Disclaimer- Don't own bleach

A/N- the action starts to pick up from this point on. I'm not sure if I got the translation completely correct but the name of Shorin's zanpaktou is supposed to mean Dark Fire. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review.

Chapter Twelve- Hitsugaya vs Shorin

A couple of weeks had passed since Captain Ukitake joined the ranks of the Shinigami who were stationed in the world of the living and, apart from a few more Arrancar attacks, things had been fairly uneventful. Hitsugaya spent his time fighting Hollow and Arrancar alongside of Ichigo, Rukia and Abarai while Ukitake monitored the situation in Soul Society. This was the arrangement they had came to and although Hitsugaya was still somewhat annoyed by his lack of involvement in the situation in Soul Society he had his hands full with the Arrancar, not to mention Ichigo, and had very little time to complain about it.

After a particularly grueling battle with a couple of Arrancar Hitsugaya, Ichigo, and Rukia made their way to Urahara's shop. Urahara and Ukitake glanced up from their tea when the trio entered the room and Urahara said, "Damn, you guys look like shit!"

"Unfortunate side effect of battling Arrancar," Ichigo said as he and the others sat down.

Ignoring the others Hitsugaya's attention turned immediately to Ukitake. "Any news from the Seireitei?"

Ukitake shook his head. "Afraid not, but be patient. Shunsui's working on it as we speak."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened in disbelief. This was the first he'd heard about that particular arrangement and he wasn't at all reassured by the news. Of all the people Ukitake could have trusted with the job why in the world had he picked Captain Kyouraku? "You left HIM in charge of this?"

Ukitake nodded however he saw the concern in Hitsugaya's eyes and he sought to relieve it. "But don't worry, he has help. Rangiku and Momo both volunteered to help him."

A picture of the three of them flashed unbidden into Hitsugaya's mind and he shuddered. "We're doomed. Could you just kill me now and get it over with?"

Ukitake leaned over and placed a hand on Hitsugaya's shoulder. "Don't worry Shirou-chan. Shunsui always avoids work however he is

capable of doing it."

"He is?" Hitsugaya asked, forcing himself to ignore the fact that Ukitake had started calling him by that deplorable nickname.

Ukitake nodded. "I know it's hard to believe but it's true. He just needs the right kind of motivation."

"And when was the last time he had the right kind of motivation?" Hitsugaya wanted to know. To the best of his knowledge the captain of Squad Eight was a lot like his vice-captain, who avoided work with the utmost enthusiasm.

"It's been awhile," Ukitake admitted, confirming Hitsugaya's fears. "But don't worry, he always comes through when you really need him to."

Hitsugaya nodded, although he looked less than convinced.

Ichigo had finished his conversation with Urahara at this point and he glanced over at Hitsugaya. "You ready to go?"

"We may as well," Hitsugaya said, getting to his feet. After all it wasn't like they were accomplishing anything hanging out at Urahara's place. He had the information he'd came for so there really was no reason to stay any longer. However before leaving he turned to his former captain. "Let me know if anything changes Ukitake."

Ukitake nodded and he and Urahara watched as the trio left the room.

As they were walking toward Ichigo's house, Hitsugaya suddenly got the feeling that they were being watched. And recalling what had transpired the last time he'd had this feeling the young captain was immediately on high alert. Gazing around, he attempted to locate whoever was watching them.

"What's wrong Captain Hitsugaya?" Rukia asked, sensing Hitsugaya's tension.

"We're being followed," Hitsugaya informed her, his gaze still searching their surroundings for signs of either Shorin or Okano. He knew it had to be one or the other and he was determined to locate them before they had the chance to unleash an attack. "Ichigo, you and Rukia should run for it."

"Like hell we will," Ichigo said angrily, glaring at the young captain with a disgusted look in his eyes. "Do you think we're the kind of people who run out on their friends?"

Rukia nodded, her eyes mirroring Ichigo's sentiments. "We're staying."

Hitsugaya stared at the two in disbelief for a second, however he didn't have time to dwell on how stubborn the pair of them were. "Have it your way, but watch your backs."

Both Ichigo and Rukia nodded and Ichigo said, "We'll watch our backs and yours too."

Nodding Hitsugaya gazed around, searching for the reiatsu of whoever was following them. It was immediately clear that they were suppressing their reiatsu, however after only a few moments Hitsugaya felt a familiar surge of reiatsu. His gaze went immediately to a nearby grove of trees and he saw the aura flying toward them. "Not this time!" Hitsugaya quickly drew Hyourinmaru and leapt toward the object.

Ichigo and Rukia stared in confusion as Hitsugaya swung his sword at nothing. Try as they might they couldn't tell what exactly he was attacking. It just looked like he was slicing thin air with Hyourinmaru.

"What the hell is he doing?" Ichigo turned to Rukia, who shrugged and replied, "I don't have a clue."

Changing directions in mid leap Hitsugaya used his flash-step and vanished.

"Dammit!" Ichigo swore a second before he and Rukia followed the young captain.

"I found you," Hitsugaya said as he appeared in front of Shorin, who was perched in the top most branches of a large tree.

Shorin stared at the young white-haired Shinigami in disbelief."How the hell did you find me?"

"I followed the path the Poison dart took," Hitsugaya replied. "And it led me straight to you."

"Followed?" Shorin repeated, a confused note in his voice as he stared at Hitsugaya. "But there's no way to follow it, it moves too fast to be seen."

Hitsugaya stared at Shorin, a perplexed look in his green eyes. "What are you talking about? I saw it's aura, which practically screamed out here I am."

"Aura?" Shorin's eyes widened. "I see what happened."

Hitsugaya opened his mouth to ask what the man was going on about however his question was interrupted by the arrival of Ichigo and Rukia.

"Oi!" Ichigo yelled, glaring at Hitsugaya from a neighboring tree. "Could you warn us before you do that next time? It's kinda hard to watch your back when you disappear like that."

"Sorry," Hitsugaya said, shocking both Ichigo and Rukia. "I thought you could see the dart and would know where I was going."

"What dart were we supposed to be seeing?" Ichigo asked, turning to Rukia. "Did you see anything?"

Rukia shook her head.

Hitsugaya turned back to Shoring. "They really couldn't see it could they?"

Shorin shook his head. "This has never happened before but apparently, when you were hit by the dart, your body became attuned to the poison's unique reiatsu signal, which is supposed to be invisible. That's why you could see the dart when your friends couldn't. Damn but you're a troublesome brat."

This said, Shorin pulled his zanpaktou from it's sheath.

"Toushirou," Ichigo yelled. "Do you need our help?"

Hitsugaya shook his head, his gaze never once leaving Shorin. "No but keep an eye out in case he has friends And it's CAPTAIN HITSUGAYA!"

Completely ignoring Hitsugaya's correction, Ichigo nodded. "We're on it."

Hitsugaya held his zanpaktou out in front of him. "This time, we end it."

Shorin nodded. "Agreed."

Circling each other, Hitsugaya and Shorin held their zanpaktou out in front of them. Each was looking for an opening and, thinking that he'd found one, Shorin lunged forward toward Hitsugaya. However the young captain quickly leapt into the air, landed on the blade of Shorin's zanpaktou, and pushed it to the ground, swinging Hyourinmaru as he did so.

Shorin managed to dodge Hitsugaya's attack but it was a close call. He jumped back, pulling his zanpaktou with him and glared at the young captain.

Raising Hyourinmaru, Hitsugaya immediately attacked again, in an attempt to overwhelm Shorin.

Shorin held up his sword, blocking the barrage of blows from Hitsugaya, and while he managed to block all of them he was forced to remain on the defensive and therefore unable to attack.

Hitsugaya smirked as the former member of Squad Twelve backed away from him, his sword held up in defense. Hopefully his opponent would tire soon and then he could end this battle.

"Dammit," Shorin swore, flashing away from Hitsugaya. "I hadn't expected this much trouble from you however now you've left me no choice. Burn, Kurai Kaji!"

As he spoke Shorin raised his sword and Hitsugaya watched as black flames flew out from the tip of the blade and swirled around the former Shinigami.

Reacting instinctively Hitsugaya raised his sword and pointed it toward the sky. "Reign over the frosted frozen sky, Hyourinmaru!"

The dragon of ice flew from the tip of Hitsugaya's zanpaktou just in time to block the black flames that Shorin had shot from his own sword. The ice and flames met and a shroud of steam surrounded the two combatants, making it impossible for them to see one another as well as impossible for Ichigo and Rukia to see them.

"Can you see them?" Ichigo asked as he strained his eyes, attempting to see Hitsugaya through the veil of steam.

"NO!" Rukia said, also frantically searching for any sign of the young captain.

"This is bad," Ichigo muttered. With all the steam surrounding them he and Rukia wouldn't be able to tell who was winning the fight and therefor had no way of knowing if Hitsugaya needed help.

Holding Hyourinmaru out in front of himself, Hitsugaya closed his eyes and concentrated. Feeling Shorin's reiatsu, the young captain lunged blindly and felt his sword make contact with flesh.

"Ugn," Shorin moaned as he ripped free from Hitsugaya's zanpaktou.

At this point a strong wind began to blow and the steam cleared. Ichigo and Rukia saw Hitsugaya and Shorin standing in mid-air and they were pleased to see that Shorin was bleeding and that Hitsugaya seemed to have escaped the attack without injury. They both heaved a sigh of relief.

Gazing down at his shoulder, Shorin glared at Hitsugaya. "You'll pay for that brat."

Hitsugaya swung his sword up onto his shoulder and held out his first finger, in an inviting sort of way. "Bring it!"

Screaming in rage Shorin lunged toward Hitsugaya, swinging his sword furiously. Hitsugaya blocked the blows however it was his turn to be on the defensive. He backed away from Shorin, who advanced a step for every step Hitsugaya took backward. Growling the young captain swung the hilt of his sword upward and the chain wrapped around the blade of Shorin's zanpaktou, halting it's blows.

Pulling free, Shorin jumped back.

"Tell me," Hitsugaya said, staring at his opponent in an appraising sort of way. "How is it that you're so strong when you yourself told us that you were an unseated member of Squad Twelve?"

Shorin laughed, an evil grin on his face. "I was unranked because I never wanted to be a ranked officer, so I never applied for the positions. And when I was periodically evaluated I made it a point to control my power so that I looked weaker than I actually was. I prefer for people not to know my true power because it's easier to beat them if they underestimate me. However unfortunately that doesn't seem to work on you."

This said, Shorin prepared for another round of attacks. Raising his sword he screamed out, "Bankai!"

"Dammit!" Ichigo and Rukia both yelled, drowning out the name of Shorin's Bankai. "Are you sure you don't want our help Toushirou?"

"No!" Hitsugaya yelled, his voice filled with determination. "I will finish this Kurosaki."

Hitsugaya held Hyourinmaru out in front of him. "Bankai, Daiguren Hyourinmaru!"

Ice erupted from the hilt of Hyourinmaru and covered Hitsugaya's right arm, wrapping around his shoulders as it went. Wings of ice grew from his back and three ice flowers appeared behind the young captain.

"Impressive," Shorin said, gazing at the boy's Bankai in an appraising sort of way. "However not enough to beat Kurai Kaji I'm afraid. Prepare yourself."

Not waiting for the attack to come, Hitsugaya flew toward his opponent, Hyourinmaru held at the ready. Shorin blocked the strike and countered with one of his own, which sliced the flesh of Hitsugaya's left shoulder. Hitsugaya sucked in a sharp breath, however he quickly blocked out the pain. This minor wound was nothing and would not change the outcome of this fight. He would finish it this time, of that he was determined.

Spinning in mid-air Hitsugaya turned to once again face Shorin, who wore a maddening smirk on his face. One of the ice flowers floating behind Hitsugaya exploded however he paid it no heed. Swinging his sword, he released the dragon which flew toward a stunned Shorin who hadn't realized that the young captain could still use that attack while in Bankai.

At the last second Shorin summoned the black flames which melted the ice dragon, but also caused a torrential rain to fall down on him, throwing him off guard. Hitsugaya used this to his full advantage and attacked again, this time directly. He flew toward Shorin and swung his sword, striking the former Shinigami in the side. Not pausing to give the former Squad Twelve member time to regain his bearings Hitsugaya swung his sword furiously, unleashing a barrage of attacks. Shorin fought hard to block the blows however a few of them made contact.

A second ice flower exploded, leaving Hitsugaya with only one.

"He'd better finish this soon," Rukia said as the flower shattered in a spray of ice, staring up at Hitsugaya and Shorin. "He's about to reach his limit."

"Limit?" Ichigo said, his gaze leaving the fighters and coming to rest on Rukia. "What are you talking about?"

"Captain Hitsugaya's Bankai, while extremely powerful, is incomplete," Rukia explained, sharing information that she'd gotten from Captain Ukitake a little while back. "The ice flowers floating behind him are a time limit. When they all disappear he looses Bankai."

"That's not good," Ichigo said, his gaze returning to Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya stared over at Shorin, who stared back with a mirrored look of loathing. Both combatants were breathing hard and injured. The battle was nearing it's end.

"I've had enough of this," Shorin said, his voice deadly calm. "It ends now."

And Shorin lunged toward Hitsugaya, who flew toward his opponent a determined look in his ice cold eyes. Ichigo and Rukia watched as the two collided in mid-air and then the scene was obscured by an explosion of ice.

"Toushirou!"

"Captain Hitsugaya!"

Ichigo and Rukia watched in horror as both combatants fell from the sky and hit the ground with tremendous force.

"I'll check on him," Ichigo said, pointing toward the spot where Shorin lay. "You check on Toushirou."

Rukia nodded and ran toward the young captain. Dropping to her knees at his side she saw that he was covered in blood and only semi-conscious. "Captain Hitsugaya, can you hear me?"

"What happened to Shorin?" Hitsugaya said, his voice barely above a whisper, as he attempted to sit up.

Rukia glanced over at Ichigo, a questioning look on her face.

"He's dead," Ichigo replied, joining Rukia at the young captain's side and offering Hitsugaya his hand. "Come on Toushirou, can you stand?"

"Captain Hitsugaya," Hitsugaya growled, refusing Ichigo's offer of help and attempting to get to his feet. "And I'm fine."

However it soon became apparent to Ichigo and Rukia that the young captain was less fine than he claimed to be. As soon as he got to his feet he swayed and nearly fell, and would have had the two of them not caught him.

"Come on," Ichigo said as he wrapped one of Hitsugaya's arms around his shoulder. The young captain didn't protest this time but allowed Ichigo to help him. "We should probably get you back to Urahara's place. He'll have supplies that we can use to treat your wounds and plus it's closer than my house. Can you get his other arm Rukia?"

Nodding her head, Rukia took Hitsugaya's other arm and wrapped it around her shoulder.

Slightly annoyed by the situation Hitsugaya never the less had no choice but to allow Ichigo and Rukia to help him back to Urahara's shop. The fight had taken more effort than he'd anticipated and the loss of his Bankai had caused him severe injuries, on top of those that Shorin had inflicted.

A/N- Poor Toushirou. He gets beaten up alot in this fic. Oh well, that's the price you pay for being the hero. Or at least that's what my best friend says.