A/N: Sorry about the delay! I was going to type it a day earlier at about midnight (when I usually do my typing, it is actually 12:26 AM as I'm typing this now) but I fell asleep. :(
Please enjoy!
Chapter 3 â Sentou (The Beginning)
Toushirou's eyes slowly opened, though thankfully this time nothing was blurry. What he wasn't as thankful for was the fact that he seemed to be in an alley. At least he was laying on something soft. He glanced down to see what it was, but almost immediately regretted it. He was laying on a filthy mattress, a few of the springs poking up through the top and what he was sure was a vomit stain just above his left elbow.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking to his right, which faced the brick wall at the end of the alley. There seemed to have been a clean mattress, for Rangiku was currently sleeping on it, her reiatsu much stronger than it had been before.
His body also seemed much stronger than before, but not quite 100 percent. Maybe he could lay off the shunpo for a while. After all, he would have to be in top shape if he wished to challenge Aizen again. But first he had to find out who survived the battle.
He didn't know where he could find any Shinigami and didn't know if Rangiku knew where anybody was. But he did know where he could find a Substitute Shinigami. Just as he was about to leave, a shuffling sound alarmed him.
He whipped his head around to the mouth of the alley, where he saw the silhouette of a person. Toushirou, before drawing Hyourinmaru, reminded himself nobody could see him. He was in the human world.
The figure ran at them and jumped onto the mattress, startling Toushirou. "I went out and got some food, hope you guys like ramen!"
"Thank you," said Toushirou to Momo, who of course was the figure in the alley. She was the only one who could see them, and it wasn't as if some random person would stumble upon their alley and then run and jump onto the mattress.
He accepted the ramen, which came in a bag along with artificial flavoring, and opened it. He ate the whole bag, for he was surprisingly hungry, before standing up. "Where are you going?" asked Momo.
"To a friend's house," replied Toushirou simply. "I'm going to find out what happened here."
Momo looked down at Rangiku, then asked, "Would you like some company?"
Toushirou's first instinct was to say yes, and he didn't know why. Instead, he decided to think it through and ended up saying, "No. You need to stay with Matsumoto and make sure nothing happens to her. Alright?"
Momo looked up at him, smiled, and nodded. She understood the importance of this woman, she was just like him.
With a nod to Momo Toushirou left the alley, setting off toward Ichigo's house.
He jumped up to Ichigo's window and looked inside, but the orange-haired teen wasn't in there. Sighing, he went downstairs and knocked on the door, forgetting that humans couldn't see him.
A girl who looked to be about twelve with dark hair and red-rimmed eyes opened the door and scowled. "What do you want, runt?"
"I need to see Ichigo Kâ"
Slap! Toushirou recoiled as the girl's hand made contact with his face. "What the hell was that for?"
"It's all your fault," the girl said dangerously.
"What's all my fault?" asked Toushirou menacingly, his temper starting to rise.
"What do you think?" she screamed. "Ichigo goes off dressing just like you crazy people and killing monsters with a giant sword, and now he's dead!"
Those last four words hit Toushirou harder than the girl's slap. Kurosaki...is...dead? "Dead?" he numbly repeated.
"Don't play dumb," the girl spat before kneeing Toushirou hard in the gut, dropping him to his knees. That knee was surprisingly painful. "Stay away from all of us," said the girl before slamming the door in Toushirou's face.
"Ow," he said quietly before standing up again and leaning on the door. So Ichigo was dead. Which was bad. Ichigo was the only person who hadn't seen Kyouka Suigetsu and could potentially match Aizen in a fight. And Aizen had slain his soul, which meant no trip to Soul Society for him. Ichigo was gone...winning this war now seemed to be a thousand times harder.
Just as he was leaving he bumped into a man wearing scrubs with gloves on his hands. "Hitsugaya-taichou," the man said thoughtfully. "Glad to see at least one of you survived."
Toushirou squinted up at the man before his eyes widened. "Kurosaki...taichou?" he asked disbelievingly.
"The one and only," the man said, no hint of humor in his voice for once. "Still not enough to help Ichigo. I can't believe he's actually gone...I never thought..."
"Nobody thinks that way," said Toushirou simply. "People may say they do, the eleventh squad says they do, but nobody really expects that they'll be the one to die in battle. It'll always be the person next to them." Realizing he wasn't really helping, Toushirou said, "He fought bravely...fought to stop a madman. He died an honorable death."
"An honorable death for a a group of people he didn't really belong to," said Isshin. "He didn't get the chance to live a full life before giving it up for Seireitei. He deserved better."
"I truly am sorry for your loss, Kurosaki-taichou," said Toushirou, bowing his head at the man respectfully. "I must be on my way now."
He began to walk past Isshin, but felt a hand on his shoulder. "Wait," he said. "Just what are you planning on doing?"
Toushirou looked up at him, a glint in his eye. "What do you think I plan on doing," he said, not making it a question.
Without waiting for an answer, he began walking back toward the alley where Momo and Rangiku were located to regroup. His one lead on what had happened in the battle was dead...not to mention a valuable asset.
Sighing, he turned the corner of the alley and the two came into sight, Momo sponging Rangiku's head much like she had done to his own. "How is she?" he asked.
"Not bad," said Momo, not looking up from her sponging. "I think she'll wake up soon."
Toushirou sighed, wishing he didn't have to say the words he was about to speak. He felt strangely attached to this Momo girl, she fascinated him. But it was for the best. "You should probably leave."
"What are you going to do?" asked Momo, thinking he meant she would only be leaving for a second.
"I'm going to take back Seireitei," said Toushirou. "Which is very dangerous. Which means you aren't coming."
Momo stood up, putting her hands on her hips. "And why am I not coming just because it's dangerous?"
"You're a human," said Toushirou. "You don't hold any stock in this war. It'll be much safer and smarter for you to go back home."
Momo looked down and quietly said, "I don't have a home."
"What about the orphanage?" he asked.
"It's great, but..." she trailed off. "I get bullied there, and I don't think you can consider a place home unless you feel completely at ease there. All I've wanted my whole life is to escape and go off on an adventure. And, to be honest, I feel oddly attached to you. I want to go with you."
Toushirou sighed, pushing the heel of his hands into his eyes. It was really a bad idea to bring along a human...but she had proved she wasn't a normal human. If she learned a few incantations, she could take care of herself. Hell, she could even be an asset. Because it was purely her value in the upcoming battle that influenced his decision...right?
"I..." he said, looking at Momo, who was looking at him expectantly. Do it now...you know her coming along isn't going to end well. "You know the most likely outcome of this venture is death, right?" Momo nodded and Toushirou swallowed. "As long as you're aware," he finally said, hoping he wouldn't regret it later.
"Yay!" cried Momo, leaping forward and hugging Toushirou, who was shocked. Momo stiffened as she realized what she was doing, then pulled back and cleared her throat. "Thanks," she simply said, her face a bit pink.
"My only condition is that you study some Kido spells," said Toushirou.
"Kido?" asked Momo.
"The Demon Arts," replied Toushirou. "It's what you used to heal me and Matsumoto and kill that Hollow."
"I can do that," said Momo, nodding. "I want to be able to help, not just be dead weight."
Toushirou nodded before sitting down on the mattress he woke up on, staring at Rangiku. He was surprised and pleased that his fukutaichou had survived. It made him think that there were definitely more survivors from the battle, he just needed to find where they were. The Shinigami had discussed a rendezvous point in the real world in case something happened while on a mission there, but it hadn't been changed since Aizen had been part of the Shinigami's ranks. The rendezvous point was surely guarded now, which meant it was no longer safe. It just kept getting bleaker and bleaker.
"What's the matter?" asked Momo from her seat next to him, startling him...not that he let it show.
"This mission," said Toushirou. "It's looking more and more impossible by the minute."
"You should never let that stop you," said Momo determinedly. "You should only use it to make yourself try harder."
"I know, but..." said Toushirou, who couldn't believe he was sharing his feelings, which he didn't even share with his friends, with a girl he had only known for about a day. "But this time, I think the amount of effort doesn't really matter."
"What are you trying to say?" asked Momo, narrowing her eyes.
"Maybe we should give up," said Toushirou. "Just live in the human world, Matsumoto and I, instead of storming Soul Society and getting killed."
"Nonsense...taichou," said a weak voice from the clean mattress. "I can't believe...you would talk like that."
"Matsumoto!" exclaimed Toushirou, going to her side. "Do you remember anything from the battle?" he asked, getting straight to business.
"I'm fine, thanks," said Rangiku as sarcastically as she could manage. "And no, the last thing I remember is getting hit by the giant thing those three wenches called forth."
Toushirou growled in frustration, punching the mattress. Just as he was about to respond, a voice cut through their conversation.
"I couldn't help but overhear that you needed help finding a few Shinigami."
A/N: I'm not too satisfied with this chapter, I just couldn't seem to articulate what I wanted to write. Damn writer's block.
Please review!
