Wha?! ANYONE MISS ME?! Haha, had trouble gettin' on my account because I forgot I changed my password and all… Sorry I haven't updated in awhile; I've been working on two Bleach comics (found on deviantART) and stuff. Also, I've been more addicted to my "Live Amongst Us" Bleach fanfic, it's IchiHitsu, and it has some vampirism in it, so I've been into it more. Sorry!
Chapter
09 Winters Warm Breath - Previously -
The
captain looked at her dumbly, "you can't tell me he talks about
me and then not tell me Hinamori. How am I supposed to know if their
insults or not?"
"He doesn't." Momo smiled. "Today he
told us about you staying the night."
His attention went
elsewhere when thinking how he cried. "Oh…"
"He told us
that you got lost in the hallways and was spying on him."
"I
was not!" Toushirou fumed, his cheeks flushing instantly. "I
heard someone so I went to go see what it was, and it just turned out
to be him!"
Momo giggled, "he said you would panic if I brought it up, I'm glad you two are close enough to be friends. Granny was happy about that too," she then remembered, "did you know taichou is super nice to her? She said when I was asleep, he was doing all of the chores and everything? And all the kids really liked him!"
He stared at her, "a-are you sure y-you're talking about K-Kasumiouji I-Ichigo?"
The
girl looked at him confusedly, "yeah, I've seen him do the chores
a few times."
Toushirou twitched in thought, 'a
noble… helping a commoner… are you sure…?'
"Shiro-chan,"
she called out softly, looking at him over the couch, "do you like
him?"
Ignoring the fact that she didn't call him by his title,
he asked, "what do you mean?"
Momo took a moment to think about it, but smiled warmly. "When I pretend to sleep, taichou and Granny would talk softly, and he would speak about you too her, about how you've grown into a strong person." She then frowned slightly and looked away, "but because I know a lot… I have to be quiet about it too, but every time they would talk, it would go for hours—till Granny was tired and wanted to go to sleep."
Toushirou looked at the desk in thought because it didn't make sense to him why this man would talk to Granny about him, and why would he help her out?
"Kasumiouji
taichou says that the previous relationship you had really meant a
lot to you, and so he was trying to help, but he can't do much."
She stated.
The captain looked at her, "I don't understand
though, why would…" he paused.
Her body turned around to sit
properly on the couch, "because…"
Toushirou scowled at this,
"because why,
Hinamori?"
"He wants to protect you."
X-
"I wanted to protect him," Ichigo stated quietly.
Rangiku
looked stunned, "you… you really remember everything?"
His
head nodded slowly. "I'm still the idiot you guys met when I came
saving Rukia."
"The tell me why you're lying to everyone!"
She fumed.
"To protect Toushirou," Ichigo answered, "things
happened so fast back then…"
"How can you protect taichou by
hurting him?!" The lieutenant was furious.
"You saw how he reacted when Aizen was finishing me off; how horrified he was," he brought his hand up to rub his forehead. "Before I knew it, half of Soul Society was looking for me in Rukongai and on earth." Ichigo sighed, not knowing how to keep going, "I didn't mean to have been so attached, but look what happened…"
Rangiku
finally was positive now, "…you two really have that type of
relationship."
Ichigo looked at her quiet as he needed to
correct her, "had."
"So… how… how did you keep your
memories when you died?" She asked.
"Who said I died?"
- Now -
Spring finally came into bloom for Soul Society, and Hinamori Momo was lieutenant of the fifth division once again, and it made the others happy. Toushirou was one of the happiest though he didn't show it; the fact that she understands what Aizen Sousuke had done to her was good. Momo needed to be free from that hellish night terror one way or the other, and it was thanks to Kasumiouji Ichigo. Speaking of him, the small captain notice that a bond had formed between the tall captain and Rangiku, forcing him to be a little suspicious. Of course he was happy that they were getting along, but the two were getting along a little too well for the small captain…
Like right now, where the heck was Rangiku anyway?
"Taichou!"
Sang his oh so faithful lieutenant.
Toushirou now wished he didn't
ask. "Where were you?"
"I was with Kasumiouji taichou! …then
Soi Fon taichou interrupted us."
He looked at her confusedly,
"what do you mean?"
"Well, we were talking, and then she came in with a lustful look before sitting on his lap." Rangiku stated. "She wanted me to join them, but she looked a little drunk and so I didn't want to." She sighed, "two women and one man is no fun."
Toushirou
didn't look all to happy about it and stood up from his desk, "are
they in his room?" He saw her nod and he began to walk out—
"Are
you really going to interrupt them?" Rangiku asked worriedly.
He
stopped for the moment, thinking about it, "I have to."
She
frowned, "Kasumiouji taichou is really that important to you
still?"
He didn't answer her, he just left the administrative office quickly.
X-
Toushirou was at Ichigo's lodge, hearing a muffled tone or two in which he didn't like all that much. Ichigo was his to be with, not hers—why was she even drunk and with him to begin with for that matter. Soi Fon was the type that would listen to orders and fond herself over Shihouin Yoruichi instead of others. Not knowing what to do, he stood there while listening to the woman's moans, causing him to cringe lightly.
"K-Kasumiouji," Toushirou called out, hoping to receive a well mannered reply, but there wasn't even a reply to begin with, and slid opened the door a little, "Kasu-" his eyes immediately looked away when he saw that Soi Fon was naked; he did not need to see this, and so he closed his eyes shut, "sorry, I-I should leave."
"No, it is fine." Ichigo stated.
Toushirou opened an eye to look at the tall captain who was only topless, so Soi Fon wasn't given enough time to fully go after him. His eyes widened though when the orange-haired captain agreed to a fierce kiss, and it hurt him. He then saw his hands moving to hers and put them behind her back, then saw Ichigo look at him. The tall captain then glanced next to Toushirou, so the little captain looked and saw the haori on the hook, then looked to the tall one to see him nod. It wasn't time to judge him and so he grabbed the haori and looked at Ichigo who released Soi Fon.
"4. Crawling rope." Ichigo whispered, having Soi Fon's arms bound together, then looked into her eyes and whispered, "forgive me, Shaolin." He then knocked her out.
Soi Fon fell limp against his body, and so he picked her form up into his arms and carefully brought her over to his futon in the other room without a sound. Toushirou nervously followed with Ichigo's haori in his arms so it wouldn't drag on the floor and get dirty. Ichigo motioned for him to be quiet and then carefully took the haori from the small one's arms to place over her body before he stood up.
"Go,"
Ichigo scooted the small one out of the room. "Hinamori,
Matsumoto."
"Yes?" Their heads popped into the lodge; they
had obviously been spying.
"Get her cleaned up and dressed for
me." He called out, and they listened.
"Let's put her in a
dress then!" Rangiku cheered, only to receive a scowl.
"Put
her clothes back on her, every… last… piece…" Ichigo stated
and sat down.
"You're
so mean," she pouted and the two lieutenants closed the sliding
door to his room so that they could dress her. "No peaking from
either of you!"
"Just clean her up and clothe her!"
Toushirou yelled in frustration.
Ichigo looked at him, then
chuckled, "first time seeing a woman's body?"
He looked to
the ground, blushing lightly, "not… exactly…"
"Bathing
with Hinamori when you two were young does not count."
Hearing this made him blush more, but remembered something which cleared that from his mind and looked at him, "you did chores for Granny when you went to visit Hinamori? She told me you would talk to them a lot, and play with the villagers."
"I
do not know about playing with villagers, but I did talk to the
elder." He replied.
"Why didn't you tell Matsumoto why I
really cried that night?" Toushirou whispered.
The tall captain
was silent in thought, but eventually spoke, "to protect you."
His
cheeks tinted lightly and looked away, "why would you do that for
me?"
Just to see his reaction, he replied, "because you are far cuter than the others."
Toushirou's attention immediately went to Ichigo, his cheeks now deeply reddened, "d-don't say that!" He then stared at the ground to regain his stoic face, but heard him chuckle at him. 'He was poking fun at me, wasn't he?'
"I
apologize." Ichigo spoke. "It was a little interesting to see
your reaction."
He looked at him as if he was going to pout, but
had to endure. "…"
"Taichou," Momo slipped open the
door, "she's dressed now."
Rangiku popped her head out and
saw Toushirou, "taichou, are you blushing?!"
"Tch!"
Toushirou stood up. "Why did I even come in here anyway?"
"You
were annoyed that Soi Fon taichou was about to have-"
"Matsumoto." Ichigo spoke sharply, causing the three to jump at the tone. "No."
Rangiku
frowned softly, understanding why he wanted her to stop,
"sorry."
Toushirou glanced between the captain and his
lieutenant, "…did I miss something?"
"Nope," Momo smiled
sheepishly, hoping to keep everything a little light.
Ichigo stood
up, obviously getting their attention, "that is quite enough."
They were all just listening to him, it was like the years had made him dominant.
"Hinamori,
Matsumoto, should those reports be ready to pick up?" Ichigo
asked.
Momo nodded and looked to Rangiku, "let's go get the
paperwork together!"
Rangiku was already being tugged out of the
room, "ah! Wait!" They stopped, and she looked to Toushirou,
"don't molest Kasumiouji taichou!"
"…" Toushirou
stared at her in disbelief.
"Come on!" Momo dragged her out.
Ichigo watched as the two left, and he came to the room, knocking before he was about to come in. Sliding the door open, he quietly entered the room and sat next to the futon where Soi Fon laid silently. Toushirou didn't want to intrude anymore than he already was, but he wasn't given an order to obey. Peeking into the room silently earned him a quiet gaze from the orange-haired captain that sat down.
"What
is it?" Ichigo asked quietly, grabbing a cool wash cloth that was
damped.
This brought him out of his thoughts and he looked away,
"you didn't… give me an-"
"An order?" He questioned,
wiping the woman's face. "Why would I bother trying?"
"You
told Hinamori and Matsumoto to gather the reports though." The
captain stated.
"Fool," his attention went up to the standing
boy, "you are a taichou."
Soi Fon finally stirred awake
and opened her eyes, "…w-where am I?"
"So you forgot, have
you?" Ichigo asked the female captain. "You managed to have
yourself become drunk, and you came into my lodge to seduce
me."
"What?!" She hissed in defiance, sitting up
angrily.
The tall captain handed her some cold water, "drink, to
stop the pain."
Her eyes grew more fierce with determination, "I
wasn't drunk, idiot."
"Yes, I suppose watching you undress yourself in front of me was just a figment of my imagination. Just as you were trying to undress me?" Ichigo asked; he was still topless. "Hinamori and Matsumoto fukutaichou came in to clean you up and clothed you as I and Hitsugaya taichou waited in the other room until notified."
"…"
Soi Fon slightly glared at the smaller captain before looking
away.
"Hitsugaya Toushirou," Ichigo spoke, "will you excuse
us for the moment?"
"…" The small captain nodded quietly
and left the room to give them privacy.
Toushirou sat on the floor in the other room and waited a little patiently for Ichigo to come in there, or tell him to come in; something. A loud crash though had him look up to see what was going on and saw Soi Fon standing there with a furious blush on her cheeks. The female captain just started to storm out of the room but Ichigo went right after her and placed her hands behind her to keep her there. What was going on, was Ichigo trying to hurt her, or worse… place her into submission for him?
"I said that we will escort you to your unit, you still have alcohol in your head," the tall male stated, "you cannot even threaten me correctly, let alone walk." As she tried to squirm away, he tightened his hold on her, "I do not want to harm you."
"Do you think I can be harmed by you?" Soi Fon scowled, trying to break free.
Toushirou watched the two captains in confusion, but saw how Ichigo wanted to falter then let her go as he spoke, "you are quite right, I should have no concern over you and the other taichou, should I?" When his attention came to him, Toushirou had only hoped he was invisible when he spoke, "you do not have to stay in here."
With that said by the irritated captain, he was the first to leave the room, and leave the two other captains in his lodge. Soi Fon just stood there and rubbed her arm as she went into thought of something, then cursed herself as she walked out and called out the tall captain's first name. Toushirou never recalled her saying someone's first name other than Shihouin Yoruichi's, but that was for a different reason, wasn't it? Talking was heard outside once Soi Fon came out to talk, yet the small one tried to ignore it because it seemed to be like a private one.
Soi Fon was apologizing to Ichigo, saying that she shouldn't be so stupid because she had too much sake with Yoruichi, and he said it wasn't her fault. The small captain heard this and stared to the ground to force himself to stop listening, was she still trying to seduce him? He couldn't believe he was going to get up and spy on them, only to see that the female captain had a hand on Ichigo's bare back, he listened.
"The
soutaichou told you what to do," Soi Fon stated, "so do
it."
"Don't talk down to me like that when your drunk."
Ichigo demanded.
Toushirou paused, did that just sound like
Ichigo? "…"
"You'll get in trouble if you don't."
The woman stated.
"From what I can tell, you trying to force yourself on me doesn't help the situation, and it doesn't matter if Yoruichi-san was the one who told you it would be a game." Ichigo shrugged her hand off his body. "I told him myself that all I need is for the two to be quiet, I don't need to place anymore trauma in the way."
"K-,"
Soi Fon was immediately interrupted from saying his name.
"I'll
have you escorted by my third seat." He stated. "You and I will
not speak of it."
As he began to walk to the lodge, she had to
ask, "you make me wonder if the ryoka in you had ever died. You're
still as stubborn for not accepting the help of others."
Ichigo ignored this and went into the room to see Toushirou sitting there like a little angel; only making it more obvious that he had heard them talk, "the same for you."
Toushirou
looked up, watching him put his robes and haori on. "What do you
mean?"
There was a long pause between them, until he changed it,
"go do your reports."
"You just got through telling me that
you can't tell me what to do." He scowled.
The small captain
received a viscous scowl in return, but nothing was said. "…"
This
did
startle the boy, but he too was now angry. "Fine, if to get away
from you."
After the small captain left, Ichigo replied to him in a whisper, "I'm sorry, Toushirou."
X-
"Kasumiouji Ichigo." Came the voice of the stern old man.
Ichigo sat before him on the ground, staring at the ground in silence as the elder had scolded him with just that for twenty minutes. He knew he was in trouble, that the plan had not worked as they had hoped, but things were going too far to deal with when others were involved. It was hard for him to purposely hurt the small captain to the point where he would fully return to the unemotional young man he was. If it was possible, it was just as Kuchiki Byakuya had said to him so many years ago when he was spotted in Soul Society as a noble. That because it was his sins for the small captain to fall out of balance, and his sins alone must be able to fix it.
All of the other captains were there watching him be so agreeable to the elder, as he should be; submissive. Kenpachi and Byakuya were the only two that looked most irritated than the others, while Retsu and Soi Fon looked more guilty than anything. Shunsui and Jyuushirou were rather upset that they had to watch such a powerful man submit easily, it even made Sajin and Shusuke seem a little down. The only two that didn't seem to be phased by this were Mayuri and Satoshi, but it was expected.
But Toushirou was not there at this meeting, but he didn't even know about it.
"I understand that your feelings are still strong after these many years," Yamamoto started, sitting at his own desk, "but if there ever comes a time when you are going to be placed in a position to go against him if you are corrupted, then he will die."
"I know." Ichigo replied quietly for the first time in an hour.
This was why he had stayed with the Kasumiouji clan, to hide like a coward in order to protect Toushirou from the pain. But Byakuya sold him out to Yamamoto, and they had to pull a few strings with the other captains to have it done. Every one of the captains knew that there was a strong bond between the fifth and tenth division captain, but they were told to be silent. Every one of the captains knew that this man was acting as a real noble to keep Toushirou safe from being torn in his icy barrier.
And every one of the captains, knew, that this man was Kurosaki Ichigo.
"We can not have this pushed away for another time." Yamamoto stated, and the orange-haired captain knew that this was going to happen. "You will have Hitsugaya Toushirou release his zanpakuto against you, no matter the cost of your bond."
His mind roared with defiance, but his body stayed motionless, and his words left without being spoken. He was a captain now, not a wild shinigami like he once was, but what he would give just to break those chains. There was always a price on the things that you valued most, but there was a cost on the people you loved the most.
"Yes
sir," Ichigo bowed his head to the old man.
"You will make a
fine sotaichou someday," the elder stated.
He stood up and
turned away, "…" he didn't want that title.
Momo saw him finally leaving the chambers and seemed so happy, that was until, he passed by her so emotionlessly that it almost scared her. She then looked at all of the captains who had walked out of the quarters, and they were either emotionless as well, or upset about the situation. Her mind started to race with a little bit of fear and hurried off to her captain that was about thirty feet in front of the others.
Quickly she came in front of him so that he would be forced to stop in his tracts, "Kasumiouji taichou, what happened?" Momo asked worriedly, hoping nothing bad—
"You can have the rest of the day off." Ichigo stated sternly. "It's going to rain."
Her expression became worried more than ever, and as soon as he stepped aside her, she placed her hands against his chest. He stopped and finally looked at her in a stoic way; this man was dead serious about something, and it scared her. The other captains stopped behind him in silence, and Momo looked at them as well, but none of them looked at her. It was starting to scare her into complete fear and terror, but two hands came to her wrists, and so she looked back at her captain.
"Take
the day off, and don't leave your dorm." Ichigo demanded. "Now
stand aside."
"T-This is about Shiro-chan, isn't it?" She
felt his grip tighten lightly on her wrists.
"I'm sorry."
With that, two men gently took her by the shoulders to put her
aside.
"Please taichou!" Momo cried out as Ichigo began to
walk away, captains behind him.
X-
The sky darkened dramatically; on a spring evening, it was going to rain tonight.
Ichigo stayed in his room to concentrate on what he had to do in order to fight him, to fight the small captain that he had bonded with long ago. He would not go easy on him, he would not accept anything until Hyorinmaru was brought out against him. His orders were simple, but the conflicting emotions with it had to be removed, cast aside as if nothing had ever happened. The fifth division captain was not going to have mercy on the small captain, he just wished that it didn't have to be so soon.
"Zangetsu," he held the zanpakuto in his hand before placing it on his back, "there's no holding back between Toushirou and Hyorinmaru, not tonight." Being as ready as ever, he left the room, only to see Shunsui leaning against the rail. "What?"
"You
might break him just by trying, you know," he replied, "he might
die."
"I have no intentions to kill him. But if I have to
drive him to the point of it…"
"We understand that you two
have a bond," Shunsui frowned.
"A bond that has no choice but to shatter on his part."
He walked off towards the tenth unit; his mind completely focused on what would be done soon as thunder roared against the world. The tenth unit was completely clear from officers and everyone else, all but the captains that were going to watch. Even Yamamoto was going to watch the match as well, but that was the limit to who will watch. The lieutenants were not allowed to watch, not even Momo or Rangiku, they had to wait in fear for their captains return. Ichigo was finally at the administrative office and came in after allowed to enter, and he saw Toushirou and Rangiku both.
Ichigo
spoke to the lieutenant first, "Yamamoto sotaichou says to have the
day off."
"Why?" She saw that look of plain seriousness on
his face, "no… please don't."
"It is out of my hands,
sorry," the captain stated, "now please go to your dorm."
Her
determination would be no match, so she bowed, "thank you," and
left.
"What do you want?" Toushirou scowled, still a little
upset with him from earlier.
"Grab your zanpakuto, there's a
place I want to show you." Ichigo turned to walk off.
He blinked in confusion a little and then did as told, and followed him, "where?"
There was no answer for the small captain, and this had the white-haired boy worry about what was wrong. If something happened to Ichigo, then it was something that must've been bad if he was only going to be silent. Something wet tapped his nose, and he looked up to see that spring decided to rain on them tonight. Before the little captain knew it, his body collided into the back of Ichigo's who had stopped in tracks.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Toushirou explained, but received no answer. "Did something happen when sotaichou wanted to speak to you?" He asked. "Matsumoto told me that he asked for you to come in to talk. Did he—" he was interrupted.
"I'm
sorry too." Ichigo stated, turning to him, "but I can't
continue doing this."
He saw his hand touch the hilt of his
zanpakuto, "w-what are you doing?"
"You are going to release
Hyorinmaru against me tonight, no matter what."
"I don't…
I don't understand," the small one spoke, "I can't fight
against you."
"You'll have to, or else I'll kill you in
front of them." Ichigo stated.
Toushirou turned around, seeing all the other captains there in a line, watching the two, and he felt a little embarrassed for not recognizing them earlier. He then turned to Ichigo with worry, telling himself in his mind how that this wasn't fair to him. The small captain couldn't be weak in front of the captains, he couldn't show his softness.
The sprinkling turned into rain, hard, drizzling rain.
"You will call Hyorinmaru out against me, or so help me Toushirou!" Ichigo yelled.
His eyes widened at his name being called out, then he noticed his speech pattern since they left the office. He took an uncertain step away from the tall orange-haired captain, this really couldn't be possible. The small captain then jumped out of the way once the zanpakuto was about to cut him open. Toushirou still looked at this man in disbelief, wondering if it was truly possible that… he remembered.
"Because I can tame you, I can tame Hyorinmaru, don't allow it." Ichigo demanded. "I'll give you this one chance only to face your fear of upsetting me." He saw the boy glance at the other captains. "They're not here Toushirou!" The boy looked at him immediately. "It's just you and me, Zangetsu and Hyorinmaru."
"I
won't fight you! You're a taichou and you're…" Toushirou
was too scared to say it.
"That night that you're thinking of,
doesn't exist." He stated.
The small captain looked at him in
disbelief. "You can't mean that."
"I only agreed to our
love because you looked so helpless and desperate." Ichigo said in
a low manner. "You are that same confused child that left to Soul
Society in fear."
"How can you remember this?!" Toushirou yelled. "You've been playing with us?!"
"Toushirou!!!"
Ichigo yelled angrily, raising his zanpakuto. "You will die if you
don't do as I just said!" Zangetsu roared with the resolve to
kill the boy, and attacked.
He hurriedly used a flash step, "I'm
not going to, I can't! Just stop it!"
"Stop being a coward,
you're a taichou!" He swung another attack at him.
"I WON'T
FIGHT YOU ICHIGO!!!" Toushirou cried out.
Ichigo growled and called out, "shiroi getsuga!"
The world then flashed into an icy world, it was Toushirou's where Hyorinmaru laid in dormant, and so he looked to the dragon. Zangetsu had a blade at the mighty iced dragon, ready to destroy the creature, so he tried to run at them. His hand was then snatched and he was thrown to the ground, causing Hyorinmaru to roar angrily.
"Quiet!"
Ichigo demanded, silencing the beast, and he looked at Toushirou.
"Get up."
The small captain sat up and kept his eyes on the
ground, "why are you doing this?"
"Because there might come
a day where I'll fight against you." He stated.
"Why are you
trying to humiliate me?!" Toushirou yelled in confusion.
"I
can't protect you if you can't protect yourself!" Ichigo
yelled. "Look at me!"
Toushirou
saw that he was sitting on the ground, looking at the man standing in
front of him with a zanpakuto at his face. If he was going to die
right here by the hands and zanpakuto of Kurosaki Ichigo, then that
would be fine. Hyorinmaru then roared at him, wanting him to fight,
causing him to remember that this couldn't be him, he would never
say such cruel things. This angered the small one as Ichigo rose the
blade in the air, no, this wasn't Kurosaki Ichigo, this was
Kasumiouji Ichigo…
"Sit upon frozen heavens," Toushirou pulled out his zanpakuto, "Hyorinmaru!"
He immediately stabbed Ichigo in the chest as Hyorinmaru froze Ichigo over at the same time, glaring at the impostor. Ichigo spat out blood and his eyes began to haze over slowly, but smiled when seeing the boy glare. The small captain was waiting for another attack from him, but the tall captain dropped the zanpakuto.
"Good—" he coughed some more blood, "you… caught me off guard… I'm… proud."
Hearing this cause him to dread in fear, the ice that had froze around the orange-haired captain had disappeared, and watched him fall limp to the ground. Toushirou pulled out the zanpakuto and placed in into the scabbard before shaking the fallen shinigami. This wasn't funny, Ichigo's eyes were closed and he looked as if he was only asleep; no, he couldn't be dead—it wasn't possible.
"Someone take Kurosaki Ichigo to the fourth division, the mission is completed." Yamamoto stated sternly, already leaving the scene now to go to sleep.
'Kurosaki?' Toushirou heard him, and looked to the fallen man, 'so this… this was…'
"A
shame it ended like that," Shunsui spoke, walking away. "He
sacrificed himself."
Jyuushirou also began to walk away,
"Ichigo-kun was only following orders."
"It's his own
fault for using a technique that drains him." Mayuri snorted and
left.
"Tch, so in the end he valued someone else's life
instead his own?" Kenpachi asked.
"That is Kurosaki for you."
Byakuya stated as they both left.
Soi Fon and Retsu came forth to Ichigo and Toushirou, watching the small captain trying to wake up the fallen captain. He continued to call out his name but it wasn't helping him at all, so he was beginning to cry in the rain. Why was it he who had struck him, why was it him to begin with, …why was it by his own hands? Toushirou then leaned over to cry against the back of Ichigo's bloody haori, telling him how much he hated him for not telling him the truth.
"I need to have him carried to the fourth division unit into a healing room." Retsu spoke softly. "Soi Fon will take him, but you have to let him go so that she can carry him there." She frowned, "the stab was far too close to his heart to be safe."
Toushirou
lifted himself off and he looked at them, "why did no one tell
me?"
Retsu and Soi Fon exchanged glanced, and the latter stated,
"he might die anyway."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?!" The
small captain yelled. Retsu nodded to Soi Fon.
"He wanted to protect you."
