Chapter Ten
A young woman sat on a lone roof of some random building. If she was on duty then she would be on night patrol, but tonight, that was not the case. She did not wear her uniform. She had foregone the black kimono and white obi. Instead, she wore a brown kimono top with billowing maroon hakama, the same outfit she bought around thirty years ago. Her dark-blue hair still looked the same though. She silently watched night guards walk around and occasionally gazed up to look at the stars. At times, her sight was clogged up by the white clouds she breathed out of her mouth. Tonight was really cold.
"Naori Hibana!"
Hearing someone call her name, she turned around. Instantly, she recognized the white hair and teal eyes from far away. "Captain Hitsugaya," she politely responded.
He smiled and walked towards her. "I see you could make it."
"Why wouldn't I? You asked me to come up here."
He glanced at her new wardrobe. "You look nice."
"Of course you would think that. You picked it." Naori mumbled under her breath and faced her captain immediately afterwards. "I found it buried in my closet when I was packing up. It sure brings back old memories."
"Those days…we were pretty crazy." He remarked.
"It was your idea-"
"But you enforced it." He quickly cut in, noticing how fast she could quiet down.
"Maybe I did…" At that moment, she decided to avoid any further embarrassing statements. "So Captain Hitsugaya why did you call me up here?"
His playful smile turned back into his usual apathetic expression. He avoided her eye contact and reached into his sleeve, pulling out a small velvet box. With one swift hand motion, he tossed it right at her and she caught it. "Open it." Hitsugaya said.
Confused, Naori opened the box. At that moment, she only stared at the content. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth dropped open, making her hand instinctively reach up to cover it. Behind her, fireworks were going off one after another, leaving huge, colorful flashes of light in the sky. It illuminated him and her and left two long shadows along the roof.
Slowly, he took one deep breath, "Will you…"
OoOoO
The young shinigami held the orange-haired baby close to her body with shaking hands. Naori's golden eyes crept above a lush green hedge to survey all of her surroundings. When any of her fellow officers passed by, she quickly ducked back into hiding and silenced Masaki from any noise.
"Damn…it's completely surrounded. That's what I'd expect from Captain Hitsugaya." She mumbled to herself as she took another peek.
The entire division area was completely occupied by ready-to-attack officers. Each door and window, all the roofs, and inside all rooms, were covered. She could probably guess that the only room not occupied was her captain's barracks. That was her goal from the very beginning.
Quietly, the girl leapt out from her hiding spot and flash stepped as far as she possibly could. But a large horde of officers got in the way of her path. She dove like lightning behind a pile of garbage. But they didn't seem to notice any disturbance and kept on moving along…except for one.
"Hey. Did you guys hear that?" One officer asked. He glanced around in the general direction of Naori, making the poor girl sweat.
"No. I didn't hear anything. Did you?" Some other officer responded.
"No. No. No." A crowd replied.
"It must have been a mouse or something." The officer quipped and playfully slapped away the worries of the suspicious officer. "Okay guys! Keep searching for her! And remember! Alive! Not dead. Alive! Slightly beat up? Yes…if you want to face the wrath of our captain."
"I doubt we can even put a scratch on her."
"Even if we did, she'd kill us first before Captain Hitsugaya can touch us."
"It's Naori people. She's not going to go that far…"
"She is our Fifth Seat and squadron leader." A particularly meek officer remarked. "And even you know how mad she can get when higher-ups are disrespected. Even if it's not her or Captain Hitsugaya or Lieutenant Matsumoto."
"Yeah! I've seen how she fights with hollows. Girl gets vicious!"
"Enough!" That officer seemed to be the leader in her place. "We need to stay on task. Captain Hitsugaya specifically tasked us as the leading squadron because Naori-san is our squadron leader and we all know her tactics, strengths, and weaknesses. Plus, out of all of the higher-up officers, she is consideredthe weakest. That means we should have a chance taking her down together! Let's move!"
"Yeah!" The whole crowd chorused altogether. Like a single cell, they all vanished far away from Naori.
The young girl could only stare at the dust left by her squadron members. First, the thought of them noticing something suspicious and not investigating already ticked her off. Seriously, they must be getting really lazy. Second, they talk about her temper, which she personally thought was very mild. Third, they addressed those ridiculous rumors of her and Hitsugaya. And finally, the one she hated the most, they called her weak. Weak. Weak!
"Damn that Yoshida!" She growled and smashed her fist into the dirt. "I'm going to electrocute you. Heal you. Fry you. Heal you again. Then, I will make you and the entire squadron clean bathrooms for a week. Then, I will put all of you through training from hell. Again. If any of you dare make this mistake again, I will…"
Masaki let the angered girl rant and in the time being, she gazed out into the open and pointed at something.
"What is it Masaki?" Naori peeped out from the garbage. Three people were running at her and she noticed those bouncing boobs from anywhere. Quickly, she ducked as they were passing and stopped.
Matsumoto ran her delicate hands through her long hair. "Any sightings of her?"
"No Lieutenant Matsumoto. No reported sightings."
"Any spiritual pressure readings?"
"No."
"She hid her spiritual pressure till it can't be sensed anymore. I trained her well." Matsumoto remarked. "Are all troops mobilized and on full duty? Are they ready to take her down at any notice?"
"Yes sir!"
"Okay! Keep moving!" She ordered.
The group of three continued to move on, leaving their intended target sitting there in a heap. If Naori could guess of how big of a puddle she sweated out, she created a lake. Deep breaths came out of the girl's mouth and her sweaty hands struggled to find a grip on Masaki. One last scan around the area, she crept out of her hiding place and continued on with her journey. She traveled mostly on flash steps and she sometimes ran if the gusts of wind became too obvious. If any officer were passing by, she would hide behind everything. A tree, bush, roof, wall, etc, she would take cover and wait for the threat to pass.
But at one of those moments, her sweaty hands suddenly gave way and Masaki fell. Luckily, Naori made a quick grab and caught the baby after falling a foot. But that momentum was enough to make the baby awaken and cry in fear.
"Shh!" Naoi said in her panic, muffling the crying noises.
"Target sighted!"
Naori glanced up and she could tell that one of the rooftop officers spotted her!
"Target located! Repeat! Target located in far east division area!"
Bells and gongs rang throughout the division. The spiritual pressure was rising up as the entire division came together to capture her. She could see black uniformed officers popping up everywhere on the rooftops, filling up her range of sight and escape. Looking around, all of the troops were there including her own squadron, who was leading the rest.
"Bakudo-"
"Strike Denbaku-to!" Naori drew out her zanpakuto and watched her blade transform in a Chinese jian and in effect, making a huge explosion to accompany the transformation. It created a nice cloud of brown dust and dirt. It was just enough to cause a distraction, blind them, and for her to get away.
From far away, Hitsugaya noticed a cloud of dust rising from the far east. That was the cue he needed.
Naori sped out of the cloud and far away from the area. Now that everyone congregated in that one area, there were probably few officers guarding the rest of the division. Besides, she was already discovered so it wouldn't make much of a difference to sneak around. She flash stepped to the barracks area, but a small group of officers made her suddenly stop and hide behind a bush.
"Hey! I think I saw something from over there."
They began to walk towards her. Naori felt her heart quicken and she held Masaki even closer. She tucked herself up into a tight ball. She closed her eyes and held her breath, praying that they won't find her. Praying that they would only walk by, not noticing her at all. But suddenly, as if out of nowhere, somebody was walking from the other direction! Crap! She was trapped!
"What are you doing?"
That voice!
"Captain Hitsugaya! Sir! We noticed something moving there and we were going to investigate."
Hitsugaya peered at the bush. "I see nothing", he declared. "Search around the eastern area. She was last spotted there."
"Yes sir!" And like a flock of birds, they all flew off in that direction.
Hitsugaya sighed and stretched is shoulders as if all this yelling was becoming a pain for him. He then looked back at the bush and parted the leaves and branches, leaving the terrified girl in sight. "This was why I didn't want to risk it." He heard a slight sniffle from his subordinate. He gave her his hand. "Come on. I'll sneak you into my barracks. You'll be safe there."
"Thank you…but…" She pushed his hand away. "Don't help me. You'll get in trouble. If you're caught helping me, then you'll be in the same position as me."
"I think I'll take that chance." He roughly grabbed onto her wrist.
"No!" Naori slapped his hand away again. "It's because of me, this whole thing started. I'll feel bad if you lose your captain position because of me. So please! Go back to doing your job and keep trying to arrest me."
With one swift motion, he had her pinned against the wall where she couldn't even move if she tried. "Idiot." The captain sighed. "Remember how you got stuck with the baby in the first place? I took Masaki Kurosaki in and I dragged you along with me. It's our fault this started. Not only you. Not only me."
When he said those words, Naori felt her eyes beginning to well up. A sniffled came out of her nose and crystal tears fell from her golden orbs. She felt a cold sensation as the breeze hit her wet cheeks.
He continued on, "I'm not going to leave you alone again. I promised that I would protect you if you were in danger. And I intend to keep it. I will never forgive myself if you get executed."
At that moment, a surge of new tears formed at her eyes and another whimper escaped from her lips. "Moron…" She cried into his shoulder as she moved closer to him.
Hitsugaya slowly reached out and hugged the shivering girl. He waited for her to at least calm down before flash stepping away to safety. His barracks. It was their haven all this time. It was the only possible safety zone where nobody would even think of looking. Would it remain that way still?
OoOoO
A young man with bright orange hair and his petite companion raced through narrow corridors and long passages. Seireitei was quite a maze, but they couldn't flash step unless they wanted to get caught. They could only run. But luckily, they were not far from their destination.
"Rukia! How much further?" Ichigo asked as they kept running.
"Just past the First Division!" Rukia answered, but suddenly, she skidded to a stop.
"Rukia! What's wrong?" Ichigo quickly stopped as well. Yet, looking at her line of sight, he could clearly see why she stopped.
"Ichigo and Rukia Kurosaki! Stop what you are doing or we'll be forced to take you down." Yamamoto declared.
Most of the lieutenants and captains were lined up on a long balcony, ready to meet and attack them. Some looked worried and others looked like they didn't want to fight. Most were reluctant. Others didn't care because they were only following orders. One was very, very excited.
"I can't wait to fight you again!" Kenpachi said with a wicked smile. Yachiru sat right on his shoulder and she clapped in glee of her captain's happiness.
"How troublesome this is. Does that law even apply to this young couple? Ichigo could be considered a shinigami and not really a human." Kyoraku drawled. "What do you think? Captain Ukitake?"
"No comment." Ukitake looked away.
"An offspring between a human and a shinigami. How interesting! I can't wait to experiment on my specimen." Kurotsuchi gleefully said, which made Rukia grab her zanpakuto and glare that captain to death.
"The more you talk, the longer this is going to take." Soifon said, really annoyed that her fellow captains were playing that stalling game. "Omaeda! Get down there!"
"Isane." Unohana gave a look at her lieutenant.
"Got it!" Isane jumped down from the high balcony along with Omaeda.
Hisagi also joined the duo of lieutenants as they faced off against Ichigo and Rukia. They all had their zanpakutos drawn out and activated into shikai. Rukia also activated her shikai and left a long ribbon trail at her feet. She and Ichigo took stance as the three lieutenants charged. Isane went for the full frontal attack for Rukia. Hisagi and Omaeda threw their midrange weapons right at Ichigo, hoping to hit him down.
"Bankai!" Ichigo yelled. A large black aura repelled the weapons thrown at him and he emerged with tighter clothing and a long, thin blade.
In fact, the force was so huge that it threw even Hisagi and Omaeda back a couple hundred feet. As they hit the wall behind them, all the captains jumped down except for Unohana, Yamamoto, and Kurotsuchi. One by one, they each attacked Ichigo at separate points. One would be fighting him and the other would look for an opening and attack. But they would be quickly blocked. He first fought with Soifon and Komamura. Then, took a dual hit from Kyoraku and Ukitake. What really kept him fighting for a long time was…Kenpachi.
Kenpachi swung at him like a mad man. His free hand was flailing everywhere and the other swung his zanpakuto at rapid place. So much that Ichigo had a somewhat hard time keeping up. Damn! This guy was training or killing a lot these days! With every bock, Ichigo tried to get a cut on him but he was blocked again. Their swords clashed again and again with sparks flying out. Blood appeared on their foreheads and cuts became apparent on their arms and chest.
Meanwhile, Rukia held her own against Isane. She knew that she wouldn't be as much trouble as Ichigo but she still had to survive through this. She already did her first dance and Isane dodged it. She didn't want to do her second dance unless she wanted to interrupt and freeze Ichigo and Kenpachi's fight. They were now locked in a battle of kido. They yelled kido spells at each other and deflected each spell after another. Spells of orange, blue, red, and green were being thrown back and forth. Neither was going to stop.
"Enough." A voice called. Some person appeared behind Ichigo, grabbed him, and disappeared before Kenpachi could land another hit.
"Hey! What is this?" A disgruntled Kenpachi growled, tossing his sword up onto his shoulder.
Ichigo stared momentarily at Kenpachi getting mad before looking behind him. He could notice those familiar straw bangs and that ridiculous scarf. He exclaimed, "Byakuya!"
"Nii-sama!"
Rukia also ceased her kido firing and so did Isane. They all turned towards Byakuya, wondering what the heck was going on? Exactly what was so important that he needed to stop the fight?
"Permission to speak, Captain Commander." Byakuya asked.
"Permission granted." Yamamoto said, but his eyes narrowed at the stoic captain. He better have a good reason for disobeying Central 46 orders.
"Byakuya! What's going on?" Ichigo asked.
"Shut your mouth, Ichigo Kurosaki." He replied, pissing the orange haired man off, but he ignored that. Instead, he turned towards the majority of captains and lieutenants. "I have spoken with Central 46 regarding the affairs of Ichigo Kurosaki and his wife Rukia Kurosaki. As Head of the Kuchiki noble family, I took the liberty of presenting and explaining this case thoroughly to them. I've also pointed out the fact that Ichigo was a key component of the capture and final defeat of Sosuke Aizen. Plus, I also stated that my sister, Rukia, was a figure of nobility. Considering these facts, the majority of Central 46 has decided that these two criminals are not going to be subjected to execution."
"Really! Nii-sama! Thank you!" Rukia cried. She ran up to Ichigo and tearfully hugged him. It was so wonderful! Masaki could live! Their family won't be killed! It was perfect.
"Ah, what a sweet ending," Kyoraku remarked as he lowered his weapons.
"That's good." Ukitake said as well.
All the captains agreed and they sheathed all their weapons. Lieutenants returned to their respective captain's sides. Renji was congratulating Rukia and giving painful pats for Ichigo's back. Everybody looked really relieved. Except for Byakuya, who held a stoic face and approached the couple. "Please bring out your baby, Masaki Kurosaki, along with Captain Hitsugaya's subordinate."
"Captain Kuchiki." Unohana said, grabbing his attention. "I have already sent a Hell Butterfly towards Captain Hitsugaya. He should answer by now."
His voice suddenly blared out of the black insect to everyone like a huge stereo. "Captain Unohana, what is the matter?"
"It seems the issue of Ichigo and Rukia Kurosaki has been resolved here. Did you succeed in capturing Naori Hibana?"
"Uh…well…"
"Captain Hitsugaya! I will never forgive you for this!" A light and airy voice yelled through the butterfly and practically killed everybody's ears. Unohana even stumbled back slightly from the sudden increase in volume.
She chuckled, "Well. It seems you did indeed capture her. Can you please bring her to the front of the First Division?"
"Will do." Hitsugaya let the butterfly fly away before facing his subordinate. "Naori Hibana. What was that all about?"
She smirked and picked up a sleeping Masaki. "I told you. I'm not going to let you lose your captain position like this."
"You are so stupid." He sighed and began to lead her out. "But if you're getting killed, I'm not going to hesitate to get you out."
Both of them quickly flash stepped off to the scene. When they arrived, both were surprised at the large number of captains and lieutenants and other high-ranking officers gathered at the area. Rukia's face simply lit up once she saw her young baby, safe and sound.
"Masaki!" She exclaimed, running for the baby.
Naori gently handed the young one over and let the mother and daughter reconcile. She stepped back when Ichigo came over to the family and she stepped back behind Captain Hitsugaya,
"I wanted to bring the four suspects together for this hearing." Byakuya suddenly said, getting all of their attention. "You may be exempt from execution by your contributions to Soul Society, but that does not mean you are going to be let off easily."
Ichigo narrowed her eyes and walked back out to face Byakuya. "What? What is this? I thought we were done with the punishment part."
Rukia placed a reassuring hand on his arm as a way of warning him to back off. "Stay quiet Ichigo. Listen to what he has to say."
Naori noticed the edge and tone of his voice. She could tell that this wasn't good. Slowly, she backed away from her captain and walked up towards the couple, ready to face their punishment together.
"Central 46 has ruled the banishment of Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kurosaki for breaking the laws of Soul Society. A child must not be conceived between a human and a shinigami. Doing so is treason. Their banishment shall last until their human daughter dies in the world of the living or until the human shinigami dies. When either dies, they are to immediately come back to Soul Society as a whole family to await further instructions. Ichigo and Rukia may not use their spiritual powers at all during the entirety of their exile. Their spiritual energy shall be restrained."
"That's a good thing. They were already living there in the first place." Kyoraku remarked.
But that was not all…
"Naori Hibana is also banished for acting as an accomplice in this ordeal. She shall remain in exile until the baby dies. She may return back to Soul Society when the baby dies. Naori Hibana may use her spiritual powers to ferry souls and cleanse hollows only if she is 200 kilometers away from the baby. But her spiritual powers shall be restrained as well. She will be placed under a limiter during the entirety of her exile." Byakuya finally finished. "Those are the final orders of Central 46."
"That's ridiculous! You can't-" Hitsugaya started, but he noticed the pained look on Naori's face.
"Naori-san…" Rukia asked in worry for the young girl next to her.
"Naori? Are you okay?" Ichigo exclaimed, glancing over at the shaken girl.
Naori didn't answer. She just dropped onto her knees on the ground.
She collapsed.
She didn't move.
To be continued…
Fin
And this is the end of that story. Plus I left you with another cliffhanger! Evil cackle ensues.
Okay, to clarify some things, the entire italicized part at the beginning is from the far, far, far, far, far (x30) future. It was just something to throw in there. Second, there is a cliffhanger, evil cackle, because I've made up my mind and I decided to write a sequel. I wanted to do it cause I really wanted to flesh out my Masaki Kurosaki character and I don't feel like doing a time jump. But I have to work out some parts of the plot to get this sequel done. Third, yes, I pulled a deus ex machina. Why? Because I'm the author and I felt like it.
Review this final chapter! And tune in for the sequel, coming soon!