Hi…it's been a while. I've taken forever to update…oh god…
~oOo~
No, this wasn't good.
He didn't want to use it.
All those days of biding time would go to waste.
But waiting again wouldn't be as bad as dying. But he didn't want her to take over again.
~oOo~
"Bankai! Junsuinasora!" [A/N: This means Pure Sky, if you're wondering. Figure out the irony yourself.]
The once red aura that coated Akumamira turned a beautiful pure white, glowing and bright. The cavern was washed in light, white illuminating the area. Ice began to spread from beneath Kagami's feet, curling strangely, shining and glowing.
Wind began to blow, tugging at hair and clothing, and jagged ice structures began to form. Kagami's eyes turned an astonishing shade of turquoise, glittering like gems. Her pitch black hair seemed to be purged of darkness, turning the color of freshly fallen snow.
The dragon slayer's black sclera seemed to be wiped away, and his fangs shortened to their normal length. Natsu stumbled for a moment, almost being cleansed of sin and darkness. His flames died out, flickering into nothingness.
Then, he couldn't remember anything.
~oOo~
When he woke up, it was to a blinding headache and stinging wounds. He sat up, groaning, and rubbing his head to soothe the pain.
Natsu looked around to see an empty cavern with no trace of anything else but water and rocks and dirt. His nose picked up no scents except that of ice similar to the white-haired kid's.
He couldn't remember anything except feeling extremely relieved and calm for a moment. And then the ice, yes.
Then it occurred to him that he should've been going back to the guild. Natsu immediately stood up, wincing as he did so, but the wounds didn't hurt as much as they should've.
~oOo~
He got an earful when he returned to the guild, but he'd expected just as much. Apparently, he'd been gone for three days.
The white haired kid who'd been bedridden for a month, according to Matsumoto, was his savior, appearing suddenly.
"Explain," he snapped immediately to Natsu, teal eyes cold and calculating. For a moment, he looked eerily similar to…no, that couldn't be.
"Explain what?"
Toshiro ignored the guildmaster, glaring pointedly at Natsu.
"I said, explain. You know very well what I'm talking about. It's been the gossip of Seireitei for the past seventy-two hours! This definitely proves that my theory that Seireitei-itis exists!"
Natsu was genuinely confused; he didn't remember what had happened in the cavern. He just remembered the darkness, and then the bright light. (And what the hell was Seireitei-itis anyway?)
"I'm serious! I don't know what you are talking about!" Natsu retorted, annoyed.
Toshiro inhaled and exhaled. "You're coming with me." With that, Toshiro pulled Natsu's soul out and dragged him through the Dangai.
~oOo~
Toshiro flash-stepped through the Dangai, pulling Natsu along. Of course, Toshiro being his friend (though he wasn't sure if the Shinigami thought of him that way), he wasn't hit by motion-sickness. But it was uncomfortable to say the least.
The Senkaimon opened in Soul Society, and Toshiro leapt out, still dragging Natsu, and flash-stepped to the Twelfth Division Barracks. (Toshiro decided that he had been hanging around the Twelfth way too much now. His Seireitei-itis probably got worse by a whole shit ton.)
On the way, he brushed past Rukia, who stared at him with her jaw dropping. Toshiro ignored her, Natsu noticed.
Natsu stumbled when he was pushed, and Toshiro stopped beside him.
"Ukitake-taichou, I brought him," he said.
"More like dragged him against his will, am I right, Toshiro?" Ukitake said, amused.
Toshiro's pale cheeks flushed. "That doesn't concern you!"
Then Kurotsuchi appeared from behind the door and Natsu turned tail and ran, screaming.
~oOo~
It took a while, but Toshiro, Ukitake, and Kurotsuchi finally managed to catch the fire dragon slayer. He supposed it was because Kurotsuchi was terrifying. (Not to him, of course. Toshiro knew that he terrified Kurotsuchi, and that was a feat he was proud of.)
He'd been begging for them not to let Kurotsuchi get him and stuff like that but Toshiro ignored him completely, dragging him along while he wailed.
Kurotsuchi managed to take his blood sample, one of his teeth (somehow, he managed to grow it back with some sort of potion), and pull out some of his hair without much hassle. (Read: a shit ton of hassle.)
Toshiro sighed, rubbing his teal eyes. He was tired and wanted to sleep, but he still had paperwork (thanks a lot, Matsumoto).
Kurotsuchi was running tests on the stuff he'd taken from Natsu and Toshiro dumped his soul into his body and headed back immediately, calling "I need my tea" over his shoulder when he left.
And hell, yes he did need his tea.
Thankfully, when he sat down at his desk, a cup of the magical substance was sitting there, cooled slightly. He had to thank Hinamori for that; she brought him some every evening.
Toshiro sipped it, finding that it hadn't been spiked or whatsoever by his lieutenant. He began his paperwork.
~oOo~
"Ugh…"
He woke up to find that his neck was sore.
How did I even sleep to get my neck sore?
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
Toshiro sat up in his chair, desperately trying to smooth out his messy hair and decided that a trip to the bathroom was in order.
After freshening up, he cleaned up the mess that his ink made on the desk, wiping it away quickly.
He glared at the innocent (yeah, right) cup of unfinished tea on his desk.
He was going to talk to Matsumoto as soon as he had a chance to.
And she was so dead for putting sleeping drugs in his drink.
He'd slept in, and he never did that.
~oOo~
Matsumoto was chewed out for half an hour when she returned (with a hangover) but she was saved by Hinamori, who was holding a tray of tea.
"Oh, Hitsugaya-kun, here's your tea," she said, opening the door to see an angry Toshiro telling Matsumoto off.
Matsumoto was barely coherent and not listening, tuning out her Captain's voice.
Hinamori blinked when she heard the context of Toshiro's anger.
"Hitsugaya-kun?"
Toshiro, surprised, turned to look at her. "Oh, Hinamori!"
"I'm the one who put the sleeping pills in there, Hitsugaya-kun," Hinamori said innocently.
"Wha—?" The look of utter confusion on Toshiro's face was absolutely adorable.
"You need to sleep more, Hitsugaya-kun," she chided. "You told me to get rid of the panda eyes, you know."
"Wha—?" he repeated.
"Taichou~ you sound like a broken record!" Matsumoto said, her hangover seemingly gone.
"Wha—? Get back here, Matsumoto!"
Matsumoto ran out the door, chased by an angry Toshiro.
Hinamori sighed, setting a cup of tea on Toshiro's desk. He forgot his tea.
~oOo~
"You didn't add any sleeping pills this time, right?" Toshiro asked, glancing at Hinamori after having a glaring contest with the cup of tea.
Hinamori rolled her eyes. "Yes, Hitsugaya-kun."
Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"For the millionth time, Shiro-chan, yes."
"Don't call me Shiro-chan! I'm not 'snowy'!"
"Yes you are. Have you seen your hair?"
"Yes I have, but my name is not Snowy, Hinamori!"
~oOo~
Sorry, short chapter. But at least I updated within a month!
