Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Like anyone would think any different.
Now there's a thought...wouldn't it be awesome if Tite Kubo wrote stories on here? Then again, there's no reason to with all the money the actual story makes. Never mind then. Carry on.
Toushirou liked killing Hollows. It was what he'd trained for, what he'd dedicated his life to. And because of that, he didn't mind being sent out to kill them. He especially liked it if it was winter, and there was snow on the ground, which there currently was. So, as he walked through the snowy woods with his Lieutenant and two members of the squad, he should have been happy. He wasn't.
He liked killing Hollows. Unfortunately, before you could set about that task, you had to find them first. And if said Hollow had already killed three people on the outskirts of the Runkongai, you couldn't leave until you killed it. But this one could hide its presence, and they had to resort to walking around, hoping to find its tracks, or the creature itself.
Toushirou's mind wandered, thinking of all the paperwork left on his desk. If only Rangiku did her work, then he'd have more free time. Maybe he'd be less stressed.
A call pulled him out of his thoughts. "Captain! We've found some prints!"
Toushirou went over and studied the imprints. They were large, and looked vaguely like a cat's. A very big cat. "Let's follow them," he said, and the four of them set off, new life in their steps.
The Captain was the only one that the cold did not bother, as he had an ice/snow type zanpakuto, so that was the reason he'd only brought two subordinates and his Lieutenant. He may have been known as a strict, workaholic, icy Captain, but he wasn't unkind. He'd figured why bring more people who are going to be miserable and less effective in the snow than he needed? So, there were only the four of them.
The prints were fresh, and they followed them for some time, until Toushirou noticed his subordinates stumbling and their pace drastically slowing. "We'll take a fifteen minute break," he called back, and they gratefully sat, pulling out water and food.
Toushirou sat a little away from the three, but he was used to it. He was just grateful that Rangiku hadn't brought any sake.
They were in the middle of their break when a large blur suddenly leapt into the clearing, taking one of the subordinates in its jaws who had just gotten up to relieve himself, and bounding off again, spraying bright red blood on the snow.
The three remaining members of Squad 10 scrambled to their feet and grouped together, each facing a different direction. They heard a piercing scream not far away, then it was abruptly cut off. The man's friend swallowed, his grip on the sword shaky.
"We know that it's near," Toushirou said, wanting to calm the man. "It won't surprise us again."
They stayed like that for a long time, and when their feet began to hurt and doubts accumulated, they heard only a low growl and thump before its next attack.
The Hollow landed in front of them, and it was a large mountain lion type thing in form, but a white mask covered its face and red eyes glared out from the holes. It was massive, its shoulders coming level to about twenty feet, and razor sharp claws extended from its paws.
It growled again, sinking down, gathering itself, then it darted around the three, steps nimble and quick. Finally it paused, and they sprang into action.
Rangiku distracted it from the front while Toushirou and the subordinate went around the sides to attack. The big cat hissed and its paw flashed out, trying to wrap around Rangiku, but she jumped back then forwards, her sword swinging down to cut the Hollow. It roared, twisting around to defend itself against the subordinate and Toushirou. For its bulk, it was surprisingly fast, managing to force them off it. It bounded away to push off a tree, coming at them with paws outstretched.
Toushirou shunpoed behind it, Hyourinmaru cutting into its leg, and Rangiku its ribs. The subordinate wasn't so lucky, his Flash Step much slower than either of the two seated officers, catching a claw across his shoulder. Rangiku was closest, so she grabbed him in shunpo and went across the clearing. She checked his wound, and though it was bleeding, soaking the fabric, the man had been jumping backwards, and the wound was not deep.
The cat leapt towards them, seeming enticed by the sight of blood, and they were only barely able to dodge. It landed surprisingly quickly, and Toushirou took the advantage to jump on its back and dig his sword down.
It yowled, twisted, and rolled, and he was forced to leap off its back. It faced him and he raised his sword, bracing himself for its attack, but it never came. Instead, its red eyes widened under the white mask, and it let out a low hiss. Puzzled, Toushirou stared at it, their eyes meeting for a brief second before it roared and turned to face the subordinate, whose sword was buried in its tail.
Rangiku distracted the cat, releasing her sword in a cloud of ash, and the Hollow whipped around, its tail slinging the unfortunate subordinate far away into the woods. Toushirou winced, but turned his attention back to the fight.
The Hollow backed up and faced both Toushirou and Rangiku, its bleeding tail flicking, and it crouched. Then it opened its mouth and roared, louder than ever before, the noise deafening. It took advantage of their distraction and leapt towards them.
Rangiku lowered her hands from her ears to see the cat-like Hollow charging for her, so she jumped out of the way. It landed and turned neatly, and then Rangiku saw her small captain coming down to its head, his sword positioned to cut neatly through its mask. She felt relieved, and wondered how the subordinate was. She saw him get flung through the trees.
In an instant that surprised both captain and lieutenant, the cat's ear flicked, and it turned, its paw rising up and smacking into Toushirou so hard that Rangiku heard it. Her heart in her throat, time slowed down as she saw the paw hit, then Toushirou fly away, to slam against a tree and he went limp, falling to the snowy ground below. Hyourinmaru lay not far from him, and Rangiku could see red blood staining his white hair.
"Captain!" She screamed, trying to shunpo to his side, but the Hollow beat her to him, rolling him over with a paw. She stopped dead, hardly daring to breath as it leaned in close, inspecting his face with one eye. Then it picked him up, surprisingly gently, in its jaws, and turned to leave.
Rangiku couldn't let a Hollow take her unconscious captain, so she shunpoed forward, driving her sword down, to cleave its mask in half, but was shocked when it ducked and sprinted away, Toushirou still in its jaws. Rangiku gave chase as fast as she could, following her young captain's Spiritual Pressure, since the Hollow could hide its own, but sensed that fade. Whether from distance or…no. She wouldn't think about the other option. He was unconscious, so his Pressure would greatly fade. Yes, that was it. He was simply too far away.
Rangiku stopped the pursuit, staring off in the direction it had gone. She felt a great pain in her chest, and she screamed, "Captain!"
Back in the clearing, she picked up Hyourinmaru, and the blood caught her eye, no matter how much she tried to avoid it. There was quite a lot soaking into the snow, and she quickly turned away. She would find the other squad member, they would go back to the Seiretei, and they would get some more squad members to take down this Hollow. Her captain would be okay.
Toushirou woke to a splitting headache. His head pounded, sending waves through his whole body, and he groaned slightly. There was a sound next to him, a shuffling sound, and he opened his eyes to see a large white mask staring down at him.
He yelped and reached for Hyourinmaru, but his hand closed on air. His heart beat quickly as his mind worked to find him a way out of this mess.
The cat-like Hollow backed away, and he could see that he was in a cave, the entrance not far away. He eyed it, trying to judge if he could make it despite his headache, when the Hollow spoke.
"Just hear me out, Toushirou." He froze, hearing the female voice, the name, the familiarity as she said it. He sat up and immediately the world spun. A pressure on his shoulder pressed him down, and he obeyed. "Go to sleep. I can wait."
Wait to kill me, he thought, but the darkness was closing in, despite his wishes. He could barely feel Hyourinmaru in his mind, and that scared him more than the Hollow.
When he next woke, the fading light had turned very bright, the light reflecting off the snow. His head felt much better, so he sat up, and saw the Hollow still staring at him. Its wounds that they'd inflicted were all healed, and he wondered how long he'd been out.
"Just the night," the Hollow said, in that strangely familiar female voice. Toushirou frowned.
"Why haven't you killed me yet?"
"I recognize you."
He blinked in surprise. "But…Hollows that can remember people usually try their best to kill them."
The Hollow curled its paws under itself. "I didn't know that. You're the first person I've talked to since becoming this…way."
"What happened?"
The Hollow then told him of its death as a human, the years it had spent as a soul just wandering, then it had blacked out, and woken up like this, with a burning desire to consume souls.
"I came here because of the concentration of souls," the Hollow continued, licking its lips. Toushirou pressed back against the wall until it blinked and cleared its red eyes. "I killed and ate, my mind foggy, but when I saw you, it was as if the fog had been cleared. I remembered my life, I remembered who I was. I remembered you."
"And who am I to you?" Toushirou asked. He wasn't prepared for the answer.
"I'm your mother."
"How badly was he…" Momo trailed off and gestured to the back of her head. Rangiku sighed wearily.
"There was a lot of blood. He hit the tree hard." Momo paled and Rangiku attempted to reassure her. "He's strong, I'm sure he'll be all right." Momo didn't appear any more convinced than she was.
"Thank you for telling me." Momo bowed and turned to leave, but Rangiku caught her arm.
"We're sending a search party out first thing in the morning. They'll find him." Her unspoken words hung in the air. Momo nodded and left. Rangiku stared after her, then turned to her captain's desk. It was still full of papers that needed to be signed, but she just couldn't do them right now. She wanted to be out there looking for her young captain, but she'd been ordered to rest for the night. Luckily she was on the search team, but it was going to be a long night. She headed back to her quarters, wishing to hear his voice yelling at her.
Toushirou stared at the Hollow. His mother? No. She couldn't be his mother. If that was true, she would have killed him on sight. He remembered his mother, his cruel mother.
"Toushirou, can't you do anything right, you little brat?" A stinging slap landed on his face, and he fell, blinking up at her. "You couldn't do one thing, could you?"
"It's not my fault!"
"It is your fault!" Her foot kicked him hard in the ribs, and he gasped, curling up against the pain.
"Mother, please stop!"
"You're a worthless, stupid, pathetic boy. I wish I never had you!"
Toushirou whimpered, wanting the pain to end. Then, a few days later, she sent him out into the freezing cold. She locked the door, ignored his pleas. He died there, in the snow, the only comfort he'd ever known.
He blinked away the memory and glared at this Hollow who dared say it was his mother. "You aren't," he spat. "Cause if you were, you would've already killed me, like you did before!"
The red eyes, which had been light, darkened, and it lashed out, a claw tearing into his leg. He scrambled away, blood streaming from the wound. Suddenly, the Hollow shook its head, and its eyes lightened again. "I wouldn't make me angry," it hissed, blocking the exit. "My urge to devour the soul of a Shinigami is strong." It advanced, coming to a stop above him. Its head lowered, and he could feel its warm breath on his face as it snarled. Then it blinked and stepped back, sitting.
Toushirou sat up, feeling the pain in his leg, but too wary to move. "What do you want?"
"I want you to kill me." Its eyes bored into him, and he stared back, shocked. He couldn't deny that he wanted to kill it; it'd already killed one, possibly two of his subordinates and wounded him, but he'd never had a Hollow ask him to kill it before.
"What?"
"Kill me." Seeing his confusion, it continued. "This is hardly a life, and I wish to move on. I know you can help me with that, Shinigami."
"Well, yes, but…" He looked around the empty cave. "I'll need my sword to do that."
"And where is it?"
He thought for a moment. "My lieutenant probably took it with her when she…You didn't kill her, did you?"
The Hollow tilted its head. "That was your lieutenant? So, you've done something with your life, after all."
"Afterlife," Toushirou corrected, but he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "So you did kill her?"
"I did not kill a female Shinigami yesterday." He felt relief wash over him, then the pain in his leg came back, and he studied it. It was still bleeding, but not a lot, and he judged that unless it got infected, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. "Will she come back?"
"Hm? Uh…yes, she'll come back, probably with a lot of others. They can kill you, too, so all you really need to do is go out and wait for them."
The Hollow nodded and stood, walking out before looking back. "Are you coming?"
Toushirou limped up to it, and they set off. He could feel his leg bleed more heavily, and he hoped Rangiku would sense his Spiritual Pressure soon.
"The Hollow left going this direction," Rangiku said, pointing. The other ten nodded and started to follow the tracks. Rangiku moved with them, feeling the weight of not one but two swords. She'd taken Hyourinmaru with her, so she could give it back to her captain when she found him. For they would find him.
She avoided the dried blood on the ground and focused on searching for his Spiritual Pressure. She couldn't sense it, and they'd walked for some time. She tried to stay positive for the benefit of the others, but internally she was preparing herself for the worst.
Then she felt a flicker of Pressure; it was far away, but it was there. She knew it like her own. The whole group felt it and started hurrying in that direction, hopes raised. They wouldn't feel his presence if he was dead.
It became stronger the closer they got, and she started to feel hope. Her captain was alive!
Then she saw him. There was her captain, alive but limping, his left leg bloody. He seemed to sense their presence and looked up, giving a small wave, heading in their direction. She was about to call out when a growl sounded from the trees, and the Hollow jumped out of hiding towards them, claws extended.
She shunpoed out of the way, as did the rest of the squad, and they surrounded the Hollow while she went to her captain. He was still standing, arms crossed and scowling at the Hollow.
"Captain!" She cried, burying him in a hug. He squirmed and pulled away, turning his large turquoise eyes on her.
"Matsumoto," he greeted, relief in his voice, but then turned back to the scene where the Hollow was fighting the squad. "That lying, backstabbing bitch," he muttered.
"Captain!" She stared at him in shock and gave him a sharp flick on the back of the head. "Don't swear!"
He hissed lightly, putting a hand to his head, and when he pulled it away, there were spots of blood on it. "I should have known you would try to kill me," he said dryly. Realizing her mistake, Rangiku immediately felt guilty.
"I'm so, so sorry Captain! I forgot about your head…"
He waved it off. "It's all right. Forget about it."
She studied him suspiciously. "Are you sure you're all right?"
He glanced at her, and she could see a mix of emotions in his normally guarded eyes. "I'm fine," he answered, and his eyes were unreadable once more.
The Hollow was grinning – a terrifying sight – while it fought. But there were simply too many Shinigami there for it to win, and they were all seated officers. One cleaved its mask in two, and as it disintegrated, it turned to face Toushirou, red eyes glowing.
He stared back at it, unsure of how to feel. That had been his mother. She'd beaten him and killed him, but she was still his mother.
Toushirou took Hyourinmaru from Rangiku and said, "Let's go home."
So, how did you like it? Or not like it? Either way, please let me know! Thanks.
Happy reading!