Chapter 14
"Kurosaki, wake up."
Ichigo groaned as someone shook his shoulder gently. He tried to tell them to go away, but found his throat was too dry to form words. He vaguely wondered when last night he had decided to eat sand.
"Kurosaki!" The voice was persistent, causing Ichigo to open his eyes. As the world swam into focused he decided that whenever he had gotten done eating the sand he must have decided it would be fun to rub some in his eyes.
Toshiro rolled his eyes at the pained expression on Ichigo's face and managed to pull the younger man into a sitting position. Ichigo groaned and held his head in his hands; sure the couch that he was sitting on was swaying from side to side.
A cup of something steaming was shoved under his nose and he wrapped a slightly shaky hand around it.
"Drink it, it will help."
He did as he was ordered, even if the liquid smelled a bit strange. He did start to feel a bit better and the world stopped swaying and he could finally lift his eyelids past half-mast.
"This stuff is amazing."
"Just don't ask what's in it." Toshiro advised. "You need to get back to the Academy before someone notices you're missing."
Ichigo tried to nod, but found that wasn't such a good idea as of yet. "You're right." He stood, happy that world continued to remain in one place. He finished the rest of the cup before handing it back to Toshiro. "Uh, I just wanted to say…thanks…you know for last night…"
Toshiro shook his head. "Don't mention it." He gave Ichigo an intense look. "Kurosaki, you will get through this."
Pain flashed over Ichigo's featured before he sighed and forced a smile. "Of course…Tell Rangiku thanks for me when she gets up." He headed towards the door.
"If she ever gets up." Toshiro mumbled, shooting a look towards the half closed door where he had left the slumbering strawberry blonde.
Ichigo made his way as quickly as he could back to the Academy and snuck through his own window. He mused that the crazy shinigami's were rubbing off on him if he was going through windows.
His eyes caught on the bag packed and sitting in the corner next to Zangetsu and he groaned. The 'survival' hike had completely slipped his mind. He fought the urge to just climb under his blanket and hide from the world.
But he was Ichigo Kurosaki; he could defeat Espada and evil overlords…he could make it through one little hike in the woods. So before that thought faded into oblivion, he shouldered the bag and Zangetsu before sliding open his door and making his way down to the courtyard.
Akio and Sumiko both started when they caught sight of him. Breaking away from the group of waiting students they made their way to his side.
"What the hell happened to you? Like the hair by the way." Sumiko added tilting her head and staring at his hair.
Ichigo blinked. "My hair? What do you…" his eyes lit up with understanding. "Aw crap. I totally forgot she talked me into that!" He tried to pull his hair down so he could look at it, causing his to tilt his head and almost lose his balance.
Akio steadied him. "You smell like a distillery. How much did you drink last night? Thought you were just going to go eat?"
"Urgh, plans changed." Ichigo's deep scowl was enough incentive not to ask any more questions.
The sensei called their attention anyways, causing everyone to gather around him. Ichigo fazed out as he went on at how this was a chance to see how a field mission could go and various other reasons they were putting them through this.
Ichigo ended up leaning on Sumiko as the sensei droned on and on. The only reason Sumiko let him, was she was pretty sure he would fall over if she didn't.
Eventually they began to move, leaving the academy grounds and finally the Seireitei behind them, entering a rather pleasant forest. Ichigo was at the rear of the small group, trying to keep his eyes open and to not trip over his own feet.
Suddenly the sensei stopped and turned to look back the way they had just come, a confused look on his face. About four others in the twenty or so group also turned, Akio and Sumiko being two of them.
"What?" Ichigo asked when he noticed faces looking back at him and the group stopped.
Akio's eyes were moving slowly around the area behind Ichigo. "There is a high spiritual pressure headed this way…"
Ichigo scowled and concentrated. He was rather good at sensing spiritual pressure… if he knew it was there. His eyes snapped open and he turned, pulling Zangetsu as he did so.
"Aw, Hell no."
"Kurosaki! Put away your…" the sensei didn't get to finish his order as a whirlwind of flashing steel descended on Ichigo.
Ichigo recognized the eighth division captain, sans flowery cape and crazy straw hat, but complete with pulled weapons and a rather intense killing intent.
Ichigo guarded swiftly but forgot a few key facts; one, Zangetsu was in his sealed form, two, he still had his spiritual depressor on and three, Shunsui had two swords. He remembered all these things as he was flying through the nearest tree and hearing his shoulder give a rather nasty 'crack' as it dislocated.
As the dust settled he got to his feet to see Akio and Sumiko, both with zanpakuto's drawn standing between him and Shunsui. Ichigo glanced at his useless left arm before unsealing Zangetsu and pulling the wristband off with his teeth. Using a length of the white bandage coming from Zangetsu's hilt, he tied his left arm to his side.
"Akio, Sumiko. Move." They both looked back at him uncertainly.
"You're hurt…" Sumiko started, but Ichigo ignored her and lifted Zangetsu. His spiritual pressure started to increase, causing all of the students to stagger. Akio and Sumiko quickly moved out of the way.
"What the FUCKING HELL?" Ichigo took a few steps toward the glaring Shunsui.
"What did you do to her?" Shunsui's voice was low and steady, but deadly.
Ichigo's eye twitched. "What did I do to her?! You've got to be fucking kidding me! I didn't do a fucking thing!"
Shunsui's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "You obviously did something to her. She hasn't been herself all morning…"
"I didn't do a damn thing. If you want to know what's going on, why didn't you ask her? Not that it's any of your business anyway." Ichigo hissed, trying to keep a hold on his quickly fraying temper.
"Not any of my business?" His spiritual pressure jumped up a few notches, causing most of their audience to hit the dirt…even the sensei was shielding himself behind a tree. "How is it not any of my business? She's my vice captain!"
"So what?" Ichigo gripped Zangetsu tighter. "You had her, you lost her, now deal with it!" He pushed off the ground and towards Shunsui, who had rushed forward at his words.
A column of ice landed between the two before they could make it to each other. Ichigo blinked a few times at the glacier before he felt an arm wrap around his upper chest and pull him back a few steps.
Ichigo looked up to see Renji giving him a confused look. "What the hell is going on?"
The ice column broke, and Toshiro landed on the shards that were quickly melting away. "I would like to know that as well." His glare was locked on Shunsui, who Ichigo could now see was being restrained by Ukitake, much in the same way as he was being restrained by Renji.
Ichigo scowled and stuck Zangetsu blade first in the ground so he could point with his good arm. "He attacked me."
"I was protecting my vice captain's honor!"
"ENOUGH!" The short captain was practically radiating frustration and anger. Needlessly to say even the birds stopped their singing.
"Now, I know the both of you are more mature than this. Attacking a student, Captain Kyoraku?" Ichigo started to smirk but then Toshiro turned his icy glare on him. "And antagonizing him further? When you know your current situation?"
Ichigo gulped. "Shit." His eyes drifted to their audience. Those whose head's weren't flat on the ground were staring at him as if he had a second head.
"It's not like he's been so concerned about his 'situation' in the past. A relationship with a Vice captain isn't exactly under the radar." Shunsui said smugly, watching the anger start to build on Ichigo's face. "You weren't good enough for her anyways."
"It's not going to be a problem any more anyways." Ichigo snarled before wrenching out of Renji's grip and flash stepping away.
Renji caught Toshiro's eye. "Go after him." Renji nodded once before disappearing.
Toshiro turned cold eyes on Shunsui. "Was that entirely necessary?" he felt a slight satisfaction as the guilt flashed across the other man's face. "Captain Ukitake, could you please escort him back to the Seireitei? I will clean up the mess here."
Ukitake nodded. "Come on, Shunsui, I think you need a cup of tea and a talk."
Toshiro cast an eye over the rest of the students and the sensei. He sighed before pulling out his soul pager and holding it up to his ear. "Matsumoto, yeah it was them…yes…and pick up Yamada on the way, I believe Kurosaki's shoulder is dislocated…alright…" he clicked the phone shut and eyed the sensei that was walking towards him.
"He…he pulled shikai…without saying his zanpakuto's name…" He seemed a bit in shock.
Toshiro closed his eyes for a beat before saying. "Stop right there. You need to forget anything you think you saw here." He raised an eyebrow. "Is that understood?"
"But he…"
"Shut your mouth before I remove your tongue!"
The sensei stepped back and bowed quickly. "My apologies, Captain Hitsugaya."
Toshiro sighed. "No I'm at fault. This is just a…delicate situation." His eyes gazed off into the distance. "Dealing with people who don't do 'delicate' very well." He muttered, causing the sensei to raise his head and look at him in confusion.
Toshiro waved off his confusion. "Make sure your class does not stray…" The sensei bowed quickly before turning on his heel to assess just how many of his class was even still conscious.
AN: special thanks to PND and Marcus, because without their help…I would have been stuck and you wouldn't have gotten another chapter so quickly…
Anywho…REVIEW!!