Time passed.
They spoke quietly, always quietly, for his ears were tender.
She watched him recover.
He could walk again, though slowly.
But his condition did not change.
She knew it would not, from that first day.
She could not make him what he once was.
She had tried.
It was beyond her.
He would forever be caught between.
He would forever feel like a monster though he was the kindest of saints.
She did not care.
She had waited this long.
Even if he was changed, she would accept him.
She loved him still…
"Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of Squad 10… How far the Seireitei has fallen. To think that they would allow someone so careless to take up a Captaincy…"
Blood dripped down to the ground below from the tip of Minamoto's Zanpaktou.
And standing upon the air before him was the Captain he was tracking, sanguine liquid trailing down his left arm.
Sunset had long since ended, and now only the faintest glow upon the horizon kept the night at bay. In the waning light the strike had been quick, and had it not been for the slight glint off of the blade as it fell Toshiro Hitsugaya would have a punctured lung rather than a slashed shoulder. The sleeve of his kosode had a single, clean cut that left the white hakama underneath similarly rent and stained red.
Hitsugaya cursed himself for his idiocy. He was a Captain, for heaven's sake! How could he have let his guard down so completely? He had barely managed to twist in time to avoid being impaled. Instead the blade nicked his collarbone and drew a long slice from the left side of his chest across to his arm and shoulder. Blood was trickling down his left side in several steady streams, but thankfully the wound wasn't as deep as it could have been.
Unfortunately, the cut was just deep enough to make that arm almost useless.
The pain was significant, but Hitsugaya was no stranger to such things. He quickly raised his undamaged arm and clutched the ruined sleeve tightly, wrenching his hand down and tearing the cloth off, ignoring the pain as he cast the black and white fabrics aside. With the useless sleeve out of the way, the young Captain steeled himself against the pain and reached over his uninjured shoulder for the blade resting on his back. Once the hilt was firmly in his grasp Hitsugaya tore Hyourinmaru from its sheathe and charged the stranger before him.
The Captain's rietsu flared in time with his opponent as their blades struck, rippling through the air and dropping the temperature nearly a dozen degrees. Sparks flew into the oncoming night as the sky continued to darken, and Hitsugaya found himself equally matched by the man that had so shamefully attacked him while he was unawares.
After a few quick clashes the combatants separated, taking measure of each other.
And Hitsugaya had to admit that his opponent was good.
Very good.
Far too good to be some home-brewed conspirator.
"Who are you?"
"My time came and went long before you took up that blade. Even if I were to tell you my name, it would mean nothing to you."
"That wasn't an answer."
"True enough. Very well, my name is Minamoto. I am here on the orders of Yatsufusa, and someday the Soul Society will thank me at my grave for what we do here today."
"Why would the Soul Society thank you for destroying it!"
"Destroy? You misunderstand… We do not wish to destroy the Soul Society. We wish to save it."
With that the interrogation ended as the traitorous Soul Reaper lunged forward, attacking the injured Captain with a flurry of quick jabs. Hitsugaya twisted and parried awkwardly, trying to ignore the pain that flared up every time he used his left arm to maneuver his Zanpaktou into position.
Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, the young Captain wished he were just a little bigger or that Hyourinmaru were just a little smaller. The sword was too large for him to wield effectively with only one arm, but the effort of bracing the blade with his left hand had him swallowing a hiss of pain every time. The young Captain quickly realized that he couldn't counterattack with such a debilitating injury, and every second he wasted on this Minamoto person was a second he couldn't afford to spare.
The rest of the conspirators were still out there.
And he still had to warn Ichigo.
He had to end this.
Now.
Begrudgingly, Hitsugaya swallowed a grunt of pain as he parried one of Minamoto's thrusts before pushing forward with all his might as he prepared to shunpo to a safer distance.
The ploy worked as the conspirator flinched long enough for the Captain to get a few good yards between them, and before Minamoto could respond and close the distance Hitsugaya lifted his Zanpaktou up into the air…
"Reign over the frosted heavens…"
Elsewhere…
"That's…"
"Hitsugaya-kun?"
"Toshiro?"
"What's he doing here?"
"I think he's fighting someone…"
"Why…?"
Even though it was distorted, everyone noticed the steadily climbing rietsu coming from the sky to the south and the deepening chill in the air. It wasn't hard for the spiritually aware teens and the now very alert Soul Reapers to gather that something was up.
Something big.
Before anyone could stop him Ichigo had pulled out a small green pill from one of his pockets, quickly popping it into his mouth.
Several voices of protest erupted from his friends as the Substitute Soul Reaper's soul was jettisoned out of his body, being replaced with the Mod Soul, Kon.
They were supposed to be on vacation.
They were supposed to trust the Soul Society to handle things for a change.
But in true Ichigo fashion, the moment there was trouble everything gets dropped in favor of jumping right into the middle of it.
The Substitute Soul Reaper started heading towards the fight without a moment's hesitation, and after a few grumbles of annoyance the group split into two as the fighters separated from the non-combatants. Rukia and Renji left their gigais with Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizruo and Kon before racing to catch up with Chad and Uryu, who went on ahead, and Orihime, who refused to stay behind.
As Tatsuki watched them go she remembered what it had been like to be introduced to their extracurricular activities. At first she thought it was pretty cool that her best friends were kind of like closet superheroes.
But after a year of watching them run around fighting monsters she couldn't help but wonder how much longer they could last.
Especially Ichigo.
Out of everyone there he was the one that had the most to juggle. He was human, but he was a Soul Reaper too. It was like he was trapped between two different worlds but was unwilling to choose one over the other.
And it was taking a toll.
Ichigo slept a lot; every chance he got, in fact. Between the Hollows that foolishly invaded Karakura, the occasional training session and homework the Substitute hardly ever got a full night's sleep. Despite that Ichigo always tried to make time for them, his friends, even though he should probably be at home in bed instead.
It was like he was forcing himself to live two different lives at once, but only had enough time for one.
She honestly didn't know how much longer he could keep that up.
But he seemed determined to try…
Elsewhere…
Rui watched with relief as his target peeled off from the rest of the group that he had been associating with, heading towards Minamoto and into a more remote area.
The conspirator licked his lips nervously.
He had to get it right the first time.
If he missed…there wouldn't be a second chance.
I've never really done a swordfight before, so I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants here.
...
... You know, for someone who likes Ichigo so much, it's kinda ironic that the first actual fight that I do is with Hitsugaya.
Which is funny, because Toshiro isn't in my top five favorite Bleach characters.
I'm not sure if he's even in my top ten.
Don't get me wrong… I like the guy, but I'm not 'fan-girl giddy' about him.
Still, one must give props where props are due.
'Cause Toshiro's Bankai is still epic.
I just wish it wasn't spammed so much.
The only person that uses Bankai more than Hitsugaya is Ichigo.
Then again, Ichigo may as well have perma-Bankai at this point…
And there's not a damn thing wrong with that.
...
On a side note, this is the longest chapter so far.
But it is not the longest in the series.
