*wordless* 8 reviews!!! I cant exactly believe it...when I saw it I was totally shocked. Totally.
Thank you so much!!! I only expected like 3 reviews for my first chapter...but 8! (In bliss)
Thank you thank you thank you readers! Luv ya!:D
Since there were so many reviews, here is the next chapter! Hope its satisfactory!
Quite a few of you commented that Hyourinmaru's character is not exactly ideal, and I'm sorry if it does not fit your taste, but in this fic Hyourinmaru will be mostly teasing and serious at other times, maybe? I will see how it develops...
Btw, I rated this T just in case. For the chapters to come, they won't be any gory stuff or anything, FYI.
And this is IMPORTANT! I have changed the story a little in a way that Hagrid has not gone away, and there is no Grubbly-Plank and no Grawpy ok? Hagrid is still stationed at Hogwarts. Hope you're dun mind...
Okay, read on!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor (I forgotten to mention tis last time) Harry Potter! Sadly.
Addition: Italic+Bold is flashback.
Chapter 2
Draco Malfoy, with his prefect badge gleaming on his puffed chest, leered down at the little scowling party in the compartment. Crabbe and Goyle were on either side of him, goofy grins plastered on their portly faces.
Toushirou gave a cursory glance at the threesome before swiveling his head to face the window, his expression bored. He smelled trouble, but he definitely wasn't going to meddle into others' affairs. He just hoped that they preserve him his peace.
His hope was to be wasted.
"Well well well…what do we have here?" Malfoy mocked. "Two destitute red-haired weasels and a good-for-nothing orphan. Oh," Malfoy now noticed the good-looking Toushirou sitting quietly at the corner. (Like someone sulking when he is not) His beady eyes narrowed.
He detested people who looked better than him.
"And a temperamental grandfather shortie."
The temperature plummeted to a frigid cold that had everyone's breath in white puffy clouds. Thin coatings of ice started to line the seats and the windows frosted over, their frames crackling with rime. Goose bumps crawled on everyone's skin as the biting cold attacked them.
Toushirou gnashed his teeth together, struggling internally to control his temper. On the outside, he looked like an unmoving block of ice, his teal eyes dangerously glowing with red-hot anger as they stared at Malfoy.
Malfoy could feel his fear mounting. Seriously, Malfoy swore he never saw eyes that scary before...
Crabbe and Goyle were cowering behind the lanky frame of their leader.
"Excuse me?" Toushirou threatened as quietly as he could manage. "I didn't hear you right, did I?"
Malfoy's Adam apple was bobbing in his throat uncontrollably.
"No-o, y-you didn't. De-definitely didn't." Malfoy squeaked out, his insides quaking with fear. His body was unconsciously leaning towards the train corridor. He wanted to run. Crabbe and Goyle were a good ways down the corridor already.
Toushirou controlled the impulse to snort. To his knowledge, people like these always are cowards. They were relatively easy to deal with.
He leveled his gaze with Malfoy for a while longer before turning away, convinced the boy wouldn't bother him anymore after being petrified to his wits.
The temperature regained its warmth and all the frost melted away. Hermione figured an inconsiderate person next door had just performed a freezing charm.
The terror in Malfoy's eyes cleared when Toushirou no longer appeared intimidating. He looked spitefully at Ron and Harry. Although his ego was undoubtedly shriveled up by Toushirou, he seemed determined to taunt the other two at any rate. Malfoy didn't budge from the door. His cronies were behind him again after Malfoy had beckoned them over. (More like glared them over)
Harry frowned at Malfoy hatefully, but his thoughts were otherwise. He was relieving in the moment of Malfoy's outright whimpering. This, Harry felt, totally serves him right.
"Go away Malfoy. You're obviously not welcomed here."
"Yeah, Malfoy." Ron interjected. "Go back to your slut friends before we kick your butt out of here. With Hitsugaya's help."
Ron had too seen the exchange just now, and he was taking advantage of that very fact.
Toushirou gave a low growl under his breath. Can they stop dragging him into their situations?!
Malfoy glared icily back at them, his face flushed. But he was still frightened of Toushirou, so he cleverly backed off.
"Watch yourselves, Potter, Weasley." Malfoy hissed vehemently. He daren't offend Toushirou anymore. "Because,"
Malfoy's smirking face was supplemented with Crabbe's and Goyle's as they slowly lumbered down the corridor, away from them.
"I'll be dogging your footsteps if you step out of the line."
Hermione stood up hastily to slam the compartment door shut. The last of Harry's arch-enemy disappeared.
There was an uncomfortable silence when the trio left, and panicky looks were constantly being exchanged with Harry, Hermione and the two Weasleys.
Neville displayed innocent confusion whilst Luna continued reading her magazine in silence. Toushirou, however ignorant he was appearing to be, was not fooled.
He knew that out of the six other people in the compartment, four of them were inducted into the Order of the Phoenix. If you considered them staying in the headquarters as being inducted into the secret wizard society.
He knew that Sirius Black had materialized onto the train platform today to bid his godson goodbye in the disguise of a black dog. Animagus. Toushirou had seen the black dog romping playfully around Harry on the platform when a Senkai Gate had transported him directly there. A few Order members were present as well; probably to guard Harry Potter.
Toushirou stifled a yawn. The genius taicho had read all these in an information folder regarding the Order of the Phoenix (he has many things to read for this mission) since he was going to be in the club itself, as the soutaicho ordered after a certain Professor Dumbledore agreed and supported his joining.
Toushirou sighed internally again.
This mission sure was taxing…so many things to do all at once. But it was of high importance, as Toushirou perfectly understood. Too well.
Toushirou's attention was diverted from his musings when Ron cleared his throat loudly in an attempt to disperse the uneasiness in the air.
"S-say, Hitsugaya…" Ron began, his tone unsure. He darted a fleeting glance at Hermione who gave an encouraging nod.
Toushirou glanced at him stoically, the previous conflict not yet forgotten.
"What you did just now, scaring Malfoy and all that…was beyond awesome! I've never seen him that timid before!"
Ron gave a genial laugh, followed by the rest as they replayed the scene in their minds. (Excluding Luna) They would never forget Malfoy's humiliation.
Toushirou stared at Ron as if he was crazy. After a while, he continued gazing out of the window. His expression was more than irritated. The white-haired didn't laugh.
Excuse me?! What a stupid guy…
Hyourinmaru's tail lashed on the frozen-stiff ground in disagreement. But he didn't comment.
Ginny and Hermione simultaneously poked Ron in the ribs. He winced before glancing suggestively at Harry. Harry simply gave a little jiggle of his head, which meant 'Just get it over and done with'. Ron shoulders slumped before they straightened again to face Toushirou. He took a deep breath.
"Erm," Ron halted. "Sorry if I provoked you just now or anything." The Weasley apologized in a rush, cheeks burning in mortification.
Toushirou remained quiet. He was contemplating.
Toushirou, just forgive him. Don't you realize all that he had spoken in the first place was to be on friendly terms with you? Give him a chance. Hyourinmaru pressed.
Toushirou was skeptical.
And who mentioned one's dislike?
Now he seems alright. He was too green with envy just now. Hyourinmaru admitted. Besides, you have to protect the Potter boy. By getting close to his friends, wouldn't it be easier to protect him?
Logic was winning on him. Anyway, Toushirou too thought that Ron wasn't that bad. Not as bad as the Malfoy brat anyway.
See, you think so too. Hyourinmaru remarked victoriously. Told you I'm truly an extension of your soul.
Toushirou resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his zanpaktou.
"No big deal." Toushirou replied composedly, deciding to spare Ron the embarrassment.
A smile tugged at the side of Ron's lips, and Hermione breathed an audible sigh of relief. Ginny winked at Ron reassuringly while Harry grinned at Toushirou amiably. Neville smiled to himself. Even though he was aloof and indifferent, they were starting to like this guy.
Toushirou could feel the train slow down in increments. The sky was already dark, spotted with tiny stars twinkling in the horizon here and there.
When the train lights turned on, Luna folded the Quibbler and started to change into her school robes. Everyone followed suit.
To Toushirou, the robes were not in the least uncomfortable as they were very much similar to the Shinigami uniform. He would nonetheless miss his white captain haori for a while.
The compartment settled into a comfortable silence as the train moved on. Toushirou couldn't help thinking back on a frankly astonishing revelation on wizards he discovered last week; when he was still in Soul Society. And a…disturbing invention.
^^^FLASHBACK^^^
"I what?!" Toushirou sputtered as Kurotsuchi Mayuri ambled into his personal lab.
"Do I have to repeat myself?" Mayuri asked, sighing dramatically. His gnarled claw brushed the equipment on his table lovingly. A chill trickled down Toushirou's spine. He was secretly glad he still stood at the doorway of the lab dubbed as 'Hell of Never-after'. Not that he believed the ridiculous name…
"The old man wants you to be in your spiritual body for the entire mission." The 12th division captain asserted impatiently. "So that's why-"
"Wait!" Toushirou interrupted, his pale eyebrows criss-crossing. "But how can the humans see me then? And why on earth would the soutaicho want that?"
Mayuri snorted.
"What impudence." Toushirou couldn't care less.
"The wizards," Mayuri explained, his hands interlocking together in a creepy fashion, "Have what they called magical blood. This 'magic' in their blood raises their reaitsu levels to a height where all of them, no matter how weak, can see us Shinigami. With this situation, Hitsugaya-taicho, the old man saw no need for you to be placed in a Gigai. A Gigai only hampers a Shinigami, after all. And, it would raise less suspicion of the fact that you are already dead if you don't suddenly jump out of your body in the midst of danger."
Toushirou's lips parted slightly open in shock. He was flabbergasted, and rightfully abashed. Every wizard can see Shinigami?! Why didn't he know this before?!
"Wizards are interesting entities indeed…Oh, what I wouldn't give to have a wizard as an experiment subject…" Mayuri's orange eyes had a malicious glint to them as he rubbed his hands together in obvious relish.
"That's clearly forbidden, Kurotsuchi-taicho." Toushirou hurriedly stated. He was, though, still reeling from the fact wizards can see Shinigami. There was a brief pause before Toushirou asked his next question.
"But wouldn't my Shinigami garb and zanpaktou bring unnecessary attention…and fear?"
Mayuri's little finger entered his ear to dig out earwax. With a squelching sound, he pulled it out and blew away the green substance on the surface of his finger. Toushirou tried not to cringe from the disgusting sight.
"Don't be dense, Hitsugaya-taicho. Aren't you a child prodigy?" Mayuri criticized. Toushirou suppressed the twitching of his eyebrow at the offence.
"You can easily change out of your uniform to wear human clothes, can you not? But for the second thing you brought up…"
Mayuri looked at his colleague squarely in the eye. Toushirou tried not to gulp in apprehension.
"For that, you are called here." Mayuri murmured in a hair-raising tone.
Despite his escalating trepidation, Toushirou's expression was impassive and he merely raised an eyebrow. The 10th division captain was famous for keeping his emotions in check.
With a swish of the fabric, Mayuri swiveled round towards his tray of equipment, most of which were steel. His hand skimmed over a few of them before pausing at a particular one. Two elongated fingers picked up a syringe. The syringe was filled with a bubbling, grotesque-colored liquid, swirling ominously in the barrel. Mayuri pressed down lightly on the plunger. A small jet of the liquid squirted out of the needle.
Mayuri's bottom lip curled up in satisfaction.
He turned around to face Toushirou, who no longer had a neutral expression. Instead, his face was a picture of dread, his teal eyes widening in alarm. And no wonder. Mayuri's face was a mixture of glee and ecstasy, his eyes sparkling with madness.
The face of a scientist ready to strike.
Toushirou retracted his steps so ever slowly. Mayuri was advancing on him, brandishing the ill-omened syringe towards the white-haired captain's direction.
"Kurotsuchi-taicho…" Toushirou cautioned, his teal eyes glowing severely.
"This is a very special invention of mine," Mayuri began. His teeth shone its whiteness, blinding Toushirou momentarily. "I just invented it recently and have tried it on a few Shinigami. The results were, perceptible to say, perfect, as are all my inventions." Mayuri let out a maniacal, spine-chilling laugh.
Toushirou didn't know which scenario was worse- him being tampered by Mayuri or him being faced with mountains and heaps of paperwork with a useless, drunken fukutaicho.
He chose the latter.
"Once I inject this liquid into your system, Hitsugaya-taicho," Mayuri continued, his fingers wrapped around the syringe caressing it almost subconsciously, "your zanpaktou, which is part of your soul, will physically disappear."
Toushirou's eyebrows lifted higher in blatant disbelief.
"It will only appear again at your call. And when I say call, I mean summoning your zanpaktou from your mind to materialize it. Most Shinigami do it wordlessly."
Mayuri gave a full-blown grin. Toushirou found it disconcerting. "No human or wizard will be able to see your zanpaktou till you deem fit. A neat invention, yes?"
Mayuri's eyes narrowed to slits, and if possible, his grin got wider.
"Let the process commence."
Though Toushirou knew the liquid's function now, his instincts couldn't help but guide him further from the lab- further from Mayuri.
He bumped into something as he walked backwards. That something swiftly clutched both of his wrists and bound them to his back.
Toushirou's teal orbs widened as he struggled futilely against Nemu's hold. Mayuri's fukutaicho forced him forward to meet his impending doom.
The steel of the needle reflected light off its shiny surface. Mayuri cackled wildly.
"H-hey w-wait!" Toushirou squirmed as he tried to break hold of Nemu's firm grip. Fruitless. "Kurotsuchi-taicho, I didn't agree to th-"
"Don't worry, Hitsugaya-taicho," Mayuri seized Toushirou's right arm to still its thrashing movement. He pushed up the haori sleeve. "It will only hurt a little." Mayuri smirked.
The needle met contact.
A muffled yell of agony echoed throughout Seireitei.
^^^END OF FLASHBACK^^^
"Hitsugaya, why are you stoning there and wincing at nothing?" Ginny called over her shoulder. "The train has stopped, let's get a move on."
Toushirou grunted and stood up, stretching and popping his leg muscles. With little effort, (since he's in his Shinigami form) he grabbed his trunk using one hand and met the rest of the group outside amidst some jostling from the torrents of students pouring out from Hogwarts Express.
In his peripheral vision, a colossal castle loomed overhead, its foundation situated on a sky-scraping mountain. Brick-tiled turrets transcended into misty clouds that hung overhead in the night sky, their hulking heights so tall that they were lost to view. The castle many windows were all brightly-lit up, save for a few curtain-drawn ones, as if warmly inviting the students into its safe harbor. A vast lake extending from Hogsmeade station to the castle dock lay unperturbed under the starry night, occasional ripples forming on the surface. Wooden boats bobbed along with the lake currents, seemingly peaceful.
Harry caught Toushirou staring at the castle.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Harry remarked, giving Toushirou a lopsided grin.
Toushirou looked at Harry and merely nodded. He was contented with the castle, especially the huge water bodies nearby. They would do well to sooth his nerves when he gets stressed up. Which he hoped would be few and far between.
Hyourinmaru rumbled in agreement.
"Harry! Ginny! Hitsugaya!" Hermione called over the babble of voices, waving her hand to show where she was. The three of them quickly made their way over to her. Neville and Luna had vanished in the swarming crowd.
The two Gryffindor prefects were standing next to a giant-size man who was shouting, "Firs'-years 'ere! Firs'-years 'ere!" over the racket. A lamp was in his enormous hand rocking to and fro jerkily. Nervous first-years clustered around his massive form, finding reassurance in a tightly-knit pack.
After some difficulty, Hitsugaya reached Hermione's side. To his great displeasure, he realized he barely reached the oversized guy's shoulder.
Hyourinmaru's deep laughter shook the icy landscape.
Harry tilted his head upwards to smile at the man. Ginny did the same.
"Hagrid!" both of them greeted in unison.
Hagrid…? Toushirou's forehead creased slightly. Where did Toushirou hear that name before?
A click in his head ensued.
Toushirou observed 'Hagrid' in greater detail. He sported a shaggy mane, and had a scrunched up face with crinkly eyes that were black as pitch. The eyes were now peering down good-naturedly at them all.
So this was the half-giant, half-human. Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper for Hogwarts, and the Care of Magical Creatures professor.
Toushirou was thankful he managed to read all the folders concerning the wizards in Hogwarts and in the Order. At least he won't appear dumb and having to consistently ask questions about someone's identity. All that was left was Harry's, (because it contains the most) which he would read through later in a (hopefully) comfy bed…
"Arry'! Ginny! Welcome back to Hogwarts!" Hagrid boomed, patting them on their backs. The two consequently choked.
"As ya' all can see, me guiding first years to take da' boats, so catch up later for some tea at my hut?" Hagrid flashed a toothy grin at them. They all cheerfully agreed.
Toushirou paid no heed to their conversation, for it was not concerning him. He continued to survey the area of Hogwarts, slightly awed by the sheer ground it covered.
Hagrid now noticed the white-haired captain who was standing a little to the side, and observed his unique traits.
"And who do we have here, Arry'? Ya' friend?" Hagrid asked Harry in his scratchy voice.
Harry grinned.
"Yeah. We just met him, Hagrid. He's a transfer student, name's Hitsu-"
"Transfer student, you say?" Hagrid cried, stroking his beard thoughtfully. The first-years flinched at his movement. "Then he must be the Toushirou good, old Dumbledore mentioned!"
Toushirou heard Hagrid's booming voice addressing him, and stared at him in response, regarding him coldly as Toushirou would towards unfamiliar people. Hagrid did not seem to notice the hostility, and continued beaming at him.
"You know about him, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, surprised. Her lips lifted. "Then you can bring him to Hogwarts by boat too, can't you? After all he's new here, so like the first years he would not have been sor-"
Toushirou quickly interrupted Hermione's blabber. He didn't want to endure all the stares along with the first years. Besides, he reckoned he was still going to be stared at when Professor Dumbledore introduces him to the whole school. But all the same- better only once than twice.
"I've already been sorted, Gran- Hermione. There's no need to do that." Toushirou almost spelled out her last name when he remembered it wasn't the custom here. That would take some getting use to…
Hermione and the rest looked dumbfounded. Before they could say anything, Hagrid beat them to it.
"Then I best be on me way! Dawdled enough that is!" Hagrid gave them his crinkly-eyed smile before turning away towards the general direction of the boats.
"Comin' thru', comin' thru'! Firs'-years follow me, tis' way!" The bunch of edgy first years hastily trailed behind his giant bulk. Hagrid was succinctly lost to the gloom of the night, the light of his lamp a yellow dot in the darkness.
Toushirou and the rest lugged along their trunks and owl cages towards the nearest carriage.
"You already got sorted? How?" Ron asked disbelievingly.
Toushirou responded a little hesitantly, "In the headmaster's office, when I went to…fill in my particulars."
In actuality, he had gone to Professor Dumbledore's office to explain his real reason of coming to Hogwarts, other than that of a student. But they didn't have to know that.
Ron made a resounding 'Oh' as Hermione asked another.
"What house were you sorted into, Hitsugaya?"
A by now annoyed Toushirou (at all the questions) was about to reply when Harry gasped audibly.
"What's...what's pulling the carriages?!"
Done! I must apologise, I don't think Chapter 3 will come out as soon as these two chapters did, I haven't even started on it yet...(Guiltyo_O)
I especially enjoyed writing the flashback. Haha!
Please review!!!!!! Appreciated! And here is a reply to one reader...
Mistytail: I watch bleach subbed, not dubbed. Dubbed totally destroys all the characters voices! Uck...and Hyourinmaru's personality is like tat in the fic to partly show how close Hyourinmaru and Toushirou are. Only in a close relationship would two people talk to this extent, right?:)
