Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
The Soul Trio Ch 14
Hikaru and Orihime were walking for what seemed like forever. "Man, not being here for 3 years sure can make everything seem like its changed. I don't think I can find my way around here anymore."
"Its ok Hikaru! We'll find our way somehow!" Orihime said happily. Hikaru smiled at her then suddenly she stopped. She felt a very strong spiritual pressure very close to them.
"Whats wrong?" Orihime asked.
'No. It cant be. We cant run into him now.' Hikaru thought.
"Well well. Its been a very long time since we've seen each other Hikaru."
"Who is that?" Orihime asked looking around. Hikaru gasped as she saw someone walk toward them out of the shadows.
"Captain Ichimaru!" she said surprised and terrified at the same time. Sure he was her captain(or he used to be) but she didnt think he came just to say hello. He just stared at her with that same creepy smile he always wears. 'We have to get out of here. But how?'
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Hitomi was standing with Hanataro and Ganju watching the fight. Renji retracted Zabimaru. "You seem to think just because you fought me once before back there in the world of the living that now you know my true power. Well let me tell you something you amateur!" He started walking forward. "Whenever Captain or Lieutenant rank soul reapers are sent outside, severe limits are placed on our powers so that we wont adversely affect the world of the living. My strength right now, is 5 times what it was that first day we met. So no matter how confident you are, or how strong you've become, there's still no way you could defeat me."
'This is not good.' Hitomi thought watching them.
"I see." Ichigo said from inside the wall. "So I suppose that means that last attack of yours was your best shot." He walked out holding his zanpakto. "Because that didnt have any effect on me at all. So thank you. If all I have to worry about is 10 more like that one then I think I'm gonna be just fine Renji." Renji growled then smirked.
"I'm going to enjoy this."
'Please dont do this! If Ichigo dies, Hikaru will kill me!' Hitomi thought about to freak out.
"Ichigo! You're hurt!" Ganju said.
"A-are you alright?" Hanataro asked him.
"Yeah. Its nothing for you to worry about." Ichigo said.
"Thats amazing! I cant believe it! How does he still remain standing in the condition he's in?" Hanataro said. Ichigo was trying to stay conscious. Hitomi could tell his vision was getting blurry. Renji smirked and started to walk toward him.
"You talk big, but it seems that standing is about all you can manage to do right now!" He jumped in the air and swung his zanpakto. "Its over!" Luckily Ichigo jumped out of the way. "If you didnt exist, if she never met you, Rukia wouldn't have to go through all this!" Renji yelled attacking Ichigo. He swung Zabimaru down again.
"Move Ichigo!" Ganju yelled. Ichigo jumped onto the roof and glared down at Renji.
"You wont get away!" Renji yelled swinging his sword at him. Ichigo started running.
"Renji stop this!" Hitomi yelled.
"Stay out of this Hitomi" he yelled before jumping up and following Ichigo. None of them could see anything. All they could do was listen.
"Ichigo!" Ganju said.
"No Way! This is impossible!" Hanataro said. "Its madness! Trying to take on a Lieutenant!"
'He's absolutely right. Ichigo may be strong, but there's no way he can beat Renji!' Finally Hitomi and the others could see them again. She could tell both Ichigo and Renji were getting weary.
"You stubborn fool!" Renji said. "You really wanna save her that much?"
"You idiot! No not want, I will!"
"Dont mess with me!" Renji swung his zanpakto making it cut into Ichigo's shoulder.
"Dont you understand Rukia was condemned to die!*he swung it again*and thats because you stole her powers!*he hit Ichigo with it again*Dont you get it Ichigo? Its all your fault! Its your fault that Rukia is going to die!" He swung Zabimaru at Ichigo one more time but this time Ichigo blocked it and slid back a little.
"You think I dont know that?" he said. "Thats the reason why, I WILL SAVE HER!!!" He threw Zabimaru back at Renji and it went back together.
Hitomi was watching horrified. Of course she was hoping Renji didnt die, but if Ichigo died...she'd never hear the end of it. 'Why do you both have to be so stubborn?!' she thought angrily. Both of the guys were just standing there not doing anything. 'What are they waiting for?' Then suddenly Ichigo charged at Renji with a battle cry.
"You bastard!" Renji yelled extending Zabimaru. Ichigo dodged it. Renji extended it again and Ichigo dodged a second time.
'No way!' Hitomi thought shocked. 'He couldnt have!' For the third time Renji extended his sword. Ichigo blocked and ran at Renji. 'He has! Ichigo's figured out Zabimaru's pattern!'
"Dammit!" Renji said. Ichigo jumped in the air with his sword above his head.
"Its over Renji!" he yelled bringing his sword down but Renji dodged it and brought Zabimaru down on Ichigo's shoulder.
"I told you, there's no way that you'd be able to defeat me." he said smirking as Ichigo fell to the ground on his knees. "You look totally shocked that I was able to counter your attack. Looking for an opening between thrusts is a good strategy, and your timing was perfect. So, why werent you able to beat me? The answer is simple: Because you must be slower than I am. You see, you cannot overcome it. You cant overcome the difference in our powers. Now do you understand?" He held Zabimaru in front of him. "You cannot save Rukia." He lifted it above his head and brought it down on Ichigo making an explosion.
"Ichigo!" Ganju yelled.
'Oh no!' As soon as the dust cleared, Hitomi saw Renji standing and Ichigo was on his knee. He slowly stood up.
"Ichigo!" Hanataro said happily. He looked at Hitomi and Ganju. "Look! Ichigo's alive! He's alive!"
"You're damned right!" Ganju said smiling. "Guess he must have dodged the blow!"
Hitomi smiled. 'At least he's not dead.'
"You are truly stubborn." Renji said glaring at Ichigo. After a few minutes, Ichigo lifted his zanpakto and put it over his shoulders.
"Dont do it Ichigo!" Hanataro said.
"Do you think he intends to keep fighting?" Ganju asked.
"Knowing how stubborn Ichigo and Renji both are, I'm betting yes." Hitomi said.
"But he's acting differently than he was before." Hanataro said.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I've found my resolve." Ichigo said as his eyes turned white. "This time, I will get you." He began exerting a large amount of spirit energy.
Hitomi stared in shock. 'He's just like he was the last time they fought. Except now his energy is more controlled. and stronger!'
Renji seemed shocked, almost scared. He quickly regained his composure as Ichigo jumped up in the air. Renju thrusted Zabimaru at him but he dodged it and flipped down behind Renji. "Why you!" Renji said swinging his sword around but Ichigo blocked and pushed Zabimaru back at Renji. Then he swung Zongetsu up above him.
"And when you attack, kill!" he said. Renji thrusted Zaabimaru one more time but it broke. Renji's eyes widened, as did Hitomi's.
'Oh no!' Suddenly there was a big explosion and Renji got thrown back into a rock. "Renji!" Hitomi yelled. Ichigo stood there breathing heavily. Suddenly Renji spit up blood. Hitomi gasped. 'Renji....' Then he screamed and fell to his knees. 'I cant believe Ichigo beat Renji.' Hitomi thought shocked.
Renji reached his arm out in front of him. He told them all about his and Rukia's past together. "Now that I think back, I think I was just afraid to lose her. Afraid to lose the only family I ever had."
"Oh Renji..." Hitomi said quietly.
"Not only that. I didnt wanna face the fact I was nothing more than a stray dog. And I'm so sick of it." He slowly stood with much effort.
"Renji stop! You shouldnt move!" Hitomi yelled but he ignored her.
"All I do is bark wildly at the moon. I dont have the guts to actually bite!" Suddenly he dashed up to Ichigo and grabbed onto the front of his shirt. "All this time I've been blaming you for the fact that Rukia's been in prison. Every time I thought of you it made my blood boil. But I was wrong. It wasnt you. It was me from the start. Because I didnt stop Rukia from going to the Kuchiki's. I didnt want her to go. But I didnt think she would become a condemned criminal. I thought she would find happiness. I really believed that. How could I have ever known? And I wanted so badly to surpass Captain Kuchiki, for taking Rukia from me. That first day I saw him I pursued him. I trained with only that thought in mind. But even to this day, I haven't once beat him. He's just too strong." He looked up at Ichigo. "So Ichigo, now I'm swallowing my shame and my pride, and I'm asking you to save Rukia! Will you promise? I'm begging you! Will you save her?" Ichigo stared at him.
"Yes." Renji stared at Ichigo for a few seconds then he collapsed.
"RENJI!" Hitomi yelled. She went to run over but was held back by Ganju.
"Stop! What are you doing?" he yelled. She turned and glared at him. Her eyes were red and there was a bluish-white energy surrounding her. Suddenly a pure white wolf appeared on the ground in front of her and growled angrily at him.
"Let go." Ganju quickly let go of her terrified while staring at the wolf and she ran over to Renji. When she got over there, Ichigo collapsed also. Hitomi checked Renji's pulse then sighed. 'He's still alive.'
"Ichigo!" Ganju and Hanataro yelled running over to Ichigo. Hanataro looked up. "People are coming." he said. Ganju grabbed Ichigo and looked at Hitomi.
"Well, lets go." She didnt say anything. "Hitomi did you hear me? We gotta go!"
"I'm staying."
"What?" Ganju said. She looked up at him.
"I'm not leaving him."
"Hitomi-"
"Its alright. They wont do anything to me. You guys should go. Now! I'll catch up to you later." she said. Ganju hesitated.
"She's right." Hanataro said. "We should go." Ganju nodded then looked at her.
"Be careful." Hitomi nodded as they ran off. A few seconds later four people ran up to her.
"Lieutenant Abarai! Lieutenant Zaraki!" they said. One of them looked down at her.
"Is he..."
"He's still alive. Just unconscious." Hitomi said trying not to cry. She normally wasn't the crying type, but for some reason the tears just wanted to come. She looked at 3 of the soul reapers. "He needs treated. Now!"
"Right!" they said. They picked up Renji's body and took it away. She stood up.
"He fought with the ryoka didnt he?" Izuru asked her. She nodded. "Why didnt you help him?" Hitomi looked at him.
"He...didnt want me to." she said. Which wasnt a total lie. Izuru sighed. "I'm going to check on him." Hitomi said walking off.
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Hikaru was trying to think of a way to get away from her former captain unharmed. "So Hikaru. You brought the ryoka here? Thats against the rules. Though you would know all about breaking the rules wouldn't you?" Gin said slyly. She looked up at him shocked. Did he know?
"What do you mean?"
"I think you know what I mean." he said.
"Uh, Hikaru? Who is this?" Orihime asked.
"He was my captain. Before I left." Hikaru said.
"Why did you leave?" she asked.
"Oh. So you didnt tell your human friends why you ran away from your home?" Gin said and Hikaru glared at him. "Well then why dont I tell her?" He looked at Orihime. "Hikaru left here because she committed a serious crime."
"What did she do?" Orihime asked.
"It doesnt matter." Hikaru said.
"Oh but it does. You murdered someone Hikaru." Orihime gasped and looked at her friend.
"You...killed someone?"
"I-It was an accident! I didnt mean to-"
"But you did mean to Hikaru." Gin said interrupting her. "You fought him."
"He killed my brother!" Hikaru yelled in tears. "What was I supposed to do?! Just forget it and move on?!"
"Oh Hikaru..." Orihime said.
"Kyori was the only person who was ever there for me my whole life! And he was gone! All because of his stupid captain! He didnt deserve to live after what he did!"
"And how is what he did any different than what you did?" Gin said. Hikaru stared at him shocked. She never thought of it like that. She was just as bad as him. Suddenly Orihime stood in front of her.
"Orihime..." Hikaru said.
"I wont let you make Hikaru cry anymore!" she said with her hands on her hair clips. "Please leave us! I dont want to fight." Gin didnt say anything but kept that same smile on his face.
"Orihime stop! What are you doing?" Hikaru asked.
"Dont worry Hikaru. I'll always be here for you. To protect you." she said. Hikaru stared at her. 'Orihime...'
"Well," Gin said. "It seems I have to go."
"Huh?" Hikaru said looking at him. "You mean...you're not gonna fight us?"
"Why should I fight a member of my own squad?" he said turning around. "I'm sure I'll see you again. If you want to fight so bad, then we will." With that he disappeared. Orihime turned around to face her friend.
"Hikaru are you alright?" Hikaru stared at her with tears in her eyes. Then she hugged her.
"Orihime! I'm glad you were here with me." She smiled and hugged her back. After a few seconds Hikaru let her go. "We should get going. We have to find Ichigo and the others." She nodded and they both continued walking.
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Hitom was in a room with Momo and Izuru watching Renji. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. 'I cant believe Ichigo beat Renji.' she thought. 'He's really getting strong.' She was kinda spacing out while Momo and Izuru were talking.
"At any rate," Izuru was saying. "the main thing now is to take care of him. I'll go make the call for the Emergency relief team."
"That is out of the question." they heard. Hitomi turned around and saw Captain Kuchiki. "I want Renji taken to prison." he said.
"What?!" Hitomi yelled.
"But Captain," Momo started. "Renji's been badly hurt fighting the ryoka by himself. Without treatment he'll-"
"Then I'm afraid he'll die." he said. Hitomi growled angrily and put her hand on her zanpakto but Izuru stopped her. He shook his head no. She sighed and let it go. "It was his choice to enter that fight alone." Byakuya said. "In such a situation a defeat is forbidden. I have no use for a fool who does not understand that. The very sight of him still breathing offends me. Take him away." He turned around and started to leave. Hitomi was shaking with anger. She never hated someone as much as she hated him right now.
"How dare you?!" she yelled.
"Hitomi." Momo and Izuru said but she ignored them.
"Is that how you treat your men?! Renji's been-" Izuru stopped her again.
"Hitomi!" Then him and Momo bowed to Byakuya. "A thousand pardons Captain Kuchiki. She didnt mean it."
"What do you mean I didn't mean it?! Of course I-"Izuru glared at her. Hitomi sighed then said through gritted teeth "I'm sorry Captain. I didn't mean it." Byakuya just turned and walked out. Izuru and Momo stood straight.
"I'm so sorry. But we have to follow orders. We must take Renji to prison." Izuru said.
"But he could die!" Hitomi yelled.
"He's cold as ice isnt he?" They turned and saw……
"Captain Ichimaru..." Momo said.
"Makes you wonder if he's even got a heart inside him." he said with the same creepy smile he always wears. "He is one scary guy for sure. That Captain of Squad 6." He walked towards them. "But don't worry about Renji. I'll call in squad 4 so you won't get in trouble."
Hitomi stared at him shocked. 'Why is he being so nice?'
"Would you do that? Really?" Momo asked.
"Absolutely. Its no problem." he said turning to leave. "Come on Izuru."
"Yes sir." Izuru said leaving with him.
"Thank you Captain Ichimaru." Momo said bowing. Hitomi just stared after them confused then looked at her friend. Didn't she think something was strange?
"Wow! Renji is in bad shape! What a mess!" Hitomi and Momo jumped and turned around to see the Captain of squad 10.
"Toshiro!" Momo yelled surprised.
"Hey hey mind your manners now!" he said. "You still have to address me as Captain you know!"
"Fine, Captain Shorty." Hitomi said. He glared at her. "What? I addressed you as Captain."
"Oh you can forget about that what is it with you Captains always creeping around silently and what were you doing sneaking up behind us like that anyway?!" Momo yelled then she stopped. "Wait a sec, what are you doing here Toshiro? Where's your Lieutenant?"
"I have come here to warn you." he said.
"Warn us?" Hitomi said. "About what?"
"Be careful dealing with squad 3."
"What does that mean?" Momo asked. "You mean Izuru?"
"Actually what I meant was Ichimaru, but, watch Izuru too." The two of them stared at him confused. "Its strange. I wish that I could give you more specifics. Just be careful."
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Hikaru and Orihime were still walking without any luck. Hikaru sighed. "I wonder if we'll ever find Ichigo..."
"Dont worry Hikaru!" Orhime said smiling. "I'm sure we'll find him soon!"
"Thats what you said 3 hours ago." Hikaru sweatdropped.
"Oh." She sighed and continued walking.
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Hitomi went to Renji's prison cell and watched while the Squad 4 member treated him. "Thats all I can do for him now." the guy said walking over to the door. "I'll be back to check on him tomorrow."
"Thank you very much." Hitomi said opening the door for him. He walked out and she walked in. She went over and sat in the chair by Renji's bed. "Oh Renji..." 'Why did you have to fight with Ichigo? It was foolish. Just dont die on me.' She reached over and held his hand. "Please stay alive Renji... for me." Suddenly she gasped. His hand had closed on hers.
"Hi...tom...i..." he whispered. She smiled. 'I'll always be here Renji.'
*Flashback*
Hitomi was in sparring class and Renji was beating everyone the teacher told him to verse. He had just beat Izuru. "The winner is Renji Abarai. Good job." the teacher said. She looked down at her list. "Alright, your next opponent will be...Hitomi Zaraki." Hitomi smiled and stood up walking to the mat.
"Are you kidding me? You want me to fight a girl?!" Renji asked. "Give me a real challenge!" Hitomi glared at him and picked up her wooden sword.
"Just fight her Renji." the teacher said sighing.
"Fine" he said. He looked at Hitomi. "This'll be over quickly."
She smirked and the teacher said "Start."
Immediately Renji charged at her and swung but she blocked. He growled and swung at her again and again she blocked. It went on like that for about 10 seconds. Him swinging, Hitomi blocking. Until finally she got tired of it. He swung at her one more time. Hitomi ducked and kicked his feet out from under him so he fell on his back. She climbed on top of him and put her sword to his throat.
"You were right. That was over quickly." she smirked. Renji growled and glared at her.
"Winner: Hitomi." the teacher said as the girls clapped and cheered. "Alright class is dismissed for today." Everyone began to leave. Hitomi got off Renji and went over to Kyouko and Hikaru.
"That was nice! You sure showed him!" Kyouko said.
"Come on lets go eat." Hikaru said. Hitomi nodded and started to follow them then stopped. She turned around and saw Renji sitting on the floor looking angry. She smiled and turned to her friends.
"I'll catch up to you later." They nodded and left. Hitomi walked over to Renji and held out her hand to help him up. "You did really good!" she said smiling. He glared at her and stood up on his own.
"Yeah whatever." He started to walk away.
"Hey." He looked at her.
"What?"
"You wanna eat lunch with me?" she asked smiling. He stared at her for a few seconds then nodded.
Hitomi took him down to a river and they both sat on the bank and ate. When they finished they sat and talked. "I never knew this place was here."Renji said watching the water.
"My brother used to bring me her all the time. We used to have picnics and just hang out." Hitomi said smiling. "I know that doesn't sound like him but its true. Anyway, now I come here because I think it helps me relax and think." She was staring at the water but she could feel him watching her. She looked at him. "What?" He blushed and turned away.
"Uh, nothing." Hitomi chuckled and stood up. She rolled her pant legs up. "What are you doing?" Renji asked.
"You'll see!" she went over to the water and walked in. Renji watched as she dug around in the water. Finally she pulled something out of it. "Found one!" she said smiling. She ran out of the water and back to Renji. "Here!" she handed something to him.
"What is it?" he asked taking it. In his hand was a beautiful shell. It was clear and when the light hit it right it gave off a rainbow shine.
"Its a shell. Me and my brother used to look for them when we came down here. It gave us something to do."
"So why are you giving this to me?" Renji asked looking up at her.
"Because its a token of our new friendship!" Hitomi smiled. "It means we'll always be there for each other!" Renji stared at her then smiled.
*End Flashback*
Hitomi sighed. Suddenly something shiny in the pocket of Renji's shirt caught her eye. Hitomi dug in his shirt and pulled something out. When she saw what it was she gasped. 'No way!' It was a shell that was clear and gave off a rainbow shine when the light hit it right. 'I cant believe he kept it all these years!' She looked at him and smiled.
"Lieutenant Zaraki!" Hitomi turned and saw a soul reaper come in. "You are to report immediately to receive special wartime orders."
"Wartime orders?" she said confused. 'They're really making a big deal about the intrusion.'
The guy finished telling her the new orders. Hitomi nodded and he left. 'So we have the full use of our zanpaktos and the use of deadly force is permitted. This is getting bad. I have to find the others.' She stood up and ran out to begin her search. 'I wonder if Kyouko has gotten these new orders yet...'
Hitomi ran for a little while with no luck. "Dammit! Where are you Ichigo?!" Suddenly she stopped. She felt an enormous amount of spirit energy. "Thats..." then she felt another strong energy at the same place. Her eyes widened. "Oh no!" Hitomi began to run again as fast as she could. After a few minutes of following the spirit energy she found a little girl with pink hair on a roof. "Yachiru!" she said going over to her. The girl looked over at her and smiled.
"Tomi!!" she said happily. Hitomi smiled.
"So what's going on?" she asked. Yachiru looked ahead again.
"Kenny's fighting the ryoka!! He's having so much fun!" Hitomi looked ahead and saw her brother and Ichigo fighting. She sighed. 'Renji is one thing. But you're in way over your head here Ichigo.'
Ichigo fell to his knees and Zaraki was about to give the final blow when Hitomi jumped down in front of Ichigo. "Huh?" they both said looking at her.
"Why dont you pick on someone who's actually at your level Captain?" she said to her brother.
"HEY!" Ichigo yelled then winced in pain. Zaraki smirked.
"So you're calling me captain now?" he said. Hitomi smirked. "You said to only call you brother in private."
"Br-Brother?!" Ichigo said shocked.
"Yeah. You mean you didn't realize that when Ikkaku said his captain was Captain Zaraki and my last name is Zaraki?" He just stared at her.
"Uh...." Hitomi sighed. Zaraki looked at Ichigo.
"You're lucky Hitomi here came and saved you ryoka." Ichigo growled again. Then Zaraki winced in pain and Hitomi realized Ichigo had actually managed to cut him. 'No way...' she thought shocked. Suddenly Zaraki and Ichigo fell to the floor and Yachiru came down and picked her captain up. Then she looked at Ichigo.
"Kenny had a lot of fun Ichi! I'm sure he cant wait to do it again sometime!" Then she looked at Hitomi. "See ya Tomi-chan!!" she jumped away. Hitomi sighed and looked at Ichigo.
Then she heard a voice say "I'm sorry for not coming sooner." She looked over and saw Yoroichi.
"Yoroichi." she said.
"I'm very surprised Ichigo had the strength to go up against your brother and live to tell about it." he said.
"Yeah. Ichigo's really gotten stronger." Hitomi said staring at Ichigo.
"Dont worry. I wont let him die." Yoroichi said. "Now, lets get him to a safer place so he can heal." Hitomi nodded.
Preview……
Hitomi: Great. I got a break from strawberry for a while and now I have to be around him again. This should be Hikaru's job.
Hikaru:*blushing*HEY!
Kyouko: She's right you know. I'm sure Ichigo would rather have you around than Hitomi.
Uryu: *mutters*Anyone would rather have her around than Hitomi.
Hitomi:*growls*What was that Quincy?!
Kyouko:*steps in between them*Ahaha!^.^' Hey guys! We gotta give the preview for next time remember?
Hikaru:*sigh*Too late....
Well.......review please!!!