Chapter Seven-Of Foxes and Plums
Aizen stood gripping the nobles wrist tightly. The only sounds were strained gasps for air from Ichimaru, and the occasional sobs from Hinamori.
Kuchiki had about to fire off a kido spell. How? His powers were supposed to be sealed. Kaname was running the cells. How had this happened? His eyes narrowed dangerously. The brown eyes never leaving the gray ones. A silent and deadly starring contest.
"Aizen," came a quite but somewhat panicked voice. He glanced behind him for a moment to look at the girl. Her eyes were full of tears, her cheeks stained with traces of them. She was holding on tightly, to his silver fox. "There is something wrong with Ichimaru. His throat, something is broken in it. His voice, I think."
It was a difficult thing to do but he kept his mask on. The flux of his own raitsu had brought his top Espada to him. Handing the Kuchiki over to Starrk he kneeled down towards Gin to see what damage had been done.
Even a God could feel fear, he learned that day. The silver haired man's breathing had turned frantic struggling, to breath against the blood that was building in his throat due to his crushed larynx and other vitals.
Without another thought he scooped up the thin man, flash stepping threw the palace.
He entered the room of the only one that could save Gin's life.
Unohana looked up startled at the sudden intrusion. Her kind eyes swept over Aizen, realization at the scenario, quickly she leapt to action. Isane by her side in a heartbeat, they quickly began to work.
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Hinamori without a second thought followed Aizen. He was a lot faster then her, and for that she was grateful. He would get Ichimaru to someone who would be able to save him. She hoped.
She was so scared for Ichimaru's life. So scared. What would she do if he was gone? What would happed to her if he died? Back to the cells? Or would she be killed? She followed the traces of Aizen's raitsu that he left behind. Her thoughts were cut short as she saw Aizen waiting out side a room.
A new fear filled her. This would be the first time they would be one on one since that night that she had come to him to tell him of her fears. The night before he would fake his death. She approached him carefully.
His dark eyes also watched her carefully.
"Is he okay?" she asked meekly.
He did not answer her. She had sort of expected that.
"What happened?" he asked her.
Gathering courage she began the short story of the events that had transpired. Of Captain Kuchiki free from his cell attacking Ichimaru who would not fight back. Even when she regained her senses and tried to pry the fingers off his throat, and begged him to live, would do nothing in his defense.
"Ichimaru is so miserable here that he wouldn't even save his on life!" she cried.
Aizens' face was unreadable.
"He can't do anything here anymore!' she continued her voice cracking again, but she had to finish, she had to tell this man, a man that she had once admired and adored more then anything else, what he had done to one of his most loyal followers. "He can't go in the cells to visit Kira-kun, he can't get into most parts of this place anymore, and he's locked out from his garden! His one sanctuary in this hell you call you're palace!"
She looked at her feet when she finished. There it was said.
The door to the room opened and Captain Unohana stepped out glancing at both of them before speaking. "Ichimaru will survive," she stated.
Hinamori let out a sigh of relief.
"Isane, and I were able to fix all of the damage that was done. A moment later and it would have been to late, Aizen-sama" she added the sama part as an afterthought.
As always Aizen looked uncaring, he walked away from both of them.
Hinamori clasped her hands together. "May I see him, please,"
Unohana smiled kindly at her. "Of course," she opened the door again allowing the small girl inside.
She ran to the bed that Ichimaru was laying in. Breathing normal. Thank goodness. She sat in the seat that Isane had provided. Her brown eyes looked over the thin frame. Silver bangs always hanging in front of closed eyes. This time not so squeezed shut, just closed normally. Perhaps he was sleeping. She hesitantly ran a hand threw the silver stands. So silky soft.
Narrow eyes fluttered open at the touch.
She squeaked and quickly removed her hand. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm just- well- I mean I was- you see I thought-"
He lifted a hand and placed a bony finger over her mouth to shush her. His scarlet eyes watching her carefully.
She removed the hand from her face. She held the thin hand tightly. "Sorry," she said again. "I'm glad that your still alive."
His usual smile slipped onto his face and his hand released its self from her grip to move to the top of her head. Patting her gently on the head. Just like she had seen Aizen do to him many times.
She closed her eyes at the touch. Recognition. He was glad that she was there. This simple gesture made her so happy. Happier then she had been in months.
Hinamori stayed by his side. Watched as his scarlet eyes fell closed again. She held tightly to his hand long after it had left her head. He hadn't said anything yet. She wondered if he could? Would he ever speak again? Unohana said that she had fixed him up. Guess she would see.
She too drifted to sleep sometime later.
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Aizen's blade drenched in the blood of a noble begged for more. There was one other person responsible.
Hinamori was not lying about what she had said. That he was sure of.
He had not locked Gin out of anything. Especially not the garden that he had watched Gin plant from seeds and nurture into a lush garden. A garden so great that it won the hearts of some of the Espada. Even the colder then ice Ulquiorra had taken a great liking to it. Spending good parts of his days, reading in garden. The first room that he had created the blue skies. skies in this palace because Gin said that the night sky was boring, that he missed the sun light. Skies that were build for Gin and Gin alone. Their first week here, his silver haired fox said that he missed the sunlight. So in one night he had made sunlight for Gin.
Aizen walked threw the white halls his blade still out, scaring every low level Arcarnarr who saw him.
Kaname wasn't as hard to find as he expected. Not to far from where the incident had taken place.
"Kaname," His voice surprisingly calm, to his own surprise.
"Aizen-sama" Tousen turned to him.
"Would you care to explain how Byakuya Kuchiki got out of his cell?"
"He escaped? How unfortunate. I will take more caution to make sure this incident never happens again. Has he been caught?"
"Yes. He will never escape again,"
Tousen frowned. "I see. That was a little severe was it not my lord?"
Aizen ignored the question. "Would you also care to explain to me how he was able to use kido?"
"Kido?"
"I caught him about to kill Ichimaru with a spell."
"I can not say. Thank goodness he only got Ichimaru, no one impo-"
Tousen was slammed against the wall. The seriousness of the situation etched on his face. Aizen never lost his temper.
"Do you not remember who rules this place,"
"You do, my lord,"
"So who are you to undermine my authority?"
Tousen needed to pick his words carefully or they would be his last.
"I believed you had no more use for Ichimaru. So I treated him as we would any low level Arcarnarr."
"Why would you treat my second in command as such?"
Tousen said nothing.
At once the two men understood each other.
Tousen realized that Aizen still cared for Gin. Why he hid it, he did not know, and at this moment it did not matter.
Aizen realized that even after all these many years Tousen was still jealous, still trying to reclaim a seat he never had.
"You were trying to get him killed today. Pushing him and pushing him away till his will to live was snuffed out." Aizen's blade cried out for more blood. No one picked on Shinso's master!
Tousen knowing that no matter what he said, his fate was sealed. "Yes. That was what I did,"
Kyouka Suigetsu screamed it's displeasure at this news.
Aizen too, could not stand for this news.
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Hinamori's eyes fluttered open. Aizen's raitsu fluttering around the castle.
Her chocolate eyes meet ruby ones.
"Ya still er'?"
His voice was hoarse, and soft, but it was there.
She smiled. "Yes," She still had his thin hand still clutched tightly in her hand. "Are you feeling better?"
He nodded sitting up. His eyes sliding shut again.
"Ichimaru." she said seriously. "You need to get out of this place."
He glanced at her.
"You almost died. If I hadn't been there, you would have!" She was determined to sway him. "There are people who still care about you Ichimaru!"
"Hmm,"
Her cheeks were already turning a bit pink at the words she was about to say. "I care about you! I don't want to see you die. It broke my heart,"
Ichimaru shook his head. "Ya are to trustin' Hinamori-chan," he lifted a hand to her neck. "Ya don' know a thing bout me. I could snap ya lil neck," he ran his fingers along the smooth skin.
"Then I would let you," she felt the fingers stop moving across her skin. "because that means I was wrong about another person I cared about. And I couldn't bare to live threw the pain of that again."
"The pain of givin' someone ya all, and it bein' meaningless to 'em." Gin continued for her.
Two people feeling the same kind of pain from the same person. She closed her eyes. "Please at least promise me, that if you get attacked again you'll at least defend your self?"
There was silence for a moment and he leaned in close and whispered to her.
"Course, just for ya,"
She opened her eyes at the feel of something against her lips. His lips!
His lips were against hers.
She opened them a bit to protest only to have him push his tongue in her mouth. Her thoughts went wild. Who did he think he was? Stealing her first kiss like that. Injured or not this behavior was unacceptable.
Yet she found herself not fighting it, as much as her head told her too. In fact she found herself returning the kiss. His arms wrapping around her. Hers around his shoulders.
It was wonderful. His tongue was long and wide able to explore every inch of her mouth. He was good at this.
The rational part of her mind told her that this wouldn't mean anything tomorrow. He was hurt inside and out and this was just out of desperation. So do your self a favor and don't throw all your first times out the window.
He pulled out of the kiss and leaned to whisper in her ear.
"So what's this big escape plan ya have?"
Her heart filled with joy. Pure and utter joy.
"Ichimaru," she whispered happily back to him.
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His thoughts were only of righting what he had done. Explain it all. And for once in his life apologize. That was the plan.
His blade satisfied humming happily at his side.
Walking back, thoughts and explanations buzzed threw his mind. He had let this go on for too long. He had made a minor calculation in all of this, he never known that Kaname had been jealous of Gin. He must be more careful in his assessment of people.
The door to Unohana's room was open slightly. In just mere minutes he would have Ichimaru back at his side. Keeping his bed warm again. All would be corrected in a matter of moments.
All his thoughts were interrupted as he pushed open the door.
Taking a deep breath at the scene before his eyes, he immediately steeped out. Neither of them ever sensing he had ever been there.
He and Gin would talk tomorrow he decided, as he made his way back to his living quarters. After he got rid of Hinamori, of course.
He had given Hinamori to take his needs out on. He had assumed that he would fuck her. Seeing as how the girl followed him around obediently and she spoke and talk endlessly to him, that he had not done anything to her. Which made Aizen in the back of his mind a little happy, to know that Gin was his and would remain his.
Aizen had assumed that Gin saw Hinamori as a little pest he could do nothing but tolerate.
Twice today he found that he had miscalculated. Hinamori had somehow managed to win over his fox. He would put an end to that immediately.
A/N
A little shorter then I would have liked. But I felt so bad about the chapter mix up that I wanted to write this one and have it out quickly.
So I did some research about crushed larynx, and found that it can happen threw strangulation, though it's very unusual to have it happen that way. I'd decided that in this case it could happen seeing as how Byakuya is stronger then your normal human, even with sealed powers, or more correctly slowly regaining powers. Though I am not a doctor so if I was incorrect about that part my apologies.
Still undecided about the pairing, why I didn't continue writing the chapter. It seems half and half. Aizen or Momo. And one person wants this to turn into a Gin Kira fic. ;) So I'm not sure. I could go either way I like Momo and Aizen.
I hope you enjoyed.
