuukisekimaru… you'll get your chance…" Sakana said, as they reached the eighth division, hoping they weren't too late.
Line
"You two are the last two people I would have suspected with being in cahoots with them. I am surprised at you." Yamamoto said. He sounded hurt, almost. Juushiro felt his lungs contract, and he started to cough heavily. He fell to his knees as red blood stained the snow. Juushiro felt so sick, so lethargic, and so ill, that he probably would throw up, which he did. He threw up mass quantities of blood, unable to control himself. He weakly tried to reach out for Retsu, to let her know that he would be fine, but he couldn't find the strength to do it. This attack was different from others he had had; it left him struggling to breathe. As he coughed Shunsui grabbed him and tried to help him as Yamamoto moved forward. Yamamoto wasn't about to let Juushiro's illness get in the way.
"Now, be gone!" Yamamoto said, raising his Zanpakuto. Shunsui tried to shield his sick friend with his body. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen.
It never did.
Shunsui heard a loud clang; the sound of one Zanpakuto hitting another. He looked back to see Sakana, her Zanpakuto intercepting Yamamoto's. She threw Yamamoto backwards, where he landed a couple hundred feet away. Sakana surveyed the situation.
There was blood everywhere, but neither of them seemed injured. Juushiro had now fallen unconscious, coughing every now and then. His face was red with fever, and she could tell he was sweating. She turned to Yamamoto, who had raised his Zanpakuto again.
"Hear me out, Yamamoto-soutaichou. They aren't in contact with Aizen. What they heard wasn't these two conspiring with Tosen and Gin; In fact, they probably saved a few deaths from happening. Gin and Tosen were here to assassinate Unohana-taichou and Hitsugaya-taichou." Sakana said, feeling slightly dizzy. The sight of all that blood was getting to her. "Whether you chose to believe me or not is your choice. But that is the honest-to-goodness truth." She finished. She then turned her attention back to her father and teacher. Shunsui was trying to get Juushiro to wake up, but to no avail.
"Shunsui."
Shunsui looked up into his daughters eyes. They had a tired look in them; like she was older than she really was. She gently picked up Juushiro, who was about twice the size of her. "Hai, Sakana?"
"We have to get Juushiro to Unohana, fast. If we don't hurry now, he might not make it…" Sakana said, her voice betraying her emotion. Shunsui nodded and the two shunpo'ed away from the snowy, blood stained field. Yamamoto sighed and sat on a rock, closing his eyes.
"What have I done?"
(A/N: YOU ASS! I'm sorry, I just got finished watching the Episode 55 of Bleach. Soifon's a bitch, Yamamoto's an ass, and… yeah. Juushiro has the same voice actor as Gaara from Naruto he sounds like a diseased Gaara, but when he shouts he reminds me of Yami from Yugioh… O.o)
Line
Sakana screeched to a halt in front of the fourth division. She had sent Kaihaku-Gaara ahead to warn Retsu of what was to come. Retsu hurried out of her quarters.
"Bring him in here." Retsu said. Sakana gently laid Juushiro down on the bed. Her white taichou cloak was now stained with blood from carrying Juushiro so far. Sakana gave her best friend a worried look, in which the healer responded by patting the shorter captain on the head.
"I can still feel his reiatsu; he'll be alright." Retsu said. The two left to go get cleaned up as Retsu gently placed her wrist on his forehead. His temperature was obviously up.
"Juushiro, please be strong." Retsu said, pouring her reiatsu into his body, trying to heal his lungs the best she could.
But as she would soon find out, the best just wasn't enough.
Line
It had been a full week since Juushiro had been brought to her. He was doing a little better, but he was still unconscious. Retsu refused to leave her lover-I mean, patient's side under any circumstance, even to go to captain's meetings. She had not slept in four days; a new record for the fourth division. She gripped Juushiro's hand, pouring some of her reiatsu into him. She wanted to cry, and sometimes she did. She cursed Yamamoto for the thousandth time for what he had done to Juushiro.
"Juushiro…" Retsu said softly, "Please don't go… if you can here me… please… give me a sign…" she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.
Yamamoto sighed as the weekly captain's meeting came to order. Sakana and Shunsui were still pissed at him, because Hana Sentaishi, one of the 14th division lieutenants, and Nanao were in the place of their respective captains. Both captains refused to speak, or even look at, the soutaichou. They quite frequently spent their time either doing paperwork (surprisingly for Shunsui), or seeing how Juushiro was fairing.
Retsu once again poured her reiatsu into Juushiro's lungs, trying to heal them the best she could.
But she would soon find out, the best just wasn't enough.
She would have to do better.
A blizzard soon went through the Seireitei. Retsu was exhausted, but she wouldn't give up on Juushiro. Not yet. She grasped Juushiro's hand and placed her forehead on his.
"Please, follow my voice and my reiatsu… we all need you here… Kiyone-san, Kotsubaki-san, and especially Kyoraku-taichou will be heartbroken if you go…" She whispered, her voice wavering. Juushiro remained unconscious. Retsu was just about to let go of his hand when the unthinkable happened.
Juushiro's breathing had become more difficult. His fever seemed to be going up as well. Retsu took Juushiro's temperature, and it measured out to be 104.6. She felt for his pulse, and it was unsteady. Retsu gripped his hand and ran her reiatsu through him, trying to keep him alive.
Line
Sakana thrust her Zanpakuto into the snow, panting. She was so stressed out from Juushiro's condition; it was starting to affect her own. Blood dripped from her mouth into the snow as she raised her Zanpakuto again. She was in a forest, but most of it had been cut down out of anger. She growled and raised her Zanpakuto again, angrily concentrating her spiritual pressure. The aura around her had turned a reddish black out of wrath.
"Wreak Havoc, Fox of Hell! Kyuukisek-"
She stopped short; Juushiro's reiatsu had weakened again, and it was starting to put even more of a strain on Sakana. She sheathed her Zanpakuto on her back and looked at her hands, which were covered in blood.
Her blood.
She wiped the blood from her mouth and stumbled back to her division to get ready for a captain's meeting, trying her hardest not to shed tears. She had to be strong; she had promised Juushiro a long time ago that she wouldn't cry. (not the best time for a flashback, so you won't get one.)
Line
Retsu brushed Juushiro's hair out of his eyes. They had to hook him up to some monitors. His blood pressure was 141/91. His face had a blush on his face from fever, and his pulse was slow and irregular. Retsu was trying her hardest to save him.
But she would soon find out, the best just wasn't enough.
Juushiro's heart rate slowed even more, and Retsu, the professional healer, started to panic. She couldn't lose him… not now…
"Juushiro, please… stay with us… follow the sound of my voice…"
Juushiro's breath came in ragged gasps. He was having death throes, and by the looks of it, death was winning. Retsu clung to his hand, fighting back sobs.
"Juushiro, no… no…" Retsu sobbed, unable to hold the tears back any longer. The snowfall slowed outside. She couldn't do it. He was dying, and she couldn't save him.
And then, his heart stopped, just as the last snowflake hit the ground.
Juushiro Ukitake, Captain of the 13th Court Guard Squad, was dead.