Magic of the Soul
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail (later on).
AN: Hi guys! This is my first ever fanfiction, so do pardon me if there are many mistakes that you notice. Just trying out writing, and having fun in the process :)
Matsumoto… Momo…
Hitsugaya watched on from afar helplessly as Rangiku Matsumoto, his vice-captain, and Momo Hinamori, his dear childhood friend, were being dragged away into the darkness, their mouths forming silent screams of terror. He knew he couldn't reach there in time to save them.
Bit by bit, black slimy hands apparated out of nowhere, and they began to twist and turn, slithering around their bodies, to the point where only their eyes were left exposed. From Hitsugaya's view, he watched them slowly close their eyes in defeat, apparently succumbing to their inevitable fates.
"NOOOOOOO!"
"Hey. Wake up."
Toushiro Hitsugaya jolted awake. His heart was racing, droplets of perspiration trickling down his face. What a bad dream he had…
Something felt odd though. Something didn't feel right.
"Where... Am I?"
He could barely see anything. The room was dimly lit, with only a single flickering bulb to provide light. The air felt stale, devoid of proper ventilation, giving the stench of a rotting corpse. He tried moving. Horrified, he saw tough metallic chains being bound tightly to him, hands and legs spread out, with each limb being linked to the cracked concrete wall. Struggling with futile effort, the chains dug deeper into his skin, causing him to yelp in pain. His zanpakuto was gone. He couldn't sense it anywhere. He was trapped. How did he even end up in here…?
"Over here. Bad dream you had, I suppose? You were causing such a ruckus." A soft voice reverberated throughout the small area.
Surprised, Hitsugaya's eyes travelled to the source of the voice. Craning his neck to the far corner of the room, he noticed a silhouette against the faint light, shaped like a person sitting on a rocking chair. The figure made no other sound, but instead started to swing back and forth on his chair gently, as how a mother rocking her newborn baby to sleep would.
"Who're you..?" Hitsugaya made a feeble attempt at sounding tough.
"Dear me Hitsugaya. Only a day has passed and you've already forgotten my voice? Seems like the drug was more powerful than I thought it would be…" The other voice trailed off.
Come to think of it, that voice did seem familiar somehow. But Hitsugaya just couldn't figure out its owner. Just who was it?
"I guess I'll just have to show you to make you remember, don't I?" The voice resounded with an amused tone. Standing up, the figure shuffled towards the center of the room, where most of the light could still travel to without dying out.
Hitsugaya gasped in shock.
Gin Ichimaru.
His eyes, as per usual, were narrowed down to slits. Rarely has anyone ever seen him open them wide. Slender and tall, he easily towered over Hitsugaya's miniscule form. And as always, that creepy smile he wore on his face similar to one a Guy Fawkes mask would display. Hitsugaya never liked him. The sight of Ichimaru irked him, because it always looked as if he was never serious, and that it was difficult to trust anything he says. Very few people in Seireitei could get along with him. Forever cunning, forever sly…
"You look worse for wear."
'Shut up." Hitsugaya snarled at him.
"Oops. In case you haven't noticed, I'm in full control of you right now. And shouldn't you be more respectful toward your elders, Hitsugaya-kun?" Ichimaru smirked.
"Damn you Ichimaru! I'm not a kid! I swear I'll rip you to pieces when you're caught for treason!" Hitsugaya roared, tugging at the chains again in fury, which only resulting in more agony.
Ichimaru knelt down beside the thrashing Hitsugaya. "Now now... Instead of struggling and giving yourself unnecessary pain, don't you want to know if your loved ones are safe?" he cooed into the teenager's ear.
Hitsugaya froze. "No need to be so tense. I was joking. They're okay. No harm done. Don't wanna be involving too many people now, do we?"
"How did I end up here then?" Hitsugaya asked hesitantly, unsure of whether to believe his answer.
"Ahh. I'll save you the details, but we used drugs as I've mentioned to knock you out. Reijuana. I put it in your drink yesterday, and since you were alone in the office, what better time to do it?" Ichimaru shrugged. "Aizen wanted you captured, so I had no choice but to follow orders."
Sosuke Aizen. That bastard.
"What for?" Hitsugaya demanded. "We're not on good terms, but that doesn't give him any particular reason to go to such extremes!"
"As a matter of fact, there is. You accidently found him testing his new drug on some on the lower-leveled shinigami. But that's just the start. He's planning something way bigger than you could ever imagine. Not that you can concern yourself with it anyway, given your state now."
The recollection suddenly struck him. How stupid he was. Hitsugaya grimaced at his stupidity. That was a week ago, and it did leave him suspicious. However, he never actually made a move to report to the Commander of the captains, Shigekuni Yamamoto, and merely confronted Aizen. All he got in reply was that the shinigami were undergoing their regular reiatsu tests, and he pursued the matter no further. Who knew that they were actually experimental subjects... And right under his nose too. Damn it.
"And being the careful planner Aizen is, you know he would never want to leave loose ends. He suspects that you realized, hence his motive for capturing you." Ichimaru added airily.
"So what now? Are you going to kill me?" Hitsugaya remained defiant.
Chuckling, the lanky man stood up. "Well, Aizen wanted you dead. But after some reassuring from me, he decided to let me do whatever I wanted with you. As long as the end result is your death."
"But he can't get away with this. The other captains will notice my disappearance in time." Hitsugaya retorted.
"And that's where you're wrong my boy. Aizen used his powers and made a copy of you. Another living you. Completely identical to you, down to the smallest skin cell of your body. The soul of another was supposed to fill up that body, but for your case… He couldn't find another soul, since he needs to kill to obtain a new soul. So how should I put it…? That body is empty." Ichimaru's lips arched upwards further than they already were.
"I think we've wasted enough time here." He reached within his robes, and pulled out a small device. Shining gold and no bigger than an orange, it sat on his palm, with only a single button resting on the top. Waving it around like as though he just won a trophy, he murmured, "I've always wanted to try this. Kurotsuchi was always the stubborn one... What's the point of inventing something if you won't even put it to use, right?"
"And what's that? A toy?" Hitsugaya sarcastically replied.
"Not for kids, that's for sure." That earned another deathly glare from the spiky haired boy. "This… Is a Spherili. And it has to power to teleport you into the Void. In the Void, you can never return from your starting point unless another Spherili is used from the same place to open the portal again. You will never come back again, that's for sure." Ichimaru reassured him mockingly.
"Why y-"
He hurled the object directly at Hitsugaya, which made contact and glued itself to his chest. Shuddering violently, the protruding button on the Spherili gaped open, revealing a small hole. Deep purple matter gushed out, enveloping Hitsugaya's dwarfed body, chains included. Soon enough, only his eyes were exposed, all other parts clad in thick purple plasma, making him look like a knight.
He closed his eyes slowly in defeat, knowing he would never see Seireitei and its people again. His inevitable fate. Just like his dream. Except that he was the victim now, and that this was reality…
"Goodbye, Hitsugaya."
The voice faded into nothingness, and his line of vision went blank.
And there! My first chapter. Who knew that writing a fanfic would be so tiring mentally...
How d'you guys find it? Any constructive feedback will be greatly appreciated :)
Looking forward to the next chapter, and thanks for your time!