A/N: Hey everyone! How have you been? Good I hope! Okay, so the poll worked out quite well and I'd like to thank everyone who voted. Seriously, this is the only way I can get past my indecisiveness… The chapter's a little short but damn did I ever have fun writing the ending.
The Clear Winner of the Poll and the New Title for This Story is: THE DEAD OF WINTER.
THE NAME WILL BE CHANGED ON JULY 30th
*PS* Several…I think like 8 people actually have asked if there's going to be any pairings in this story so I thought I'd just clear this up: No, there will be no pairings. I can't write romance to save my life…okay I've actually never tried but I'm not at all tempted to dabble in it. Plus personally, I don't like it when there's a pairing between two characters from different shows. It bugs me quite a bit actually…anyway so that means…No Toshiro x Luna and no Toshiro x Hermione and no Toshiro x Neville or Neville x Toshiro. I'll probably never write a yaoi. There's no way I could do it. I'd cry, you'd cry, we'd all cry from its pure horridness.
PPS. I'm posting this at 4:30 in the morning and I actually had to get up early today so that doesn't help the editing process. If there are any grammatical errors that I missed I'll look over this again later and find them cause I'm seriously tried. Night everyone!
"Good God is he ever brave."
Ron stared with a pained look before rolling his eyes, "Brave? Maybe. Completely insane? Definitely."
If someone said Hitsugaya was surprised that Neville was still on speaking terms with him, they wouldn't have been wrong.
The taicho had never had much experience with friendship but he'd thought that if your 'friend' had lied to you since you'd met about his being dead, that generally meant the end of the relationship.
Apparently he was wrong.
The boy seemed a tad more skittish around him and kept a little more distance between them but he was still there; sitting beside him as they ate breakfast.
The white haired student was listening to Luna drone on about some odd creature that apparently hid under your bed and stole your dreams, "It's quite common really." Toshiro nodded as he took a sip of some orange juice, "I'm sure it is."
Neville was sitting quietly picking away at his eggs before Hitsugaya finally sighed, "You can ask if you wish." The other looked up rather nervously, "Well I…"
Toshiro rolled his eyes, "There's no need for you to be nervous, it's not like I'm going to kill you for asking."
Neville paled for a moment before looking to Luna and back to him, "Is it alright…if she knows?" The Shinigami shrugged, "Knowing her, she's probably already aware of the situation."
The blonde looked up from her plate, "Hm…yes. Talking about it might be nice."
Neville stared, "You mean you knew? This entire time you knew?"
She nodded, "Of course."
"But-but how?!"
"Its Luna," Toshiro sighed "She notices these things."
He took a moment to recover before glaring at the white haired boy, "You should have told me."
The taicho rolled his eyes, "Yes, that's the perfect conversation starter isn't it? So Neville, I've been meaning to tell you I've actually been dead for quite a while. I can just imagine how well that would have gone over."
"We both know you could have found a way to say it," he growled.
Toshiro shrugged, "Well you know now."
"Oh yes, I now know you're apparently some sort of un-dead, soul monster thing that might have come to kill us—
"If I'd wanted to kill you all you would all be long dead."
"And this is why you should have told me instead of Harry and them! They told me I shouldn't come near you anymore!"
"And yet here you are."
"Well I wasn't going to just…abandon you before hearing your side of the story."
Hitsugaya quirked an eyebrow, "You know that if I had been hell bent on killing everyone in the castle you would have probably just put yourself at the top of my 'To Murder' list."
"I-I'll admit it wasn't the smartest of plans."
"Rather idiotic actually."
"Quite," Luna chirped as she poured some water into her glass.
"Can we please be serious," Neville hissed "This isn't a joking matter."
The taicho stopped to consider for a moment that he'd finally found someone who understood his sense of humour, as subtle and dry as it was.
"I need you…to explain to me…what exactly is going on. Dumbledore, the most respected wizard in the world, says you're dangerous. But…he's wrong right? I mean this is all a misunderstanding, it just has to be."
Hitsugaya sighed, "There is a bit of a misunderstanding in some regards but I'll admit he's figured out the basics." Neville blanched, "So…you're really…dead?"
"In comparison to you, yes."
The other stared as he turned faintly green, "I know they told me and it-it scared me but sitting here I mean…it didn't seem possible and…I think I'm going to be sick."
Luna offered him a glass of water but he quickly waved it away.
"He's not taking it all that well is he," She said dreamily as she watched the Gryffindor splutter. Toshiro shrugged, "He could have passed out I suppose."
"How exactly was I supposed to take this," Neville shouted catching the attention of the rest of the Ravenclaw table. "This isn't something that most people expect to be told by friends!"
"Neville, lowering your voice would be a wise choice," Luna murmured as she buttered some toast, "Rhymes are quite lovely aren't they? Especially the accidental sort."
Neville seemed to deflate as he held his head in his hands, "Just- tell me what exactly is going on."
"I'm sure Potter and his band of fools has already told you."
He looked up, "Then I'm supposed to believe you're some undead soul thing who had originally come to kill us all until you were caught and stopped by Professor Dumbledore and are now being blackmailed by him to guard everyone from Sirius Black."
The taicho considered it for a moment, "Well when you say it like that I suppose it does sound rather farfetched." Neville growled, "Can we please just cut to the part where you tell me what the heck is going on?"
"Actually Toshiro, I wouldn't mind knowing why a soul such as yourself would come to Hogwarts," Luna said with a curious look on her face. Toshiro nodded, "As I'm sure Dumbledore neglected to tell Potter I'm simply for observation."
"That's not what I'm talking about," Neville growled "I want to know what exactly you're supposed to be!"
The Shinigami sighed, "If that's what you want to know I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed. I have no intention of revealing anything about what I am other then what you already know." Neville glared, "Fine. But tell me everything else."
"You already know."
"I want to hear it from you."
"As I said I'm simply here to observe, that is my mission. I'm not here to harm anyone in fact in a way I was sent to oversee some matters to ensure the safety of everyone." The other frowned, "I'm still stuck on this dead business…but this means that," an amazed look made its way onto his face, "There's… an after life?"
The transfer nodded, "There is." The boy gaped, clearly astounded, "But-but what's it like?"
"Quite similar to this I suppose. Nothing really changes," Hitsugaya said thoughtfully. "We live, we die. We live in poverty or we're wealthy. The only real difference is that we're united under a common language."
"That's…amazing."
"Did you not believe in an after life before," Luna asked quietly. Neville frowned, "Well, I mean sure but it's different to hear that it's actually there."
Toshiro smirked realizing he'd thoroughly distracted the other boy. The living could be so simple at times. Dangle the answer to humanity's greatest question in front of them and they dropped everything.
"But wait," Neville started suddenly "Does Dumbledore know about the whole non-violent mission thing? I'm sure he'd be a lot more understanding if he did." Teal eyes narrowed, "He's not threatened by what I'm here to do. He's threatened by what I am simply because he doesn't know. According to him I'm a new species of magical creature which has yet to be properly discovered."
"Well he's not completely wrong, he's just going about everything the wrong way."
Toshiro glared, "I am not a creature."
"Yeah well apparently you're not human either," Neville shot back.
The three students were quiet for a moment before Luna surprisingly spoke up, "How old are you Toshiro?"
"They said something about you being really old," Neville added sullenly.
"I'm one hundred-twenty one." The blonde nodded while the brunette stared, "One- one hundred-twenty one."
Hitsugaya nodded, "Anything else?"
"Do you all have hair and eyes like you have?"
"People talk about the way I look back in my homeland just as people here do."
"Alright then, tell me can you die? Or are you some immortal being or something."
Toshiro rolled his eyes, "I said before that we can die, we can be injured and become ill just as the living do."
"But what happens when you die?"
The taicho sighed, "We have no idea. It's a mystery just as what happens after death is a mystery to the living. The theories vary just as the ones here do. Some believe in reincarnation, while others say there's another after life similar to our own. Some even say there's nothing after we die."
"We're really not that different," Luna observed.
"No, we're not," Toshiro concluded "Are we finished with the interrogation?"
Neville looked troubled, "Well…I'm not sure about all this. But, yeah I know enough."
"Good," The blonde said as he wrapped a scarf around her neck, "It's almost time to head down the pitch. You have very nice timing."
"Pitch," Toshiro asked as he stood.
"The Quidditch match is today."
The Shinigami looked around to see that tension between the Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor tables evident, "Ah yes, it slipped my mind."
"Mine too," Neville muttered
---
The walk down to the pitch was rather quiet except for a small conversation between Hitsugaya and Luna.
The rain was pounding into the earth as thunder rumbled through the sky that was a swirl of black, grey, blue and purple.
Ron and Hermione seemed to want to keep their distance from the white haired boy and Harry had had to go down to the field early seeing as he was on the team. Neville was caught up in his own thoughts but he'd made sure to walk on the other side of Luna.
Excitement was in the air and even the students whose houses weren't playing were atwitter. The Slytherins had aligned themselves with the Hufflepuffs while the Ravenclaws seemed to be rooting for Gryffindor.
The taicho had to admit the pitch was impressive. The field was a manicured green and the stands were decorated in the team colours.
When they took their seats Neville was still on the other side of Luna and Toshiro was beginning to wonder if the boy was trying to ignore him or if he was just caught up in his own little world.
A voice that he recognized from the common room rang through the field and began announcing the team members as the Gryffindors walked onto the pitch. The side of the stands decked in red and gold burst into deafening cheers and the Shinigami couldn't help but wince. According to Pomfrey he wasn't supposed to be around loud noises…well that was all out the window.
The other half of the stadium began cheering as the Hufflepuffs took to the water logged field.
The moment of take off was rather fascinating. To watch all of the team members take to the air simultaneously as their team cloaks billowed was quite a sight. Before Hitsugaya could blink the players were ducking and weaving through the air as the balls flew between them or at unsuspecting team members.
"Its exhilarating to watch isn't it," Luna asked as she pulled off her Ravenclaw scarf and wrapped it around his neck.
"It is," he agreed as he nodded in thanks despite the fact that he didn't need it. They watched as the players continued and Toshiro quickly came to the conclusion that Quidditch was a game that any Eleventh Division member would love.
Eventually the Shinigami let his attention wander and instead held out his hand and watched the water bead on his skin. He could feel the electricity in the air as lightning cracked and thunder boomed and it seemed to be spurring the players on to greater heights and the crowd's excitement only added to the feeling.
It was as if everyone was on a high and it reminded him of the feeling that swept through the ranks before they entered into battle.
The crowd began to cheer loudly as Potter and the other team's seaker faced off and Toshiro followed them with his eyes as best he could through the heavy rain. By now everyone was thoroughly soaked and he rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them.
The thunder was once again crashing, sending tremors through the stands and the rain was pounding and the crowd was cheering, his heart was beating, people were screaming- but something was wrong.
The screams were not of excitement but of pain.
People were dying, the world was ending, blood was splashing his face, and there was the thudding sound of footsteps as more people ran forward into the fray. But the blood wasn't crimson. It was clear as tears and the thudding was the sound of the rain and Luna was shaking him asking him if he was alright, everything was spinning. People were screaming not in pain but fear.
And the thunder was crashing, the lightning cracking and the rain hammering. Harry was falling and the world must surely be ending.
He had to save Harry. That thought broke through the mayhem. He had to save Harry Potter. Black cloaked figures dotted the sky but he paid them no mind as he took off with a burst of reiatsu focused at his feet.
He felt more then saw his arms wrap around the larger boy as the wind ripped at his clothes.
Harry was falling. He was falling. They were both falling. Falling into the sky…or from it?
They smashed into the blood soaked ground. People were screaming, Harry was moaning and the blood continued to fall from the sky.
It was getting hard to breathe and the sky wasn't bleeding but crying. Everyone was dying, calling out to be saved, pleading with those who spared them a passing glance; people were coming, racing towards him as the sky continued to cry. Everything was going black.
And the world had to be ending.
So the ending is supposed to be a little confusing and seem a little chaotic. Hitsugaya's mind is having a hard time processing what's happening around him and the memories that the Dementors bring on so everything a little messed up. It's hard to tell what's actually happening, what was going on in the past and what's just a product of his confusion.
Dear Readers,
Have you guys ever put something in a bit of an odd place and thought, "Yeah, I'll remember that I put it there."? Well I have one of those giant sea shells, the kind that you can apparently hear the waves in if you put your ear to it. Anyway, one of my volumes of Loveless and one of my volumes of the new series that the guy who did the art for Death Note is doing now…damn its something with an R…and Grad…plus there's the symbol for Ohms in the title…But I digress, the covers on both of them were kind of bent, you know how manga do that sometimes which just pisses me off. Ugh. But I put them one on top of the other and then put the shell on top of them so that they'd bend back. So the other day I took the shell off and threw it onto the floor into a pile that consisted of a pair of jeans and my robe thinking "Yeah, I'll remember that I put that there." But I didn't! I didn't remember that I put it there! And oh God did it ever hurt when I stepped on it! I mean damn! I've had a nail through my foot; I've had a pencil through my foot but Goddamn that freaking hurt! Pulling the shard of shell out of my foot? Yeah, that hurt like hell too. I've had to pull pieces of wood from my knee, a round of air nails from my elbow, a pencil from my foot and a fork from my hand not to mention glass from various places over the years, but Jesus Christ it hurt! *groans* Thanks for reading.
ForeverFalling.