A/N: Sorry for the extreme long delay but this chapter really was bugging me- but here's a really long chapter to help make up for it. Thanks for your patience!
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An eerie aura seemed to emit from the ghost town, and a fog—an almost innocent fog that distorted the senses until eventually it blended fantasy with reality—seemed to linger. It seemed that time had broken- why else would these few seconds seem like two decades?- until finally Hitsugaya turned to look at her. The night wind ruffled his white locks, while the round moon illuminated his stiff silhouette.
"What are you talking about?" he asked adamantly. "They were just here."
But there was nothing here—nothing but toppled down buildings, broken glass and concrete. This area had once been the duplicate version of Karakura Town, but now it lay in ruins—a testament to the awesome power that had trample it weeks ago.
"Toshiro," Harribel answered. She paused for a moment before realizing that none of this was fair. It wasn't fair that he was plagued with so much disappointment and sorrow, when she knew that he was a good person. Already he saved her twice, and yet she has reciprocated none of his kindness and brought only bad fortune.
"I have seen Aizen use this technique many times. He has the ability to control the five senses, distort the mind, and confuse reality. The people you saw—"
"I know what I saw," he argued. Mere moments ago he has seen them—Hinamori and Matsumoto, alive and well—so he just couldn't accept that the two people he wanted to see most in the world were nothing more than an illusion, a fabrication of his mind.
Harribel was quiet. She had witnessed Aizen's punishments before and seen how he created images, so horrific and cruel that many would dissolve in a heap on the floor, sobbing. "Please forgive me Aizen-sama! Forgive my insubordination!" Since she was blinded by his false promises, Harribel had reasoned that it had to be done.
What a fool she had been! Had she truly been that blind? Had she merely turned the other way as she heard the cries of Arrancars and her fellow Espada, and reasoned that it was all inevitable— coldly reasoning that some sacrifices were necessary?
"You know those people cannot be real," she finally responded. Briefly, she considered whether she was being cruel. "You know that it makes no sense. The person you saw was your vice-captain and she has been dead—"
"What the hell do you know?" he snapped in outrage.
"Inoue told me that—"
"Well she's wrong!" He said the last word so loud that it seemed to remain in the air, where anyone could easily snatch it. "Matsumoto is not dead, okay? She is not dead."
Harribel did not know who Matsumoto was. She vaguely remembered a woman with long strawberry blonde hair and a jovial attitude. When she was injured by Allon—the mindless monster that Apache, Mila Rose, and Sun-sun summoned—Toshiro had reacted anxiously, daring to go to Hueco Mundo in search of a skilled healer. But in the end it had all been for nothing. 'Her death must be too painful for him to deal with.'
Instead of dealing with the real world, with the pain of his vice-captain's death, he created an alternative world. But the real world was trying to break in and though he often denied it and claimed that his vice-captain was indeed alive, eventually the time would have to come for him to painfully accept the truth.
Gravel crunched off in the distance and immediately Hitsugaya picked up on the sound, his eyes glimmering with hope that it was Matsumoto. In a flash Hitsugaya disappeared, halting in what resembled an apartment complex—Inoue's tiny apartment, where he and Matsumoto had briefly stayed, causing havoc and cause to poor Inoue. He scanned his surroundings, but like before there was nothing. There was nothing but the lone white moon and toppled down buildings.
"Matsumoto!" he yelled, his ears straining to hear her voice.
Once again the sound of gravel filled the air and immediately Hitsugaya disappeared, having localized the location of the sound. He pictured Matsumoto—pictured her long hair, her pink scarf, her gray eyes, her glowing, bright face— and knew that she would be right there— right there!— waiting for him. She was not dead, but gone somewhere and with enough patience and perseverance Matsumoto would return again.
He stopped short in disappointment.
"Toshiro-kun! Thank goodness you're safe," Inoue cried out, hugging him. "Harribel-san said she—"
"Where's Matsumoto?" he asked in confusion.
Cracks were starting to form in that perfect alternate world he created, which meant that the real world was trying to break in, which meant that it was becoming more difficult to deal with Matsumoto's death. Harribel stopped behind him, feeling something like malaise settling in. Others may call him foolish for ignoring reality and trying to desperately believe in something that was not real, but she thought that it was sad, instead of foolish. Denial was a defense-mechanism to deal with something that was simply too painful and profound.
"Rangiku-san is not here, Toshiro-kun," Inoue responded after a brief pause.
"Of course she was here. I saw her."
Inoue glanced at Harribel, unsure how to respond. "Rangiku-san passed away…"
"No she didn't!" His face scrutinize in anger as he finally lost his patience. "Matsumoto is not dead. She was here!"
The younger girl became silent realizing that for once the strong, steady fast captain of the Tenth Division couldn't handle the truth.
His eyes continued to scan through the remains of the Fake Karakura Town, and he strained to see or hear any sign of life, any sign of Matsumoto.
"There is nothing here Toshiro-kun," Inoue repeated softly.
He was about to argue that she was wrong that Matsumoto was definitely here, but he paused. Harribel kneeled in front of him, her hand reaching out to touch his face. Gently, she touched his cheek and brought him to look at her—away from the scenes of blood, trauma, and death. He looked at her as if in a trance, pass the white hollow mask that covered most of her face to see her eyes—her sad green eyes. Since their first encounter he had been astonished by her eyes—by the ability to hold such meaning and power, by the ability to calmly observe the world, by the ability to express the most honest of truth.
"I'm sorry but there is nothing here, nothing but sad memories."
Hitsugaya had wanted to argue that she was wrong, but the argument never left his tongue. He merely continued to gaze upon her eyes, hoping to find some form of mistake, but he could only see her sadness, her rue, and her empathy. Harribel was not lying.
A crack formed on the alternative world he created, small at first, but gradually it increased, moving along the familiar designs of a spider web until finally a portion of it chipped away and a dim light shone through. The alternative world was finally chipping away, eventually crumbing away to finally reveal the real world.
He collapses to the ground then, as though he had glimpsed into something atrocious, something that he shouldn't have looked at. The smile from Hinamori and the warm embrace from Matsumoto were nothing more than an illusion. Of course, it was an illusion. Matsumoto was…
"She's... really..." he whispered. The words dissolve in his mouth and he cannot say anything else, as a strange new pain engulfed him. It moved sluggishly but with such harsh force that it leaves him breathless. It is the dagger—the sharp, hot dagger that intricately carves his chest.
He touches his face and he feels something wet on his face, trailing down to his chin. He's crying. The tears—he can't stop them from spilling.
"I know it's difficult to accept," Harribel whispers and she wraps her arms around him, holding him close. Her strong hierro skin is cool and hard, but for some reason he feels a warmth that circulates over him, a calm and gentle warmth that makes him wrap his arms around her, so he can hold on to more of it.
"Lying and deceiving yourself is not going to make the pain go away, there are some things that you cannot change."
"But is it not better to live in ignorance than deal with this crippling pain?"
She peered at him before breaking the touch between them and taking away the warmth. "Lies may be easier to deal with in the short time but that is it. Eventually you will be caught up in your lies and the pain—the pain that you have been so desperately trying to escape from—will be just as strong. It may be difficult now, but one day you will come to terms with it. One day this pain will lessen."
He wanted to ask how she knew this, but he did not. Something told him to trust her, to trust her judgment.
They were silent for a moment before Harribel stood, glancing off into the distance. From all the Espada, Harribel had the most accurate sense of spiritual energy. She could detect the presence of someone before they even knew she was present, and right now she was detecting the presences of three powerful beings.
She looked at Inoue, whom had been silent this entire time. "It's too dangerous here. Make sure he reaches safety."
Inoue looked at her in bewilderment, unaware of what she was referring to before she spotted the distinct presence of someone. "Yes. I'll make sure he's safe," she nodded, realizing that for once she wasn't being treated as a burden or nuisance, rather someone who was dependable. It was her job to protect Toshiro-kun.
"Do not let him use your memories of those precious people, Toshiro," Harribel answered once more. He glanced up at her briefly, confused and dishearten, before she disappeared in a wave of sonido.
"Toshiro-kun, let's go," Inoue interjected, grabbing his hand and forcing him to stand. Hitsugaya blinked, his mind and body somehow seemed separately—they seemed to work separately rather than simultaneously. He was in a daze, still reviewing what Harribel meant. One day the pain will lessen, how can that be when it feels as though the very world is about to cave in?
"It gets better," Inoue responded, noticing his dismay. Hitsugaya looked at her, almost lifeless unable to understand what she was saying. "Harribel-san is right. One day the pain will lessen."
The dagger on his chest, begged otherwise. It continued to cut through his flesh and bones, more powerful than any ordinary blade. How could it stop?
Inoue's features soften and she was about to reply with something else, but she paused surprised that such a person could move so quickly. Harribel had left to deal with him, to give them enough time so they could leave, but it seemed that he had completely bypassed her.
"What's wrong?" Hitsugaya asked noticing her apprehension. But then he froze, instantly recognizing the cause of her distress. It was him—the man that thought of no one but himself, that brought pain and betrayal, that lied and cheated without remorse.
Where he had once been filled with the saddening acknowledgement of Matsumoto's death, he soon became filled with a growing anger. He had used the faces of Matsumoto and Hinamori for his sick, twisted needs. He was going to use him, like he had done with so many before, and Hitsugaya was more than ready to give every shred of information, simply so he could see that hallucination. He felt like such an idiot.
"No Toshiro-kun. We have to get away from here," Inoue replied noticing the drastic change in his spiritual energy. The sadness had been replaced by red anger.
"I'm not going anywhere," Hitsugaya responded. His spiritual energy began to grow out of proportion.
"You cannot fight in your current—"
Clouds gathered across the night sky, occasionally covering the round moon and creating bouts of darkness. The brief periods of darkness on the deserted battlefield created an eerie aura. The wind picked up, soft at first until it became rowdy.
"Ah there you are Hitsugaya-kun, I've been looking for you," said Aizen good-naturally. Ichimaru Gin accompanied him—the usual grin replaced with a solemn look on his face. Tousen Kaname was missing.
The anger was turning into wrath and he could no longer contain himself. In a swipe he yanked out Hyorinmaru, plunging the tip of his sword to Aizen's neck. Ichimaru Gin prevented the blow, their swords in a stalemate before Ichimaru shifted his position, and the two parted. "You fuckin' bastard!" Hitsugaya spat, his body trembling with so much anger.
"Why are you so angry? I merely showed you an image of what you so desperately wanted to see," he moved his sword and a brief silhouette appeared, one that vaguely resembled Matsumoto.
"Please don't listen to him Toshiro-kun," Inoue cried out. "He's just trying to provoke you." But he did not listen to Inoue. Impatience and anger was blinding him and he launched out at Aizen, ready to strike his neck—ready to spill his blood—when Ichimaru prevented the blow once again. Hitsugaya let out a frustrated yell, trying to pass him but Ichimaru repeatedly stopped his tracks. With one mutter he extended Shinsou, about to pierce his stomach.
An almost glass surface met his blade, and the shield that Inoue created shattered into pieces. "Toshiro-kun, please, don't do this."
Blood was pounding in his head and he could not see anything but an ever growing red and the disgusting smirk on Aizen's face. His spiritual energy continued to grow wild, shifting the clouds and dropping the temperature. "I'm gonna kill you!" he yelled- no longer able to reason. There was such an intense passion growing within him that he could not simply control. His spiritual energy increased out of proportionate, creating a heavy aura over the field. Above, more clouds began to gather, while the wind continued to howl angrily blowing aside dirt and small objects
Aizen chuckled as though something humorous was occurring. "Again with your weak promises, Hitsugaya-kun? But I wonder if you really understand what is going on? Especially when it deals with that her death."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ah... I see you don't know," he said with a sort of dawning. "How funny—there are some people who continue to protect you as though you were nothing more than a child."
"Don't listen to him!" Inoue yelled out. "Don't listen to anything he said. Remember what Harribel-san said, 'Do not let him use your memories…'"
"Surely you must understand that she'll leave. How could you possible think that a hollow would be allowed in Soul Society? Even she seems to understand—maybe that's why she left now."
Aizen smiled as he noticed the conflict steadily growing on his face. "Would you like to tell Hitsugaya-kun what you have been keeping from him, Inoue?" he asked looking at her. Inoue's face pale and she briefly lowered her head, unable to meet Hitsugaya's eyes.
"What are you talking about? Inoue what's going on?"
There was another layer to this truth—a layer that everyone seemed to know, but that no one spoke of.
"I guess she doesn't want to. That foolish girl she can never do anything for her friends even now when the task is so simple," Aizen continued. Inoue looked up, something like hurt on her face.
"Hitsugaya-kun I'll ask you this question: do you think your vice-captain died when there was no healer present? Do you think Hinamori-kun randomly disappeared? No you are mistaken, terribly mistaken."
"No," Inoue cried out. "He's trying to confuse you."
"I'm only trying to tell you the truth- the truth that everyone is hiding from you. Nobody told you that there was one person responsible for all this—one man that has completely destroyed your life. It was no one else but Ichimaru Gin."
It took him a moment to realize that Matsumoto's murderer and Hinamori's kidnapper was standing in front of him.
Hitsugaya looked at the tall figure of Ichimaru Gin. "You...?"
He doesn't believe it—no, it doesn't make sense—but he looks at Inoue and sees that she is quiet. She does not try to deny that Matsumoto was murdered, instead of an accidental death as he believed. "It can't be true," he answers, hoping that maybe she would agree with him but for several seconds no one says anything—its deadly quiet in the Fake Karakura Town and the ghost of the victims seem to almost come to life.
The clouds overhead thicken, continuing to cover the night sky, carefully binding away the moonlight and creating a sheer darkness.
"Why?" he questions to Ichimaru. He has quickly forgotten about Aizen, all he can think about is this sudden new piece of information. "Why Ichimaru?"
Ichimaru said nothing—no clever remarks, no denial, no lies—it was as though Matsumoto's death meant nothing to him. Hitsugaya searched his face, looking for some sign of remorse—anything but his blank, emotionless face.
"Why Ichimaru?" he yelled his voice harsh, the environment spinning out of control. "Why did you do it? Wasn't she your…?"
He paused, pacing impatiently throughout the floor, clutching his fist so tightly that his fingernails bit through his palms. "Why? Why?"
Ichimaru disappeared in a blur, stopping behind him and springing his sword directly at his side. It was so sudden that he could not prevent the attack—all he knew was the tremendous amount of ache that appeared. Blood splattered onto the floor—too much blood—that he could not stand.
"Because I was ordered to," came the voice of Ichimaru. Hitsugaya glanced up at his tall, somber face realizing that the usual grin on Ichimaru's face was gone—gone since the day he killed Matsumoto.
His vision was spinning wildly, soon darkness began to creep in—whether from the lack of moonlight or his wounds, he did not know. All he knew was that everything was so distorted, so confusing.
Hitsugaya gasped for air, feeling blood in his mouth. Briefly, he registered the screams of Inoue as she tries to approach him, but Aizen was in the way. Soon her voice seemed somewhat distant. Images flashed across his mind—images of Matsumoto, of Ichimaru, of Aizen, of Harribel—gradually at first but steadily increasing. The images were moving too fast, much too fast that he had difficulty recognizing them, but it seemed that his sub consciousness responded and slowly the images stopped—stopping on one person.
'Matsumoto-san died.... Hinamori Momo has been currently declared as missing in action…. There is nobody here… Nobody told you that there was one person responsible for all this—one man that has completely destroyed your life…. Because I was ordered to…. One day the pain will lessen…'
"I'm not going to make excuses, for him," she had said. "But he did save me and for that I can never think of him as a bad person."
He bit back a cry realizing that she had been betrayed by this son-of-a-bitch. Whereas others had slandered his name for joining Aizen's cause, Matsumoto had never said anything against him… because she believed there was still some humanity left in him. And he had somewhat agreed with her. After all if Ichimaru has selfishly saved Matsumoto from hunger then there must be some good, some humanity, left in him.
Maybe he was just misguided.
'Because I was ordered to…'
He was wrong—completely, totally wrong. There was nothing left in him. Matsumoto's life meant nothing to him.
And then everything, everything became clear—as clear as though he were looking into a glass of water. He was responsible for all this. That's right he was responsible for everything.
Anger, resentment, and bitterness swelled into a dark blinding emotion, something that he had never experienced before—a burning hatred, a burning, venomous hatred. Hatred with such magnitude that he felt physically sick, as though some poison or some humor was coursing through his body. It was a hatred so deep that everything seemed so insignificant and worthless.
That's right, Ichimaru Gin was the one responsible for all this.
The hatred intensified. For the first time he wanted to hurt someone—another human being. He wanted to see him scream and beg for mercy; he wanted to beat and break all his bones; he wanted to strangle and watch the life drain from his face; he wanted to mutilate him and cut him into little pieces, tiny little pieces. He wanted to break him, fucking destroyed him.
'One day the pain will lessen…'
And it was clear, so crystal clear that he forced himself to lift the upcoming darkness. No, no he could not die. Not now when he finally found a new purpose in his life.
The defensive mechanism, the reality that he created, crumbled. It shattered into pieces, like glass each one of the sharp pieces cutting his face and drawing blood. The sharp pieces continued to cut into his face, creating an agonizing pain. No matter how hard or how long he screamed- it could never compare to the excruciating pain he was feeling.
Now he saw— after all those weeks in denial— the ugly, grisly truth.
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White, endless white covered everything--a white so uniformly the same that it was difficult to tell the sky and earth apart. Dry winds blew from the north, scattering snow—more white into the already bleak world. This was a desert, not the typical hot and dry desert, but a much brutal one: a frozen tundra. Vegetations, animals, humans, none of them could live in this land of ice and snow.
He stood there—a lonely being in the middle of nowhere—unable to feel the numbing cold, unable to realize that his face and hands and any of his exposed skin were hardening and becoming wax like, frostbite was trying to steal the live, healthy tissue. He stood there the strong and violent emotions, briefly making him forget this extreme cold.
There was an earsplitting crack that reverted over and over across the empty landscape, as a portion of an iceberg cracked and cascaded on the permanently frozen land.
"Hyorinmaru," he called out his voice somehow louder than the fallen iceberg.
The ground began to shake, increasing with such magnitude that it seemed like a high level earthquake. Ice crunch and cracked with such brutal force that it almost seemed like human bones, winds gathered, howling like an angry animal. And then he saw it. Underneath his feet, underneath the ice, there was something lurking: a shadow. A long shadow danced below— its tail lingering for a moment, its enormous wings flapping out, and its extensive neck twisting about. A light glowed underneath the ice, a bright green light that made it seem as though a green sun was underneath these rock, hard icy lands. But then the ice diminished, settling into one point until it blasted from a single spot.
The sound was so shattering, so powerful and painful; that his head began to ache in pain, as the tiny bones in his ear canal could not withstand such awesome pressure.
Hitsugaya looked up as the gigantic creature emerged, water dripping from its snout, its cold green eyes looking directly at him.
"Why have you come?" the ice dragon said its voice echoing loudly for miles to come.
In the past Hitsugaya had been deadly afraid of Hyorinmaru. According to legend, Hyorinmaru was a merciless ice dragon that brought about blizzards and avalanches. It was a spiteful, hostile creature with no sympathy or magnanimity, preferring solitude in the most secluded and coldest mountains of Soul Society. Hitsugaya had often feared that the terrible dragon would emerge, wild and out of control. He had attempted to control Hyorinmaru's power in the past, if only to protect the people around him, but his attempts had been futile so far.
The pitiful bankai that he produced barely touched a fraction of Hyorinmaru's true power.
The ice felt slippery as he approached the enormous creature, unafraid.
"Why have you come, child?" Hyorinmaru repeated, its eyes beaming with impatience.
He didn't even pause to reconsider.
"I want power."
The spirit said nothing, his impatience quickly subsiding and replacing instead with a slight interest. In the past decades Hyorinmaru had come to know and understand his young welder, but hearing this sudden declaration, the dragon realized that something was wrong. Despite being the most powerful ice-type, Hitsugaya had never been tempted by Hyorinmaru's power, preferring to use his own logic and skills. "You cannot control my..."
"Just give it to me," he argued.
"Your body has not completely developed, the quantity of my power will..."
"Just give it to me!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the frozen terrain. There was almost a wild look in his eyes—a darker, sinister motive briefly appeared on the surface. "I want power."
"At the cost of your life?" the last word lingered in the air.
Hitsugaya raised his head to look directly at the dragon. He would mold and shape this hatred to achieve his goals, and whatever may come with it, so be it. "The cost does not matter."
A thin smile spread over the features of Hyorinmaru. The ice dragon was one of the oldest spirits in Soul Society, but despite the many centuries, Hyorinmaru had come to conclude that humans were always constant. If not now then soon, but humans always craved power. His other welders in the past had foolishly craved and begged for his power, and had died each and every time. For a moment Hyorinmaru had believed that his new welder would be the exception and that one day he would finally succeed in taming his wild spirit.
What a mistake it had been to believe so.
"Very well, have my powers."
Aurora lights appeared across the white sky, a sharp contrast to the bleak white. The ribbon-shaped lights twisted and danced on the enormous stage—this was his current level of power, this was what he had so far achieved—before the twisting became rapid. The lights became brighter, a hauntingly glowing green, and the ribbons grew longer, longer and longer until finally they completely covered the sky.
There was a brief period of awe as the sky became green and separated itself from the ground. It was a blinding green that shone with such magnanimity, reflecting green on the frozen icicles and banks of snow until there was no endless white, but green, an endless glowing green that seemed to linger, linger in the scene.
And then the fierce light gathered, gathered into a single beam and shone directly toward him. The white frozen tundra was suddenly split in two, and the beam of light was the source of this diversion.
Hitsugaya was trapped in a tube— a tube of Hyourinmaru's true, raw power— and he suddenly couldn't breathe. He suddenly couldn't see or hear, but feel the cold— a biting, numbing cold that seemed so paralyzing. He had no skin, no form of flesh or warmth, as the cold swept through him, brutally tarnishing his body. His young body screamed out in protest as what little warmth was sucked out, as the endless cold continued to pierce him as swiftly as sharp needles.
There was only so much that the body could handle, and for a moment Hitsugaya thought his heart would finally give out— the cold was slowing it down—but he told himself that not now, he couldn't die now when he had to avenge them. There was nothing that kept him in this world anymore, absolutely nothing but revenge and hatred; and he would die in peace only when he achieved this new purpose.
He felt Hyorinmaru's power infiltrating him, the raw power tearing his muscles and crushing his bones, driving him into momentarily madness. The physical pain was unbearable, but he realized this physical pain was overcoming that loss. The dagger in his chest—the unmistakable grief of Matsumoto—was gradually disappearing.
He let out a scream, falling to the ground, gripping his hair at the thundering pain.
"Bankai!" he shouted, ice gathering onto his back and protruding out to create wings and a tail. Ice petals formed behind him, but unlike before where they would hover behind him the petals opened—as though they were doorways, a portal perhaps— and behind two green eyes glowered, dangerously before an earsplitting roar filled the air.
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It was trap.
Earlier she had felt the unmistakable presence of Aizen approaching from the south. Realizing that Toshiro was not in a proper state of mind to encounter Aizen, Harribel had wanted to face him off first. She had wanted to lure him away, while Toshiro and Inoue reached safety. But instead of meeting Aizen, Harribel had found Tousen Kaname instead. The blind man looked at her, somewhat battered and wounded as though he had fought some terrible battle that he was still recuperating from, before drawing out his sword.
"Where is he? Where is Aizen?" she asked but somehow she knew the answer.
The blind man moved with such precession, completely unaffected by his handicap. It was his wounds that made it difficult for him to move as agile. Moving Tiburon, she unleashed a wave of water that washed over the remains of the Fake Karakura Town. Tousen winced, having heard the gigantic waves but unable to respond to them quickly enough.
A flash flood washed over him, pushing him from his feet and into the enormous wave.
Harribel knew that wasn't the end of Tousen. He was the one that cut of Grimmjow's arm, as easily as though he were cutting butter. He had also been the one to punish and execute any rouge arrancars, or anyone that had suspicious thoughts. Despite his superior abilities, Harribel knew that it was Tousen's obedience that made him a deadly opponent. He would die for Aizen's cause.
'I have to get back,' she thought feeling the dramatic influx of Toshiro's spiritual energy. Above the skies changes, clouds cluttering the night sky, wind patterns picking up, and the sudden decrease in temperatures.
He was angry and upset—too angry that he could not think anymore. 'Don't be subdue by him,' she thought knowing that Aizen was provoking him into behaving reckless. Again his spiritual pressure plummeted, as wrath and anger drove him.
And then she felt it. A sudden stop—as though the harsh anger within him had all but disappeared. The drastic stop scared her, scared her more than anything. 'Please be alright.'
But she as she was expecting the worse, his spiritual pressure appeared—darker and sinister than before. The weather mirrored this drastic behavior, bringing an unsettling darkness and decrease in temperatures. Within minutes winds howled—furious and wild—and suddenly something fell from the sky, something hard and fast.
It was hail. Hail—large rocks of ice and snow— cascaded from the sky, the sheer mass and velocity creating small craters as they crashed onto the ground. Temperatures instantly dropped below zero, solidifying all water into pure ice, and a blizzard—a white, blinding one— settled within a matter of seconds.
Any form of warmth was quickly being sucked away. It was Hyorinmaru, the powerful ice dragon that was creating this instability in the weather. Harribel closed her eyes, sensing the pain and sadness, anger and hatred behind the howling wind, behind Toshiro.
"Harribel-san," cried out Inoue. She was shivering violently and her lips were bleeding at the inexplicable cold. "I tried but he told him some stuff… and Toshiro-kun…"
He must have found out the truth—the truth behind his vice-captain's death—and as a result had wanted revenge, like she wanted to avenge her fraccion. But she noticed, he couldn't control Hyorinmaru's power. It was too much power, way too much power, that eventually it would end up destroying him.
She had to stop him.
"Stay here. I will try to reason with him," she looked off in the distance and saw that the storm was growing, wilder and colder. Within a matter of minutes it would be too cold for anyone to even stand and would soon fall into hypothermia—eventually freezing to death.
"I want to go," Inoue protested, realizing that she had failed.
Harribel was about to respond that Toshiro was too dangerous at the moment, but the words did not leave her mouth—because just then someone new entered, someone completely unexpected entered. He was not within sight but Harribel knew exactly who had entered.
Something vile and foul swelled up inside her. 'What is he doing here? He should not be here!'
Inoue dropped to the ground, her legs weakened by the freezing cold.
She glanced at her, noticing the frostbite that was appearing on her fingers. "You should not go any further," Harribel warned. "The cold will only get much worse."
She was too cold to respond, so she merely nodded.
Harribel stood up, attempting to see through the white landscape but saw nothing and heard nothing but the blizzard. She touched Tiburon, pushing aside the snow that had gathered on her blond hair and the hilt of her sword. No, she was supposed to save Toshiro. This spiritual energy was too destructive and would end up killing Toshiro in the process. Everything else should be place secondary.
"Inoue where is Aizen? Where has he disappeared to?" Inoue looked at her weakly unable to answer from the cold. But she didn't need to speak because it suddenly came to her. Everything that Inoue had said, what probably occurred when she was absent, and this unexpected presence. It wasn't a coincidence, this was another one of Aizen's plan.
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