Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Bleach series in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo. What I do own is my original character which will be introduced later in the chapter.
Author's Note: Yay, it's an update for this story! Special thanks goes to j cloud xD, serenity095, Samantha, icyangel27, sweet miracle 'michu 17', applestoapples, lil'sayuri-chan, KnowledgeandImagination, maili-chan, MoonLightView, athfdrizzle, NeonCookies O.o, k a y - t h i for your wonderful reviews! Without any further adieu, here is chapter three. Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking."
Forget Me Not
Chapter Three: Concerns
The large doors slowly closed in all the Gotei 13 captains and vice-captains that showed up in the first division barracks. Captain Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto slammed his cane in between his legs to signal the others that the emergency meeting is about to begin. "According to the report that Captain Ichimaru sent in, tenth division Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya and fifth division Lieutenant Momo Hinamori failed to return to Seireitei along with the rest of the dispatched party," he explained. The elder Shinigami turned to the second division captain. "Soi Fon-taicho, you and your group are to go out to East Rukongai District 40 and search of their whereabouts."
"Yes sir," she replied.
He nodded with agreement. "If they are not found within twenty-four hours, you are to withdraw your men and return here as soon as possible. From there, those two will be pronounced dead."
"No way," Matsumoto whispered, worrying about the well-being of her comrades.
Without her realizing it, her childhood friend is watching closely. "Now onto other matters, Hollow appearances have greatly reduced over the past couple of months in the living world. However, there are more emerging here in Soul Society..."
"There is no way for them to be dead after being missing for twenty-four hours. They have to be alive somewhere out in Rukongai, trying their best to get back safely," she thought. "I have to do something about this!"
"What's wrong Matsumoto?" eighth division vice-captain, Ise Nanao whispered.
"Eh, oh it's nothing."
"I know you're concerned about your captain, but now isn't the best time to be thinking about it."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right."
"Lieutenant Matsumoto, Lieutenant Nanao, is there something wrong?" Yamamoto asked.
"No sir, there's nothing wrong," Rangiku replied.
"Now please refrain from interrupting the meeting again."
"Yes sir," they both answered.
When the meeting is over, captains and lieutenants were leaving the building. Instead of doing that, Matsumoto marched up to her childhood friend and asked, "Gin, why didn't you mention anything about the kido barri-"
Suddenly, she saw a smiling grin on his face. "Daijobou Ran-chan, I haven't forgotten about it."
"What are you planning to do?"
He walked past her, saying, "There is something I need to check out first before I report this to soitaicho."
Curious what he is up to, the strawberry orange haired Shinigami began following the gray haired captain and his pale blond haired lieutenant out of the division barracks. "What do you mean by that?" However, he didn't reply back. If there is something she doesn't like about Ichimaru, it is the difficulty of understanding his motives. "Gin!"
He looked over his shoulder and saw the woman close behind them. Feeling sorry for his peer, Kira turned to his superior and asked, "Ichimaru-taicho..."
"I know Izuru," he replied. "Let her be until we reach our destination."
"Y-Yes sir."
"Oi Gin, are you even listening to me?" she called out.
With his back turned away from the woman, the third division captain just cracked an amusing grin on his face.
She then let out a defeated sigh and shook her head. "Why do I even bother tolerating with him?"
Hitsugaya and Hinamori were astonished. With a single powerful way of destruction spell, all the Hollows were wiped out in an instant. What is even more amazing that it came from someone whom they have never met before. "Are you two alright?" he asked, walking up to the young captain and lieutenant of the Gotei 13.
Momo put her sword back into its sheath and brushed some dirt off her kimono. Once she is done, the peach girl turned to the tall black ponytail haired man and said, "Thank you for helping us back there."
He shook his head and replied, "It's really nothing. It's natural to help someone who is in need."
"It's so amazing what you did a while ago especially considering that you're just a seated officer, um..."
He then let out a faint smiling grin across his lips. "My name is Takeshi Fujikage of the tenth division and thank you for the comment, Hinamori-fukutaicho."
As the two people continued to talk, Toshiro's focus is on the white forget me not (1) flower that is in his sash on the side of his waist. Having only seen the blue-violent forget me not flowers, he was curious. Something about the plant has gotten him walking over to Takeshi to take a closer look at it. Just as he extended his hand out and was about to touch it, he heard Momo scolding him, "Hitsugaya-kun, what are you doing?"
The white haired Shinigami's hand quickly retreated back to his side. He turned to see the raven haired girl frowning at him. Having a pretty good idea that he's doing something he shouldn't have; Toshiro lowered his head and apologized, "Sorry..."
"Is there something wrong with Captain Hitsugaya?" Fujikage asked. "He doesn't seem to act like his usual self."
It is Momo's turn to lower her head. "Actually, he has amnesia right now. I don't know how or when it happened, but I'm doing my best to get him to remember everything before we return to Seireitei."
"I see."
There was a brief moment of silence before words were exchanged once more. "You must have gotten separated from the others too, huh?"
He nodded with agreement. "Yeah, I was with my group, fighting Hollows. I wasn't really paying attention to what is going on around me. Before I knew it, I sort of...well, got lost."
Hinamori let out a soft giggle. "Luckily for you, you managed to run into us."
Takeshi smiled back. "You're right about that."
While the two Shinigami got along with one another, Toshiro took a long glance at the black haired man before resuming his attention to the white forget me not tied on the side of his waist. "Let's go Hitsugaya-kun," he heard Momo call out to him.
When he snapped back to reality, the white haired soul reaper saw his childhood friend and the saviour already walking ahead of him. With a nod of agreement, he quickly ran to catch up with them.
"How come I have never seen you around in the tenth division barracks whenever I drop by to visit Hitsugaya-kun?"
"Oh, I...am usually busy doing errands for him or training on my own," he replied. "Captain Hitsugaya is aware of my habits and sometimes drop by at my hiding spots to see what I'm up to."
"I see."
Takeshi then shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe that is why we barely see one another."
The fifth division lieutenant slowly nodded with agreement. "I suppose you're right about that."
In the meantime, Hitsugaya quietly watched them interact from behind their backs. For some reason, it caused something from deep inside to stretch like a group of children playing tug-o-war. With great assumption of what he used to act like (before he lost his memories), he is quite certain that he never experienced feelings like this before. Not at all had he liked what is going on in front of his face. Without a moment to think about it, Toshiro ran up, stood in between them, and consciously took hold of her left hand.
Upon taking notice of him, Momo asked, "What's wrong, Shiro-chan?"
"I just feel like holding your hand," he replied, smiling at her like a five year old child.
She smiled back, amused over the fact that he just said the most darnest thing in her life.
At the same time, Takeshi smiled as well. "If fukutaicho hears about this, she's definitely going to hilariously laugh about it for a long while."
Hinamori giggled. "You're right; I can imagine Rangiku-san doing that."
All of a sudden, they heard the sound of echoing roars. In reaction to it, Hitsugaya's grip on the peach girl became tighter as he took a step closer to her. Before long, he began shivering with great concerns and fears. "Hinamori..."
Momo took out her zanpakuto and got into battle position. "Stay close, Hitsugaya-kun."
Fujikage drew his sword as well and took a step back. He is standing back to back with the fifth division lieutenant. "It sounds like the sounds are coming from everywhere," he stated.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Keep your guard up, Fujikage-san."
"Yes ma'am."
After waiting for a few seconds, a band of Hollows emerged from around and began attacking the Shinigami. In retaliation, Momo and Takeshi began fighting back.
"What are we doing here in the Great Spirit Book Library?" Matsumoto asked as she and the Third Division elite members entered the large sanctuary of books.
They walked in the room for a bit until the gray haired captain stopped and turned around to see her. "Remember what I said before about the kido barrier?" Ichimaru asked.
She slowly nodded with agreement. "The kido spell wasn't taught for about 150 years."
"Correct; we're here to gather some information about it."
She tilted her head to the side, not comprehending what he is talking about. "What information are we looking for?"
"I think Ichimaru-taicho is trying to do is to look over the archives of all the graduates and teachers that have taught this spell over the last 150 years or so," Kira speculated. "The only people who would perform this spell are the ones who do not know that it is forbidden in Soul Society. From there, we can start eliminating people from the list and so forth."
A grin appeared on the captain's face. "I'm so happy I have a knowledgeable vice-captain whom I can count on."
"Um thanks..."
"Then, what are we waiting for?" Rangiku asked while holding up her right arm to show off her biceps. "Let's get this search started!"
"Yare yare, what's with the commotion here?" asked a the three Shinigami turned their heads, they saw the eighth division captain, Shunsui Kyoraku and his lieutenant, Ise Nanao. "Ara, we're didn't even figure out anything and we've already been caught," Ichimaru said nonchalantly.
"Aw Gin, now don't say that," he replied as he fixed the position of his straw hat. "You make it sound like I'm a bad man."
"It depends if you're willing to co-operate with us or not."
"I'm all ears; what seems to be the problem?"
Matsumoto and Kira turned to Ichimaru, who merely smiled at Kyoraku. They looked at one another and then let out a sigh. Resuming their attention to the eighth division members, they began explaining the story. "It all started when the third, fifth, and tenth divisions were sent to East Rukongai District 40 to eliminate a group of Hollows..."
Hinamori and Fujikage were panting with exhaustion. After eliminating a large handful of Hollows, they realized they have long ways to go before they're gone. "This is going to take forever," Takeshi said.
"Hajike Tobiume!" Momo exclaimed as she fired a fireball at a Hollow's face. "Fujikage-san, I need your help in order to get rid of them all at once. Can you distract them for a few minutes?"
He nodded with agreement. "Okay."
She then turned to Toshiro, who is standing closely behind. "Stand back for a bit, okay?"
Hitsugaya slowly gave her the agreement with a nod despite being worried of her well-being. He took a few steps back to give her some room. When all the requirements have been met, Hinamori put her zanpakuto away in her sheath, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. After exhaling some carbon dioxide out, she opened her eyes and raised her head. With two fingers held up between her lips, she began chanting a spell. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens. Hado Number 73: Soren Sokatsui!"
All of a sudden, she held out both palms of her hands and fired two shots of blue spiritual energy toward the masked creatures. Noticing that he is going to get caught in it, Takeshi quickly flash stepped to the side, leaving his enemies exposed to the assault. While the Hollows were being wiped out, a few of them were trying to flee. However, the fifth division vice-captain won't let them do that. She turned her body to the side; changing the direction her attack is being fired.
As the white haired bystander kneels to the ground from being blown away, he was amazed at how the raven haired girl is able to manage the whole situation herself. She is strong-willed, calm, and reliable. Those are the qualities he wished he had. He is envious of her. "Sugoi, she's so strong..."
Once all the Hollows have been cleared from the area, Momo let out a sigh of relief before falling down on her bottom. Concerned for her, Toshiro quickly got back on his feet and ran up to her. "Are you alright, Hinamori?"
"I'm just a little exhausted, Hitsugaya-kun," she replied with a sweet smile. "Don't worry about me too much; after a bit of rest, I'll be as good as new."
Hitsugaya let out a defeated sigh and smiled back. By that time, Fujikage caught up with the two childhood friends. After putting away his sword in its sheath, he commented, "Sugoi Hinamori-fukutaicho, you really are a master of kido."
"Iie, I still have a long way to go before I can truly become a master of that," she modestly replied.
"I see." He then extended a hand out. "Are you still able to move?"
She accepted his offer and was hoisted back onto her feet. Momo nodded with agreement. "I'm alright for now; let's get moving before it gets too dark."
He and Toshiro looked up into the sky to see that the sun has already begun to set. "You're right; we better get going and find a place to rest for tonight."
"Let's go Shiro-chan," Hinamori said to the white haired Shinigami.
With a short nod, he followed closely behind them. He took a glance at the peach girl and then the ponytail haired man before he began staring at ground. Deep inside, the uneasy feeling is still bothering him. It has been that way since they met the seated officer of the tenth division, Takeshi Fujikage. Though he can't explain it right now, one way or another, he is determined to find out the source of his concerns. Along way, the answers to why he is experiencing amnesia might also become known.
Japanese Word Translations and References
Gotei 13 - The Thirteen Court Guard Squads, Taicho - Captain, Kido - Demon Arts, Daijobou - It's Alright, Soitaicho - Captain Commander, Shinigami - Soul Reaper, Fukutaicho - Lieutenant/Vice-Captain, Zanpakuto - Soul Cutter, Yare yare - Well well, Sugoi - Amazing, Iie - No
(1) The Forget me Not's flower meanings are hope, remembrance, memories, and true love.
Author's Note: Will things get better along the way after Takeshi joined up with Momo and Toshiro? What will Kyoraku and Nanao do after Matsumoto, Kira, and Ichimaru explained the whole story to them? Why is AznVKai asking so many thought provoking questions? xD Well, there is only one way to find out; stay tuned for the next chapter!
Bleach Manga 423 Spoilers: I'm sensing that a time skip may happen in the next Bleach chapter. LMAO, Byakuya is getting scolded by old man Yamamoto over a "cheap" haori. Yes Shiro-chan, train in solitude until you're strong enough to protect your precious Momo. xD Poor Rangiku...*sniffles* She needs a hug (despite knowing that there is a high chance of me suffocating in her chest.). Sigh...there will be no more Bleach Manga until the end of the month.
In the meantime, please review! Thanks.