Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.


Author's Note: Well, today's the first day of school for me. So, a few hours before I leave, I've posted another chapter to this story for you all to read. Yay! Anyways, thank you to my awesome reviewers: tlg, icyangel27, HoneyFlower15, serenity095, KnowledgeandImagination, k a y - t h i, satomika, becomeafan, applestoapples, HyourinmaruIce, redpandagirl, NeonCookies O.o, Neko-cheung, athfdrizzle, maili-chan (x3). Without any further adieu, here is chapter nine. Enjoy!


LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking."


The Next Greatest Treasure

Chapter Nine: The Better Thief

"Thanks for showing us around Rukongai," Princess Ume said to Matsumoto and Ichimaru as they walked through the streets of the lower and middle class people.

"It's really nothing," Rangiku replied happily.

"We just have to do a couple of errands here ourselves on behalf of Hinamori-chan," Gin commented.

"Is that so? What do you need to do?" Higashi asked.

"Follow us and you'll soon find out."

"Um, okay then..."

As the midnight violet haired princess followed behind the two members of the Royal Guard, the strawberry orange haired woman whispered to her childhood companion, "Oi Gin, just what are you planning to do?"

"It's nothing really, I'm just playing with my prey," Ichimaru replied. "Besides, you heard what Hitsugaya has explained to you. We have to find a way to expose her that she really is the thief we've been looking for. What better way to do that than to make her know of the existence of the little captain's counterpart."

"Counterpart?" she asked before the answer dawned to her. "Oh..."

He grinned with delight. "It seems like you know what I'm talking about."

"But Gin, if she is who she is and she knows his identity, then it could be a big problem for us."

"We're just going to have to gamble with it and hope that she doesn't find out his true identity," the gray haired captain said.

"What are you two talking about?" Ume asked.

The two Royal Guard members looked over their shoulders to see the princess standing in between them. Matsumoto let out a fake smile while Ichimaru merely grinned like he usually does. "Just stuff we needed to take care of once we get to our destination like donating some money to the people who are in need of some financial assistance."

"Oh, do you usually do this?"

"Let's see; we started doing this since the whole incident in the Hinamori Palace has ended, isn't that right Ran-chan?"

The strawberry orange haired female swordsman nodded with agreement. "Around that time, Hitsugaya and I started working in the palace with the rest of you."

"What inspired you to start the donations?"

"It's actually a funny story," Rangiku said. "It revolves around a thief who used to hang around here in Rukongai and Seireitei."

Ume blinked as her interest suddenly sparked. "A thief?"

"You got that right," Gin agreed. "It's actually a thief who used to caused us a lot of trouble in the past."

"What is his or her name?"

"He is known as the notorious thief, Aisu no Ryu," Matsumoto explained.

"Aisu no Ryu..." Higashi said.

"He used to steal from the people of Seireitei months ago in order to help his people living here in Rukongai," Ichimaru said. "At the time, our former general was the one pulling the strings in the palace and the two lands here was separated by a large barrier wall in between."

"Really? What happened to him?"

"We're not quite sure to be exact," Matsumoto lied. "Actually, he's currently out to save his princess."

"He just stopped stealing altogether ever since the great battle inside the Hinamori Palace has ended," Gin continued. "The other reason he stopped committing thievery is because there is no need to anymore."

"I see..." Ume said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Is there something wrong?" Rangiku asked.

Looking at the strawberry orange haired woman, she quickly shook her head. "No, there's nothing wrong; I just kept hearing things about Hi no Tori and comparing her motives to Aisu no Ryu's."

"Well, I can see why you're thinking that way because they're both thieves. In my opinion, the notorious thief had pure intentions to help others. The people here in Rukongai has regarded him as a hero."

"A hero, huh?" she wondered. "I wonder how that feels like to save others."

"Ah, here we are," Gin said. "It's time to go inside."

"Coming, princess?" Matsumoto asked.

After snapping back into reality, the Princess of the Higashi Region nodded with agreement and followed the two guards inside the house.


When Momo looked through the small window to see the great outdoors, she saw the sun is already starting to set towards the horizon. She turned around, closed her eyes, and let out a defeated sigh. "I hope my plan works out."

She carefully sat down on the cold floor and leaned her back against the wall. Hinamori slowly moved her head back and began shaking her head back and forth. Using the friction, it caused her hairpins to loosen and fall onto the ground. At the same time, her long raven hair fell down to her shoulders. She then turned her back toward one of the hairpins and used her hands to pick it up. From there, the princess began picking on the handcuff lock.

After a few minutes of playing with her lock, the Princess of Seireitei has finally set herself free. She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness it worked. I'm glad I was able to put some of Rangiku-san's teachings into good use."

All of a sudden, the door slammed opened, causing the princess to jump. "Well well, it seems like our captive princess is finally conscious," said one of the thieves.

"Look here, somehow she is able to break herself free of the handcuffs," the other thief commented.

"Then that means she's no ordinary princess. As a matter of fact, she probably has a lot of spunk."

A third thief walked up to Momo and took hold of her wrist. Immediately, she began resisting by trying to break free of his grasp. However, her strength is nothing compared to his. Soon after, her other wrist is grabbed by another thief. "Let me go!" Hinamori exclaimed as she is dragged into the next room where the other bandits have gathered.

They forcefully pushed her onto the rough ground. When the peach girl recovered, she looked up and gasped. She is surrounded by a group of five or six masked men. Two of them took hold of her arms so that she is unable to fight back.

"I said let me go!"

"Let's have fun with her," one of the thieves said as he lowered to her level.

Though she couldn't see it, Momo could tell that he is grinning with delight. Her heart began to race, knowing exactly what they're thinking about. Suddenly, she began thrashing. "No, no! Leave me alone!"

"No can do princess. We can do whatever we want with you."

Just as he took hold of her kimono, Hinamori let out a scream.

"You should be happy."

"No, never!"

"Hey, look what she has," one of the other thieves said.

She felt something snatched away from the inside of her kimono. Momo opened her eyes and gasped. "Give it back!"

"What a rare pendant you got here," he said while observing it. "You can get a few thousand from selling this."

"Give it back to me! It's a birthday gift for Toshiro!"

"Toshiro?"

"He's my boyfriend and one of the two captains in the Royal Guard."

It is when the band of thieves burst out with laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"Even though he is of the elite class, it doesn't mean he's able to find us. Besides, Seireitei people don't know their way around Rukongai especially in these parts."

"Don't underestimate him!" Momo snapped. "He's no ordinary Captain of the Royal Guard!"

"Yeah sure...either way, when he does come, not only your virginity is gone, but you'll be already dead."

"No!" she yelled, struggling to break free. "Toshiro, help!"

One of the thieves got down on his knees and began creeping up to the screaming princess. "He can't hear you because he's not here!"

During this time, tears began dripping down her cheeks. She shut her eyes tightly and began pleading for her boyfriend's arrival. "Toshiro...please come and save me!"

All of a sudden, sounds of agonizing grunts, groans, and screams can be heard from the next room. Moments later, a thief messenger came running into the room. "What is going on?" said one of men in the group of thieves.

"W-We're under attack!"

"What? Is it someone from the Hinamori Palace?"

He shook his head. "Actually, another thief is attacking us."

"Another thief?"

"Shit, he must want the princess for himself," said another thief.

"That's not the only thing," the messenger replied. "Thief that is attacking us is none other than Ais-"

However, his words were cut off by a force hitting him on the back of his neck. Soon, he lost his conscious and fell to the ground. Upon noticing what happened to him, the bandits, thieves, and the Princess of Seireitei raised their heads to see the new face in the room. "Hand over the princess," the black clothed thief commanded.

Momo's eyes widened at recognition of the voice. She knows it from anywhere because it is the same voice that the great notorious thief would always impersonate as. "Toshiro..."

"No way thief! We kidnapped her first!"

All of a sudden, Hitsugaya raised his long sword that is in his right hand and cut the nearest thief that is standing close to him. The injured thief let out an agonizing scream before falling onto the ground. He said, "If that's your answer, then I shall defeat you all in order to gain right of claiming the Princess of Seireitei as mine."

"Don't act cocky; you can't defeat us all. You are only one thief versus a whole army of us."

"Numbers don't matter to me; it is quality that does." Toshiro held up his sword in front of him. "Come and get me if you dare."

As his opponents came rushing at him, the white haired thief ran into the crowd and engaged in battle against them. In the meantime, one of the thieves, who are sitting in the sidelines with the princess, folded his arms over his chest and began thinking. "He looks familiar. Where have I seen him?"

Shurikens and kunais are thrown in different directions causing the enemy thieves to be pinned by the clothes to the nearby walls or become incapacitated on the spot. Hitsugaya leaped over the group of coming thieves and dropped three small spheres on the ground. Once he landed safely on his two feet, the bombs exploded, sending his enemies flying in different directions. Noticing that he is not paying attention, three other thieves charged at their single opponent. However, the emerald-teal eyed thief sensed danger and quickly blocked against the attacks with his sword. Then, a three against one fight has begun.

"A long bladed sword which he puts on his back..." His eyes suddenly widened upon realization. The thief turned to his leader and exclaimed, "There's no mistaken it! H-He's Aisu no Ryu!"

"What?" he replied. "The notorious thief from Rukongai?"

"What is he doing here? Actually, why would he be here? All he steals are valuable items, not princesses."

"Yes, but there is one exception. He once stole a princess from her kingdom not too long ago."

They heard a yell of pain. Suddenly, the leader felt a cold blade against the front of his neck. He looked back and noticed that Aisu no Ryu is in his presence. "You got that right; I stole the Princess of Seireitei. Now, I'm here to steal her again from the likes of you."

The enemy thief let out a hiss. "You'll never get your hands on her."

"Oh really?" Toshiro asked. "Guess where she is right now?"

The raven haired girl is not in his possession anymore. Instead, she ran out the open door that Hitsugaya used to come in. "Shit!"

Just as he is about to run after her, the white haired thief got in the way and threw a dark sphere at him. All of a sudden, gas is released from it and began clouding the area. Thieves began coughing a few times before they were suddenly knocked out. "Argh, thi-this is...slee-ping...gas."

Once all of them were on the ground unconscious, Aisu no Ryu slowly walked toward the door. He stopped for a moment and took a last look at them. His eyes narrowed. "Well that's what happens when you don't have open windows in your hideouts."

As he walks off, he found himself losing his balance. Quickly placing his free hand on the nearby wall for support, Toshiro let out a small hiss.

"Stupid old man Urahara, he made this sleeping gas stronger than it's supposed to be," he cursed. "Next time I go back there, I demand a partial refund for almost getting my plan to backfire on me."


Hinamori waited patiently for her boyfriend's arrival next to the horse that was left in the bushes. She let out a sigh and said, "I hope he comes out of there safely."

All of a sudden, she heard the sound of an explosion from the hideout she was held captive in. She placed a hand over her mouth and let out a gasp. She began to worry about him. What if he got caught in the blast?

"Toshiro..."

"You called?" a voice suddenly asked.

Momo turned her head to the side and immediately jumped with surprise. Somehow, Hitsugaya is suddenly at her side without any major scratches or serious injuries inflicted on him. She let out a pout. "Mou, stop surprising me like that!"

Aisu no Ryu chuckled and put down his hood. He asked, "Are you alright, Momo?"

She let out a soft smile and walked up to the thief. As she is dazed in his eyes, her right hand took hold of his black bandanna and took it off, exposing his snowy white hair out. With her other hand, she moved his mouth mask down to his neck before the peach girl leaned over and gave him a loving kiss on the lips.

Feeling the familiar loving sensation in their hearts and their thoughts, the two lovers closed their eyes, wrapped their arms around one another and savoured the special moment together.

"Thank you for coming to save me, Toshiro."

Hitsugaya smiled and gave her a loving hug. "I couldn't imagine another day without you. I missed you."

"I miss you too. I never thought I would see the day where Aisu no Ryu runs around in Rukongai once more."

"Neither did I; I thought my thief days were over, but I guess not."

He leaned back to see the pretty face of Hinamori Momo. "Let's get out of here."

She nodded with agreement. Her white haired boyfriend helped get her on the horse before he got on as well. After sitting in front of her, he took hold of the reigns and looked back at her.

"Hold on tight."

The young princess wrapped her arms around his waist and did as she was told to do. With a flick, he commanded the horse to run to a place far away from the other thieves. Anytime from here on out, they can regain conscious and start chasing them. "Toshiro, this is not the way back to the palace," Momo said.

"I know," he replied. "Right now, it is dark outside. We might as well find a place to set up camp for the night. Luckily, I found the perfect place for us to stay."

"I see..."

He glanced over his shoulder to give his girlfriend a smile. "Don't worry; you're going to love it."

Though he has said that, the princess couldn't help, but feel a little uneasy about it. "If you say so..."


When they arrived at their destination, Hitsugaya stopped the horse in the middle of the off-road so that his princess could take a look at the scenery around her. "Here we are."

"Wow, it's so pretty," Hinamori exclaimed as she looked around. They are in the middle of a large forest filled with a vast variety of tall frosted trees, icicles, and a large frozen lake. "What is this place?"

"This place is called the Forest of Separation."

"Separation? Why is it called that?"

Toshiro pulled on the reigns and commanded the horse to walk along the side of the lake. "People usually visit this place just to get away from their troubles back home."

Momo suddenly let out a suppressed giggle. "Toshiro, we're not having any troubles back at the palace."

Aisu no Ryu smiled back and replied, "I know, but I want some time where the two of us can just hang out together."

She leaned over and rested her head on his back. With her chocolate brown eyes closed, she let out a relieved sigh. "You silly thief..."

When they got off of the horse, they stopped at a large cave. As they were about to take shelter inside, Momo noticed something falling onto the ground. She looked up into the clouded sky and saw the white particles. Holding out her palm, she watched a few of them land and melt on her hand. "It's snowing."

All of a sudden, a thought resurfaced in her mind. Immediately, she clutched her hand and placed it on her chest. Tilting her head forward, she became a little sad. Hitsugaya stopped and looked back at the upset princess. Concerned for her, he walked to her side and asked, "What's wrong, Momo?"

"I-I'm sorry."

He raised an eyebrow, not understanding why she is apologizing to him. "What is there to be sorry about?"

"Today is your birthday. I-I had a present ready to give to you, but the thieves took it away from me."

Toshiro let out a defeated sigh and placed a hand on her shoulder. That single touch got her attention. "It's alright, Momo; you don't have to give me one."

Upon raising both her fists up, the girl gave him the teary eyes. "But still; I wanted your birthday to be special!"

He offered a genuine smile, leaned over and whispered in her ear, "It's already special as it is and I'll prove it to you."

The white haired Captain of the Royal Guard took a few steps back from the princess, kneels down on one leg, and takes out a small velvet box from the front inside of his kimono. He opened the cap and showed the gift inside for her to see. Blown away by what he just did, Momo placed a hand over her mouth to cover her surprised gasp. Her loving boyfriend just offered a beautiful silver one carat diamond ring for her to accept. She whispered, "Oh my gosh..."

Satisfied of her reaction to the whole situation, Hitsugaya said, "Momo, I know I have already asked you this question before, but will you marry me?"

"Of course...Of course, I will Toshiro!" Hinamori threw her arms around her love and gave him a big loving embrace. "It's so beautiful! Where did you get it?"

The notorious thief let out a smirk. "I stole it."

There was a brief moment of silence where the princess blinked a few times. "Eh?"

Suppressing a short laugh into a snort, Aisu no Ryu replied, "Relax; I was only kidding. I bought it with my own money."

She folded her arms over her chest and let out a small pout. "Mou..."

After standing up on his two feet again, he removed the ring from its box with his right hand and put away the velvet box back into the inside of his kimono. With his left hand, he took hold of his girlfriend's left hand and placed the ring through her ring finger. After seeing the beautiful piece of jewelry fit her as it is supposed to, he held both her hands with his own, raised his head up, and said to the Princess of Seireitei, "I love you, Momo."

Hinamori smiled back and returned her sentiments likewise. "I love you too, Toshiro."

They leaned over and gave each other a long blissful loving kiss.


References

Aisu no Ryu - Ice Dragon; Hitsugaya's codename as the notorious thief


Author's Note: Kyaa! A proper proposal and lots of HitsuHina love in the air! Gotta love the moment while it lasts, isn't that right? xD Anyway, what will happen next? Well, you just have to wait and find out in the next chapter. (I'll do my best to update as soon as possible.) In the meantime, please review! Thanks.