I don't own Bleach, or it's characters. They belong to Kubo Tite

Events so far:

The battle has been going on for quite some time. In Hueco Mundo, Ichigo and the others have had a fierce battle with Yammy. They defeated the zero espada, but not without many injuries. Ulquiorra isn't dead, and has decided to join up with them, because he never liked Aizen, and Orihime has taught him how to feel. Nel also decides to join with them. The group gets ready to move into the main battle with Aizen. However, things are about to get complicated…

Meanwhile, in the fake Karakura town, the battle is raging badly. Soifon has defeated the second espada, but she is severely injured and weakened, but now fighting another strong arracar, and almost unable to hold out.

Kyouraku is seeminglt defeated by Stark, and Ukitake is taking care of him.

Yamamoto isn't doing anything, except for trying to keep Aizen at bay.

The lieutenants are still recovering from their injuries.

And Lastly, Hitsugaya has defeated Halibel with a series of techniques that he developed recently. His power has increased dramatically, and he has moved on to attacking Aizen, but it appears that even at his full power, he is unable to finish him off…


Authors Notes

I have written a draft of the story. It continues from where the events so far left off. I don't know if you will like this story, because it is my first, and it was written around ch. 356. If you don't like it, then just don't read. It does involve Hitsugaya Toushirou (he's my favourite character) strongly, and like some fics, it also involves the concept of the Heavenly Guardian. Like I said, if you don't like it, don't read.

I also like writing in traditional Japanese way (honorifics, last names first) so I'm sorry if it bothers people

Thanks

Chapter 1-Mounting Tension

Toushirou's eyes widened in shock. Slowly, he looked down at the harsh steel of the blade lodged in his stomach. He looked up to see Aizen smirk in triumph as he pulled his zanpakutou out harshly. Blood spurted from the wound, splattering Toushirou's already bloodied clothes with fresh, crimson liquid.

It… can't be…how?

Pain ripped through his already battered body. His vision swam. He lost his footing in the air, and his small body pitched backwards, falling through the air, blood from his wound flying.

"Hitsugaya-kun!!!"

Momo's scream pierced the air like a sharp blade, causing everyone to pause for a moment to see what is happening. Momo pushed herself to her feet, despite her own wounds. Ignoring her own pain, she ran forward to catch the falling boy.

There was a thump as his body hit hers. She was unable to support his weight, and the force of the impact caused her to fall heavily upon the concrete roof of the building they were on. Toushirou's body rolled off of hers, and she heard him groan painfully.

Momo struggled to get up and crawled over to him. "Hitsugaya-kun! Toushirou! Are you okay?" She asked as she took in the deep wounds that covered his body. She'd watched as he battled past the female espada, and reached Aizen. But after a nail-biting fight, Aizen managed to overpower the already weakened captain and stab him in the stomach. Now his blood was flowing like a crimson river from his wounds, seeping into his and Momo's robes and staining it a dark red.

Toushirou focused his gaze on Momo. "Mo…mo… why …are you…here?" he managed to choke out.

" I wanted to help," Momo whispered, "I decided to help fight Aizen, because he is the enemy and the one who did this to us all."

Toushirou closed his eyes for a moment, a pained expression on his face. "You fool, Momo, you could get yourself killed."

Momo let out an indignant gasp. "You can't talk! Especially after what just happened, you don't have the right to tell me that I'm going to get killed!"

"Yes, but I'll live. Now I'll have to protect you, though-" he broke off as his body suddenly racked with coughs. Blood came out of his mouth, and his pale skin whitened even more. His breath came in ragged gasps, as if he could not get oxygen into his lungs.

"Toushirou!" Momo cried, fear gripping her like a cold claw, all annoyance forgotten. She didn't think that he was hurt this bad.

"Momo…watch out!" came Toushirou's strangled cry.

Momo looked up and choked on a cry of horror. One of undefeated espada was streaking toward them, obviously intending to finish them off. She was paralyzed with fear.

Slash

Momo squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain, and the feeling of cold steel in her flesh, but none came. She cracked the eyes open. A figure stood in front of her, and in the way of the blade. The blade was stuck in his chest, just inches from his heart, and his tattered captains haori fluttered in the slight breeze, staining red with this new wound.

"Tou…shi…rou…" she breathed in shock.

"See…Momo, I did have to protect you," he said in a voice barely audible, his breathing heavy.

The Espada smirked and jerked his zanpakutou out of Toushirou's body. The captain gasped in pain as more blood burst from the wound. Blood came from his mouth as he tried to breath, caused by a newly punctured lung. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed backwards into Momo's arms, his zanpakutou slipping out of his hand and landing a few feet away with a clatter.

"Toushirou?" Momo asked fearfully. When he didn't respond, she began to panic. "Toushirou! Wake up! Please, wake up, Shirou-chan!" Her voice grew more and more shrill with each word. "Don't die!"

"Heh, the espada smirked, "there's no way he could've survived. I've already defeated one captain. He's just another. Now, for you." He raised his zanpakutou.

Suddenly, a burst of reiatsu appeared behind Momo. All turned as the sky behind them suddenly ripped open, revealing a gaping space. Stark narrowed his eyes at the unexpected garganta. There was a dark flash of colour, and the next moment, the espada found himself crossed swords with a man. The man wore an expression grim calm, his white silk scarf settling on his shoulders in the aftermath of his shunpo.

"Hmm, another challenger," the espada said thoughtfully. "You don't have a haori, but I sense the power of a captain. My name is Coyote Stark, espada one. To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

The man's expression did not change, and he replied in a voice devoid of emotion "Sixth division captain…Kuchiki Byakuya."

And that's the first chapter. I know it's short, but I just wanted to try this out. Many of you really hate me for writing such depressing things, but it will get better. It just has to get...a little worse before that, so bear with me. The ending will be good, I hope. The next chapter will have other characters come in.

Another note: there isn't supposed to be much romance in this story, but if there was any, well, just check my profile to see what pairings I will write. I hope it doesn't offend anyone