A/N: And here is Chapter 2.
Summary: Both Toushirou and Ami have secretly waited for this day for a long time. But no one ever realized that it came with a price this big. So what now?
Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach. The references to other shows (Like Goseiger, for example, which is in here) belong to their respective owners. I own only the angels of Soul Society, nothing else.
Happy birthday, my dear sister! (12-17-2012, for those who reading this later that this date.) I asked which story she wanted me to update for her birthday, and she said "Winter Rose", so viola!
~2~2~2~2~
Chapter 2: Unforeseen Reunion
Half of the Tenth Division office was a mess, but the other half was clean.
"Matsumoto...do I need to tell you a million times?! Clean up your side of the office!"
"But Taichou, I don't see the reason to!"
"I told you yesterday. Today we are having a very important visitor. The Soutaichou said that we all need to get our respective divisions cleaned. First impressions can work wonders, Matsumoto."
"Who is this visitor?"
"Can't tell. It's top secret."
Matsumoto started to whine and put on that dreadful puppy-dog face. But Hitsugaya wasn't about to give in so easily.
"Matsumoto, trust me. If I could tell you, I would have already," Hitsugaya said. "You'll know when they get here."
"What time are they coming, Taichou?"
"No later than 9:30 this morning."
Matsumoto did a double take at the clock. "It's 7:30 right now!"
"Exactly. We have two hours, and the office is the only place here in the Tenth Division left to clean. So, get moving, Matsumoto. Since I have no paperwork, I am going to take the opportunity to clean out my desk."
The two got to work. As Toushirou was cleaning out his desk, he came across many items. Pens, blank paper, stuff like that. But there was something else that caught his eye.
A letter.
Just judging by appearance, he could tell that it was very old. The parchment it was written on and the envelope were both a bit yellow and dirty. It was also crumpled a bit and there were tear stains on it. But one thing really and truly caught his eye.
There were tiny stains of dried blood on it.
He didn't know why, but just seeing this letter made Toushirou feel weird, but not in a good way.
Matsumoto turned to her Captain. "Hey, Taichou, I'm done cleaning my side of the office." She paused, seeing him stopped right there, seeing him sway back and forth a bit. "Taichou?"
Toushirou snapped out of his fantasy (if you could call it that) and immediately noticed his Vice-Captain standing there.
"Gomen ne, Matsumoto," he said, unusually gentle. "Good job. Now, clean out your desk."
"Yes, Sir," she replied, turning to do so without question. 'What was that about?' She thought. 'He's never been like that before...'
Hitsugaya inwardly let out a sigh of relief. 'That was too close...'
*Flashback; Seven-Nine Years Earlier*
"Okaa-san!"
"Don't shout Toushirou," Hikari gently told her young grandson, who was around eighteen at the time. "Your mother is tired."
Ameko turned to her only son and smiled blearily, his father Hisoka guiding him by the elbow. Her hair was mused and her face lacked energy. However, Toushirou seemed to have enough for them both.
"Can I see?" Toushirou politely and quietly asked. Hisoka grinned at his son's abundance of manners.
After sinking into the couch, Ameko held out the blundle of blankets to Toushirou. "Meet your new baby sister..."
Toushirou blinked. "What's her name?"
"Her name is Ami."
"Ami…" The same sounded like sweet sugar on his tongue. He plopped beside his mother on the couch. The baby was asleep, peaceful. Toushirou touched his sister's soft, white hair and whispered, "I will be the best big brother ever."
From that day on, he vowed to protect her until the day she died.
*End Flashback*
Ami...
Even if he didn't know if he had a sister or not, the name still sounded like it did seventy-nine years ago. Whenever he thought about it, he would immediately fill up with gentle happiness. His anger would automatically cease to exist at that moment. Whenever he said it or whispered it, it tasted like the sweetest watermelon.
If this Ami existed, he would have to find her. He had this weirdest feeling that he couldn't live very long without this girl. Sister or not...
He would find her.
~8:10 AM~
An hour later, Matsumoto was done cleaning her desk. Before they left, Matsumoto secretly slipped the old letter into her shihakusho to read later. After doing so, she took a glance at a picture. It looked like her Taichou when he was younger and a little girl, with white hair, just like him.
'Could he...?!' Matsumoto shook her head. 'No...He couldn't have a sister...He doesn't seem the type...'
Putting the matter in the back of her mind, she followed her Captain to the Division 10 Mess Hall, where the entire Division was gathered. The reason for this? Matsumoto didn't know. Hitsugaya-taichou merely told her to order the entire Division to gather in the Mess Hall at 8:00 AM sharp. She just did as she was told.
"So what's the deal of waking us up so early in the morning, Fukutaichou?" One division member asked her, breaking her train of thought.
"I don't have an accurate picture, either, Kawamoto-san," she told him. "I was just following Taichou's orders. Just go sit down, okay? He'll tell us all in a minute or too. Why else would he be here?"
After patiently waiting for the entire hall to quiet down, Hitsugaya silently took a deep breath.
"Many of you are wondering why Matsumoto woke you up so early in the morning," Hitsugaya began. There were many nods and a silent "yes" all around before he continued. "The Soutaichou has called a city-wide Yellow Alert, starting at 0830 hours today."
There were many murmurs. 'A Yellow Alert? Whenever the Soutaichou declares a Yellow Alert like this, it's not good,' Matsumoto thought. 'It can't be...a new enemy?'
"Demo, Taichou," Matsumoto started, "what's the reason for this?"
Hitsugaya did not look at her. His young face remained stoic, like always.
"Aizen has escaped from his prison..."
A dead silence rang throughout the entire hall. Every single Shinigami, male and female, turned their head toward their Taichou, whose face remained unembarrassed and un-amused.
"You think I'm kidding, don't you? I'm not. Aizen somehow found a way to escape and is currently hiding and recuperating in an unknown location, but there's a good chance that he's hiding somewhere in the Sereitei."
No one questioned the young Shinigami, but they paid more attention to him. No one wanted to get a lecture from their captain for not following orders to the exact letter. Yellow Alert was a very serious condition for the Sereitei to go into.
"You all have precisely ten minutes to finish up here. Then you all must go your posts. No exceptions." He turned to his Lieutenant and quietly said, "Matsumoto, stay here and make sure every single one of them gets to their post and nowhere else."
Once she nodded in confirmation, the white-haired Shinigami turned towards the shouji doors and walked out, closing the doors behind him.
~9:30 AM~
"Each and every one of you has cleaned your respective division barracks, correct?" The Soutaichou asked.
Nine "Yes, Sir"s sounded.
"And what about Divisions Three, Five, and Nine? Have those barracks been cleaned as well?"
"Yes, Sir," Soifon confirmed. "I filled in all three Lieutenants yesterday morning."
"Well done, Soifon-taichou," the Soutaichou continued. "And have all Divisions been notified about the Yellow Alert?"
Ten more "Yes, Sir"s sounded again.
"Again, Sir, I also filled the three Lieutenants about that yesterday morning, as well," Soifon piped in.
Yamamoto nodded in confirmation.
"Now, about the visitor we are expecting today, any minute now, in fact..."
"I hate to break in and interrupt you, Soutaichou, but who is it exactly?" Kurotsuchi asked. He was dying to know ever since the meeting last week.
"You'll know when they get here," the Soutaichou answered bluntly.
"Can you at least give us some type of background on them? Who are they?" Kurotsuchi piped back.
"Alright, as you wish," the Soutaichou gave in. "Do any of you recall sixty-eight years ago, when an alliance of ours broke apart in a violent shatter?"
It took a while for the other Captains to respond to this.
"Of course," Ukitake answered. "That certain alliance lasted for thirty years until something broke us apart, if I'm not mistaken."
"It did last thirty years," Yamamoto continued. "Excellent memory, Ukitake-taichou, but do you remember who we were in alliance with?"
There was a short silence as everyone started to think.
'Sixty-eight plus thirty...that's ninety-eight years ago...' Hitsugaya thought. 'That's around the time I was born...' This started to worry him. 'Oh come on, calm down, Toushirou. It's just a coincidence, nothing more...' He snapped his attention back to the real question. 'But...sixty-eight years ago, that's when the Hogosha-sen started to ignore us, right?' He lightly gasped. 'That's it...The Hogosha-sen was our ally...'
Before he could speak up, Kurotsuchi piped in. "Wasn't it the Hogosha Tenshi?"
"Yes, it was," the Soutaichou answered. "That is who will be coming today."
Soifon entered into the conversation, "Surely not all of them, Sir!"
"No, just the Shousei and a representative," Yamamoto reassured them. "A very important representative..."
Suddenly, one of the guards who constantly stood outside the doors while the Captains were in their meeting came in from one of the side doors.
"Yes? What is it, Kinomoto-san?"
"You told me not to bother you, Sir, unless they were here outside these very doors," Kinomoto said in a low voice.
"Oh, yes, very well," Yamamoto said. "Send them in."
Two Tenshi entered.
The first was quite tall, as tall as Yamamoto himself. He had gray-white hair and a four scratch marks over his right eye. He had golden-brown eyes and wore a long-sleeved, ankle-length coat, complete with a hood, which he was not wearing. He wore a white scarf around his neck.
His facial expression and his posture suggested that he was a man of power and authority. He also had the impression that you did not want to make him angry, lest you want to see his temper or his strict nature.
The second angel was, surprisingly to the nine captains besides Yamamoto, for some odd reason, a young girl. She had a certain, familiar lack of height, long white-silver hair with blue highlights and turquoise eyes that shone like the ocean, complete with a white body suit, which a light blue skirt attacked and black and silver armguards all up and down the length of her arms, which blue boots on her feet. She wore two blue hairclips to push her bangs to her right.
Her facial expression and posture suggested that she was a bit frightened at all the strangers in the room, but she was acting tough. She had the impression that you did not want to make her scared or angry, lest you want to be punched harshly in the face.
There was a seemingly long period of silence as the ten Captains observed the two Angels that stood before them. The girl looked very familiar to Ukitake and Hitsugaya, and although Toushirou couldn't place his finger on it, Ukitake could. Yet, he kept silent about it.
"Hoshimoto, my brother," Yamamoto announced, as the girl kneeled in respect between Ukitake and Kurotsuchi. "How are you fairing today?"
The old angel, Hoshimoto, nodded. "Well, and you?"
"Same."
Hoshimoto glanced around the room. Some of the old Captains were still there; three spots were currently empty, though it did not surprise him. He was notified of Aizen's betrayal; therefore, he knew all the details. He was notified of the youngest Captain, a prodigy, and he was amazed at the resemblance between Hitsugaya and his sister. They could be mistaken as twins.
"And this is?" Yamamoto asked. "Is this her?"
"Yes, she is," Hoshimoto said.
"Truly?"
"Yes."
"Remarkable...she looks just like her brother..." Yamamoto commented.
Hitsugaya Toushirou couldn't take his eyes off the girl. There was something familiar about her. He just couldn't figure it out.
"Don't be deceived, my brother, she's well qualified," Hoshimoto said, with a hint of pride in his voice.
"I won't..." Yamamoto said. He turned to the girl. "State your identification."
"Hitsugaya Ami, sir, Hogosha Tenshi from the Uminozoku, currently placed in the Intelligence," the girl stated, as if she had rehearsed this for a week, kneeling and bowing the whole time.
Something inside Toushirou snapped. Yet Yamamoto, nor anyone else felt the same.
"She is highly intelligent, can hack any system anywhere, and is a great strategist," Hoshimoto gently bragged.
"Remarkable...at her age?" Soifon muttered. A few of the Captains were thinking the same thing.
"Is she really his sister?" Yamamoto asked.
"Yes...you heard her give her identification information..."
"Ahh, yes, I see..." Yamamoto said. He turned to the nine Captains. "We have the key to renew our Alliance Contract. Hoshimoto and I will go into the next room and discuss the matters without any distractions." The nine nodded.
Hoshimoto turned to them also, and said, "I know none of you are in my jurisdiction, but please, keep watch over our young friend," he motioned to a kneeling Ami, "and keep her safe from any danger. She is a very valuable asset. You do have my permission to ask her questions, but nothing too personal..." The nine captains nodded and the two department Heads went on their way.
~9:37 AM~
Seven minutes had passed and Ami was getting tired of kneeling. She had a high tolerance of pain, but her nervousness and her fidgety habits were making her pain tolerance lower a bit. Okay, a lot.
She was saved by the man in the pink overcoat. "You don't have to keep kneeling, you know," he said. "You can stand up."
She gave off a small nervous smile and nodded, standing up from her kneeling position. She realized with a start that her fidgety behavior was showing on the outside when the taller woman gently commented, "Talk to her, everyone. It helps with nervousness."
"Is it that bad?" Ami asked, quietly. Unohana gently nodded. Ami lowered her head in shame. She was supposed to be an angel, an advanced angel, Junior Elite, and here she was showing her nervousness, which was a dead giveaway as a weakness.
The long white-haired man gently asked her, "Do you have any color or design preferences?"
Ami startled a bit at the question. She never had anyone ask her that out of the blue. She felt her face turn pink before answering, "Blue, any shade, and I really like snowflakes."
"I prefer pink and flowers," Kyouraku said, "but that's a nice combination too."
Ami softly smiled.
The shorter woman spoke up. "When did you first become an angel?"
"Two years ago, ma'am," Ami said, with more confidence that none of these people were bad.
"When did you become advanced?" Soifon asked again.
"Two years later."
"And how old are you?" Soifon asked once more.
"I-I'd rather not say, Ma'am," Ami answered, stuttering a bit.
"'A true lady never reveals her age'," Soifon quoted. "Excellent."
Ami smiled and nodded at the comment. 'I think I just pleased Soifon-taichou, one of the strictest Captains in the Goteijuusantai. So far, so good. I've won over Ukitake-taichou and Kyouraku-taichou and it looks like everyone else...'
The clown-like Captain spoke up, startling her and frightening her too, "I think she'd make an interesting test subject."
Everyone, even Kuchiki, looked at him in alarm, until he was kicked in the face by a very angry child prodigy Captain.
"Knock it off," he said, angrily and quietly. "You're not making a very good first impression."
Ami didn't know what to think of this one. She hadn't won him over yet and it seemed like he was angry.
"Listen...I need to ask you something. I want you to answer it truthfully. I know it's personal, but I just need to know." Ami nodded at him. He looked like the one in her dream last night. "Do you have a brother?"
Ami was thrown off completely at the question...yet she answered anyway.
'We'll be together forever, right, Nii-chan?'
'Yeah...'
'You promise?'
'Pinkie promise.'
"I-I think so, but I can't remember him that well...w-why?" She asked, dreading his answer.
"I think... I think I am your brother..."
Ami's brain froze...
'You promised that we would never abandon each other! Why are you going to that stupid Shinigami Academy anyways?!'
'So Hinamori will stop calling me Shirou-chan.'
He sounded so heartless when he said it. She remembered now...there promise and their fight...the day they split up fifteen years ago...
She felt hot tears (she wasn't used to hot things, just cold) fill up her eyes.
'Don't cry...'An angel never shows tears openly'...'They must not let their feelings get in the way of the mission'...don't cry...'
"No!" She shouted and ran out of the room...
Even though she had strict orders to stay...
"I think you made her confused, Hitsugaya," Kurotsuchi commented, trying to make a joke, but also not believing what he just saw and heard.
Toushirou said nothing...he was too ashamed...he too remembered their fight...
"She's not confused...she just refuses to believe it's true," Ukitake said, sadness hinted in his voice tone. "Hitsugaya-kun speaks the truth."
"No way..." Komamura muttered.
"Are they really?" Kenpachi asked.
Toushirou hung his head in silence and shame.
"Indeed," Ukitake continued. "Hitsugaya Toushirou and Hitsugaya Ami are brother and sister..."
~Chapter 3 Preview~
Rangiku: Taichou, you broke a promise?!
Toushirou: Matsumoto...
Rangiku: And to your own little sister, too?! How could you?!
Toushirou: Matsumoto...
Rangiku: Go and apologize, right now!
Toushirou: (sighs in annoyance) Tune in next time for Bleach: Winter Rose, Chapter 3: Lost and Found.
~2~2~2~2~
Here are the unfamiliar terms to you used in this chapter, in no classified order:
'Hogosha-sen' = Guardian Division, AKA the Hogosha Tenshi
'0830 hours' = Military time. Familiarize yourself with it. I may use it again later on.
'Hoshimoto, my brother' = If you want to know if Yamamoto and Hoshimoto are real, blood brothers, keep reading to find out.
'Uminozoku' = Japanese for Sea Tribe
A/N: Review please! Even a favorite is strongly encouraged!