"Hang on, Matsumoto," his voice was breathless and he winced in pain but he forced himself to take a step forward. His eyes suddenly unfocused and he lurched forward, collapsing on his stomach. He fought to keep sea-green eyes open, staring at Matsumoto's—was she breathing?—limp figure helplessly.
He completed his Bankai in the seventeen months after the war with Aizen.
Then he had been foolish enough to get it stolen—damn, Hyorinmaru... I'm sorry—but luckily, Urahara had managed to find a way to get their Bankai back.
But... that had been after Matsumoto was heavily injured and he was bleeding out fast. There was no help coming to them, he knew that and he had done absolutely nothing to first Sternritter, Bazz-B, with just his Shikai. He hadn't been strong enough. He barely managed to defeat the second Sternritter without passing out from exhaustion and his wounds. He was weak.
He was even more so weaker now.
He heard footsteps behind him, the coherent part of his brain thinking warily—but his vision was swimming in and out of his focus. His thoughts were too loud and too fast. Was this it? He managed to think keep his thoughts partially steady.
At least he managed to take out a Sternritter with him. He had made a difference... that was almost a calming thought to drift off to...
'Master… Master, do not fall under! Matsumoto needs you!' Hyorinmaru's voice called out to him. Toshiro heard him loud and clear, but he couldn't make himself move. He tried to listen. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped beside him.
"Ooh, what a cutie!" He heard a voice croon, and all his calmness and slight peace at the thought of letting the blackness take him was thrown straight out the window. He would have recognized that voice if he knew it, and he hadn't. It was an enemy. Hyorinmaru growled, and he felt his own reiatsu fluctuate—upupup and then it fell completely, almost non-existent.
"Oi, Giselle! There's another one over here. She looks dead, though," he could hear someone else. Two more steps of footsteps. One was named Giselle... and Matsumoto...He fought madly to keep his eyes open even though everything was blurry. He saw a light, green-haired woman standing near Matsumoto. Shit... get up! He growled at his own body.
"Bazz-B fucked him up," a young voice concluded, and he heard slurping noises. He dreaded to know what the Quincy was eating. "And then Cang Du lost against him—even after the kid was wounded."
"Pitiful," the last voice sighed.
"Candy, there's a hot little Captain over here, so make sure you stay by the woman! I can't have you trying to take him for a whirl while I'm working~!" The one named Giselle called, her voice light and her touch even lighter as he felt her pushhim and turn him onto his back. He coughed, and blood splattered back all over his face and what was left of his uniform.
"What was that Gigi, you bitch?!" The green-haired girl bellowed. There was a tiny snicker from the Quincy around them but no response.
Master, Hyorinmaru snarled, his voice filled with rage. A Quincy was touching what was his! And those insinuations… He knew his Master was half-way conscious—he barely comprehended what was going on. His Master could not see, but he could. The black-haired Sternritter was smiling goofily, and reaching for Hyorinmaru...
Instantly, as soon as her hands neared the sharp metal, spikes of ice erupted and Hyorinmaru used what was left of his Master's power to attempt to cover the blade in thick ice.
"His sword seems pretty mad," the last voice concluded. Was that pink hair? His eyes fluttered.
"Huh? He's still conscious?" The young voice questioned, though she just sounded bored and anything but curious.
Toshiro felt Hyorinmaru's presence heavy in his mind, and that was what kept him from falling under. Yes, he wanted to shout and yell but his body wasn't responding to him. He heard a horrible squelching noise, and that made his thoughts quieter as he listened.
"He's a little Captain, he wouldn't pass out that easily~!" Giselle explained in response, her tone cheery. He heard a dripping sound and inwardly shivered.
"You just gouged out your wrist on an icicle point. You could've just materialized a reishi-weapon," the young voice drawled, and Toshiro felt himself starting to panic slightly. She had injured herself on purpose? Why?
'MASTER, YOU MUST MOVE!' Hyorinmaru shrieked, and it scared him to hear his zanpakuto like that, terrified him and so he opened his eyes fully.
Giselle had long, black hair, and blue eyes that were sparkling with glee as her bloodied wrist leaned in close to his mouth. Blood was gushing from her wound, but she seemed unaffected. His hand tightened around the hilt of his partially ice-covered sword, and he attempted to lift it. A foot slammed over his arm hard enough to snap the bone in two. He couldn't talk before but now he was screaming.
His eyes looked upwards, and there was a short girl that looked younger than him sucking on a Popsicle, her brown eyes uninterested as she squished her foot into his now-broken arm. A gurgle escaped him, and he forced his body—movemovemovemove—but before he could, the bloodied wrist met his lips. He could feel all of the thick liquid filing his mouth, going down his throat.
'MASTER! FIGHT!' Hyorinmaru roared, but he couldn't move. He couldn't tear his gaze off of Giselle. What was she trying to do…? He...
"Hi there, little Captain," she beamed affectionately, watching as the brightness faded from his eyes and was slowly being replaced by a dead look. "You'll be fun to play with! Bambi will need some company~!"
'Master...? Master, hear my voice. I am here with you.'
Toshiro stared straight at Giselle, hearing his zanpakuto's voice but not responding. The liquid in his mouth tasted so good and the woman gazing at him with a smirk on her face and half-lidded eyes was so captivating. She was pleased with him! His zanpakuto—no, just a voice—not his zanpakuto. The voice was roaring at him to listen.
Why would he listen to a voice that wasn't Giselle's? He sucked greedily at the blood before it was pulled away seconds later. If she wanted him to stop, then he would. He felt sadness at her pulling away, but he didn't object. She hadn't given him an order, and if she was to pull away from him he wouldn't ever fight back.
"I think I'll call you Commander," Giselle decided out loud, and he instantly decided he liked the name as well. "Commander, here's your first order: crack the ice on that sword of yours. He's pretty pissed, isn't he? It's so cold that I can tell~!"
"You'd think he'd be stronger," the young one complained. Toshiro—Commander tried to move his arm, but he felt hot white pain. That didn't matter. Giselle had given him an order. The girl was still standing on it. Giselle had given him an order, his mind repeated. She's in the way. Ignoring the pain and wounds on his body, he slapped the girl's legs out from underneath her with his left arm, freeing his broken appendage. She went flying backwards.
'Master, snap out of it! She's controlling you! Think of Momo Hinamori—Rangiku Matsumoto—!' He suddenly froze; his grip tight on the hilt of his sword even though his arm was broken.
"Oooh, Commander's such a doll!" Giselle crooned loudly, reaching out to pet his cheek. "He's so much easier to control than Bambi. Too bad he isn't as cute as her." There was a pout on her face. Her fellow Sternritter that had gotten thrown was walking back grudgingly, a scratch or two on her cheek, and then the 'Z' looked at her. "You should watch out, Liltotto, he's really strong! Don't be careless~!"
The ice cracked on his zanpakuto, and Toshiro took his chance. He moved—shoving the thoughts about submitting to the Quincy away. Obeyobeyobey—no, damn it, he wouldn't. He thrust his arm forward, fighting the urge to scream in agony at moving the broken appendage. His sword pierced Giselle through the stomach, and he snarled fiercely, blood spraying on him.
That had been his first mistake.
Giselle looked down, and then met his gaze. She started to laugh. The pink-haired Sternritter behind her had taken a step back and was watching with her head tilted curiously. He growled again, shoving his blade up to the hilt inside of her. He would kill the Sternritter. Giselle.
"You will not control me or Hyorinmaru, Quincy!" Toshiro yelled, eyes flashing—a slight brightness returning to them.
"Hyorinmaru?" Giselle asked thoughtfully, giggling still. "Hyorinmaru is covered in my blood, and now so are you. I should've double-dosed you with it from the start, but I didn't realize your will to fight would be so str~ong!"
Double-dose...? Wait...
Toshiro blanched, realizing—her blood was her weapon—Nononono—
"Hyorinmaru!" he cried, and he felt his zanpakuto's presence smothering him in a good way—a comforting way as all of his conscious thoughts were slipping from him. His dragon was trying to fight... Shit... He was scared. He couldn't think, and Hyorinmaru was desperately trying to help but it wasn't working—"Rangiku, run! Get away!" he managed to scream as the darkness came over his mind in a thick fog.
/
Giselle, unaffected, grabbed the sword, pulling it out of her. "What a great show~! Aren't you glad we stopped by?" She sang to her fellow Sternritter, smiling. She left Toshiro standing there, a bewildered and fearful look frozen on his face. Her steps were light and delicate as she bounced over to Candice, who was watching, wide-eyed. A blood trail followed her.
"You're insane," Candice said, snapping out of her stupor, shaking her head and rolling her green eyes. "Whatever." She was uninterested as well, uncaring about the Captain. Just because he was a kid didn't mean any of them would feel remorse. "She's alive. Do you want her?" She asked, nudging the blonde on the ground with her foot. "Think she's in shock anyways or something..."
Giselle blew up her own cheeks with air, and then blew out, sighing dramatically. "I guess another Lieutenant wouldn't hurt." She eyed her. "Wow, she's gorg~eous! I'm really glad we came over here now~!"
Candice snorted in disgust. "You freak. Turn her quick. Can't hang around forever, so hurry up, alright?" She started to saunter back towards their little group, waving her hand dismissively.
Gigi couldn't resist. "You can play with Commander if you want, Candy~!" Giselle called before she was too far away, eyes gleaming with mischief. She didn't bother to look back as she simply dripped her blood all over the injured Lieutenant. Her eyes were glazed, but her chest was moving slightly. Not dead yet, then, Giselle concluded. Neither was Commander. She doesn't need the blood in her mouth... she's not as strong. This is great~!
Candice spun around instantly, a vicious look on her face. "Shut the hell up, Gigi! I don't do that shit, you stupid bitch!" she shrieked, green eyes dangerous. "He's a kid anyways, asshole! I have standards!"
"For someone who doesn't, 'do that stuff' you're awfully defensive," Liltotto drawled, loud enough for her to hear. She sucked on her Popsicle, unconcerned as the green-haired girl screamed in rage again.
"Liltotto, I'm gonna fry you!"
"If you don't mess around, then why did you say you have 'standards'?" The pink-haired girl commented, her magenta colored eyes watching Candice carefully.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU BITCHES! WHO EVEN ASKED YOU, MENINAS?"
"Lieutenant, rise and follow me~! Ignore your wounds, I'll heal them later if you're good~!" Giselle's voice interrupted their arguing. An emotionless blonde followed after her, blue eyes dull and her skin darker, just as Toshiro's was getting. "Commander, you're coming too!"
"How many do you have now?" Meninas asked as Giselle pranced back to them, cheerful.
"Mm... well, to be accurate... I have Commander, two Lieutenants, and Bambi!" Giselle sang in response gleefully, blue eyes holding their normal wide, innocent look even though she was covered and blood and still bleeding from the stab wound the Commander had given her. It didn't even hurt! "There's also a bunch of weaker Shinigami. I'll use them to fix up these two!"
They all started walking, talking, and the two zombies trailing after them. The Sternritter were all oblivious to their inner turmoil, their fight to break free... Neither corpses could even control their own heads to look at each other—not even to make eye contact.
On the inside, Rangiku shrieked and yelled and sobbed—Captain—and Toshiro snarled desperately and fought hard but nothing worked.
Their bodies were shells—zanpakuto voices gone, the one thing on their minds—break free... no... Serve Giselle...obey. Each step they took, a portion their free will and their consciousnesses was vanishing.
[~]
i love the femritters. hope i got them all in a ... halfway decent way. i tried to keep them in character but i'm unfamiliar with how liltotto and meninas act.
p.s if this is confusing for anyone, rangiku regained consciousness etc. because giselle told her to ignore her wounds.
i've seen one other story with zombie!toshiro so i decided to write my own. the ending is kind of shitty. i like to prefer giselle as a woman, so please no hate for that.
please review, though! even if it's to criticize i'd like to know what i could have done better!
bye~! :)
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