Vietvn: Its been sooo longgg!! I'm sooo srry for such a long wait! Got bak from my vacation! :D it was tiring but it was still fun :) I think i got mostly evrything figured out up to this point so hopefully writing the next few chapters (and ending it soon) will be smooth and then I can continue the other story I left on hold ( I feel bad for leavin it LOL) So here it is! chapter 25! hope it doesn't suck!

Chapter Twenty-five: Deja-vu Twists

Still Reimei's POV

I felt my eyes flutter open and the darkness that I was once in became somewhat lightened. There wasn't much of a difference since where I was it was just as dark, a little wet and felt a little confined. Only a stream of light filtered through this place and it was coming from barred windows.

Wait a minute...Barred windows?

I let my hand graze the floor I was lying on, it felt cold like cement. Actually, its because it was cement. How stupid of me, it finally clicked in my mind as to where I might be. I knew this place was a bit too familiar.

I side glanced to make sure I was right.

Yup, I was.

I'm in jail, or more specifically, in a jail cell which is located in this funny place called Soul Society. I smoothly guided my left arm to the other side of me, where my other arm lay limply at its side. I lifted my right hand and pinched my left arm, an annoying sting of pain crawled onto my skin. I let out a sigh, I wasn't dreaming at all.

But figures, memories were coming back and I recalled how I got here in the first place...

Flashback

I had found myself next to Toushiro again when I had awoken. I figured he must've carried me back into the room when I dozed off accidentally at some point, I couldn't really remember. He was still sleeping soundlessly but I knew why. It was still pretty dark outside when my eyes drifted to the window. I sighed; I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep again. That proved to be useless, I couldn't fall asleep at all. I would've been tossing and turning restlessly if only Toushiro didn't have his arms around my waist again.

So I ended up staring aimlessly at the wall beside me. After a while, I got fed up with lying in bed and not being able to sleep and since I was already awake, I might as well go do something without disturbing anyone. Maybe train outside in the back of the shop or something. I slowly got up, prying Toushiro's arm off of me as I rose out of the bed. As soon as my feet touched the floor, I tiptoed over to the door as quietly as I could.

I gently slid the door open, glancing back over my shoulder to make sure the captain was still asleep. Thankfully, he was. I smiled to myself and quickly stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind me gently.

I shuffled my way through the shop soundlessly and managed to sneak outside into the open area in the front of the shop. I know I'm not suppose to ever show my face to the world again but still, I need to get fresh air once in a while.

I took out a gikon dispenser I had 'borrowed' while passing by the shop's candy section and popped one of the tiny green balls into my mouth. I swallowed and immediately afterwards, was forced out of my gigai. My respective zanpakutos were strapped on my back and waist and I couldn't help but smile in content. I dismissed the gigai to go back inside and maybe just keep anyone who's wandering around in the middle of the night from suspecting my disappearance. I breathed in the fresh air; it seemed like forever since I've been outside. I took out Tsumetai Kaze but before I could start practicing, she started to pester me.

"Are you sure you're supposed to be out here? Someone could catch you."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything that relates to using spirit energy and besides, I'm still hiding my reiatsu presence."

"But still-"

"Just leave the kid alone and stop being such a worry chicken. "

An argument started between the phoenix and dragon, I huffed in annoyance and told them to stop bickering. They both grunted and I could imagine the both of them turning away from each other, but at least now they were quiet. I started to do various strikes and just brushing up my swordsmanship. I stopped my routine after a while just to stop and contemplate. I couldn't help but have this gut feeling something about me is...not there. Well, it used to but not anymore.

"What's wrong?" asked Tsumetai Kaze, concern clearly in her voice.

" It's just that...Hmm...How do I explain? Maybe I'm feeling a bit empty because I haven't exactly won a good fight definitely; it's always been a tie. "

"That's still impressive, considering the opponents you've went up against. They're all highly trained and skilled and to match up to their power is a great accomplishment for oneself..."

Tsumetai Kaze's words comforted me a little, but the feeling was only half gone.

" Feh, it's 'cuz you're always holding back. Sure the opponents you've faced before are strong but you're not going all out because you think its not necessary to get too serious with the fight. If it was something more threatening then perhaps there's a chance that you might definitely won." Spoke the dark dragon.

I thought about what Tsukuyomi said and I slowly started to believe that what he said was true. I tilted my head to the side, how am I supposed to test this theory when I don't have a good enough opponent. I plopped onto the ground, thinking. I wanted to get rid of this feeling, it's blocking my mind from thinking straight and I hated that. I didn't know how long I was sitting there thinking to myself, but I was woken from my reverie by a distant howl. Immediately I knew what it was; a hollow. The howl wasn't too far away so it threw me into choosing whether or not to go after it.

Well, I'm probably the only shinigami around here and going after it is only natural because that's the duty of a shinigami. With that thought, I figured there's nothing wrong if I do. My decision was set and I took off in the direction of the hollow using flash steps. Soon I arrived at a clearing not too far away from a park.

I was pretty sure I sensed the presence of a hollow here but looking around, all I saw were trees. I scratched my head, maybe I've been in the house too long and I was hallucinating. I was just about to turn around and go back when something towered over the trees. I craned my neck to look at the thing to its fullest height. That was definitely not an ordinary hollow. The features of the creature became clear as I squinted my eyes and they all equal to that of a menos.

I shook myself from being surprised. Tch, okay so it might be tall and huge, but it's still as weak. I gripped Tsumetai Kaze, this was going to be over in less than 10 sec. Just slice and dice and that's it.

That assumption quickly changed when I saw several more tall, looking things pop up like daisies. Now there were several menos towering over me.

"With this many, I'm pretty sure it will be detected by other nearby shinigamis in the area..."

I nodded my head; Tsumetai Kaze was right and technically, I wasn't supposed to be here. If anyone besides the people in Uruhara's shop comes, my cover will be blown. It's either I bust out the scene now and leave it to the others, or I quickly finish them off in one blow and bust out the scene then. I frowned, I hate last minute decisions so I'll just go what I came here for; a good fight.

I leapt up high to get close to one of the menos and as soon as I was close enough, I swiped my blade to deliver a blow. The menos I targeted disintegrated on contact and I prepared to go after another.

"Please try not to use anything that might trigger your reiatsu presence..." warned Tsumetai Kaze.

"I know, I'm still hiding it you know..."

I flash stepped from one menos to another, quickly destroying them. I was more than half way destroying all of the menos when one of them decided to surprise me with a cero attack from behind. This caused somewhat of a chain reaction as the rest of the menos joined in on preparing a cero attack on me from all directions. I gritted my teeth as the red light grew brighter and brighter, probably the shockwave from this attack would cause a lot of damage. I flash stepped out of their range but I still felt the red light burning behind me. The bright light turned into a flash and then an explosion.

Instinctively, I used Tsumetai Kaze to create a dense ice shield to protect myself. Even though it was holding back the massive energy, I still felt the shield breaking quickly with each second.

"C'mon! When is this gonna end?! " I shouted while trying desperately to keep the shield from shattering too soon. The shield finally gave away and the force flung me backwards. Shards of ice shot out like bullets from the broken shield and managed to scrape me. My trip backwards was cut short when I crashed into a tree painfully. Collapsing onto the ground, I looked back up to see all the remaining menos closing in on me. There were only a few left now, I guess the blast must've killed some of the menos also.

I shakily got up, gripping my zanpakuto and holding it defensively.

"You idiot! You weren't supposed to concentrate ANY amount of reiatsu! I won't be surprised if the Gotei 13 shows up! "The blue phoenix scowled.

"I couldn't help it!" I replied back, " What else was I suppose to do to survive an atomic blast of ceros?!"

"Reimei! " A familiar voice came into the picture and I didn't have to turn around to see who it was. Out of the corner of my eye, the flutter of white robes, white hair and a long sword was recognizable. What was also recognizable was the scowl on that person's face. I sighed and mentally prepared myself for a lecture from the one and only Hitsugaya Toushiro, captain of the tenth division and also my ideal romantic interest.

"What are you doing out here?! Don't you know that someone could've seen you?!" I flinched at his tone of voice, he was really angry. I turned to face him, he had his arms crossed, his brow was furrowed in an irritated way and his mouth was in a slight frown.

"I promise I'll explain later but first a little help?" I asked while jerking my head towards the towering menos. He turned his attention away from me and towards the hollows. He scoffed in an annoyed way and simply pulled out his long sword that was strapped to his back. He took one leap, called out Hyourinmaru, froze all of them at once and shattered them into millions of tiny pieces. Toushiro made it seem too easy but hey, I was holding back my reiatsu. I could've taken out a dozen menos just as easily as he did any day.

I had a slight pout on my face still when he landed on the ground with a soft thud. Toushiro strapped his sword back onto his back and then turned to face me once more, assuming the position he was in before.

"Now explain to me why the hell you would be out here when everyone is after your head because of your 'betrayal.' " I smiled apologetically to him while rubbing the back of my head.

" Well, I was only planning on staying just outside the shop to do small exercises, but then I heard something that sounded like a hollow so I went to see if there was one so I can just get rid of it. So I went but then I found out it was a lot of menos. I wasn't being reckless I swear! I was holding back my reiatsu the entire time I was fighting but then one of them prepared to fire a cero and then all of them joined in and then I had no choice but to make an ice shield to block it off before it burns me to a crisp! Then that's when you came and now...we're here." I concluded with a gulp of air. I looked at Toushiro for any signs of reaction after my long explanation. He had this unreadable look on his face even though it seemed like he only had a serious expression on.

I waited patiently before he let out a sigh.

"That still doesn't mean YOU have to go out and take care of the hollows, someone else could've done it or you could've woken me up and I would've taken care of it." Toushiro said irritated.

Now it was my turn to sigh; if I did wake him up, he would've questioned me for being out of bed or what not. But honestly I wanted to get out for once; I can handle myself just fine.

"Reimei! Toushiro! " shouted a familiar carrot top. Ichigo appeared from the trees and landed right in between Toushiro and me, dressed in his shinigami attires.

" It's Hitsugaya-taicho for the last time! " scowled Toushiro, resuming his role of captain.

"Aww, then why does Reimei get to call you by your first name?"

"That's none of your concerns."

"Ohh I see, it's 'cuz you like her..."

" Kurosaki don't you even-..!" Toushiro was cut off when Matsumoto came and called out to him in her usual cheery voice.

"Taicho!" The lieutenant smiled brightly despite it being so late at night. I saw Toushiro sigh in an annoyed way and mumbled something to himself.

"Reimei! I didn't know you're out here too!" Matsumoto said, turning to me, "Shouldn't you be inside?"

"At least you said it in a nicer way..." I replied. Toushiro gave me a look that said he knew what I meant by what I said. I shook it off, I wasn't mad at him for giving me a lecture since I knew he cared but still, was he not confident in my abilities of handling things by myself?

"Look, we better head back before anyone sees us." Toushiro finally said and flash stepped back to the shop, everyone else followed him and I was the last to leave. We arrived back at the shop, the sun was just about to rise and most of us were ready to go back to sleep. As soon as we opened the door, we were confronted by Kuchiki Byakuya and along side him was Zaraki Kenpachi. Everyone at the front door froze in their spot and the atmosphere was immediately tensed. I stared up at the two captains, I felt very small compared to them and it was sort of intimidating but boy were they fast to come here.

"You probably already know why we're here, Jyuubentai taicho." Spoke Byakuya in his monotone while staring down at Toushiro. I felt him tensed and then moved closer to me so that I was behind him.

"If you're here to arrest her then I can't allow that." Toushiro replied back with no waver to his voice. I was surprised he kept his grounds steady in front of two feared captains, but I guess since he was so used to being around captains all the time, the air of authority didn't really bother him.

"I told you they would show up.." I heard Tsumetai Kaze mutter under her breath.

"I know that..." I mentally replied back to her.

"It is Yamamoto's orders to have her charged for her treason. If you choose not to hand her over then we'll have to do it by force." Byakuya said, his expression remaining the same.

"That's why I'm here. So what's it gonna be? " asked Kenpachi.

"But she's innocent!" Pleaded Matsumoto.

"That's what they all say, so are you gonna co-operate or not?" sighed Zaraki, he seemed rather bored about doing this whole thing. I only watched the argument from behind Toushiro who still kept close to me. It went on for quite a bit til I was on the verge of boredom myself. Soon the words being spoken between the people in the room became incoherent to me and sounded like an annoying buzz to my ears.

"Alright! FINE!" I shouted at last, I wasn't going to stand here all night just listening to them bicker. I think it was because I desperately needed sleep or because I knew I was going to face the consequences soon that made me speak up. Everyone's attention turned to me and most of them were shocked.

" I'll go with you guys. " I said more quietly. I felt Toushiro's eyes widen but that was to be expected.

"Reimei, you can't-" I cut him off by raising my hand.

"I know, but even if you did manage to keep me here, Yamamoto would probably find another way to get my head. So I might as well save him the trouble..." I said casually. Toushiro still looked incredulously at me. I sighed and stepped forward from behind him, going more over to where Byakuya and Kenpachi stood. They seemed to have a relieved look on their faces; it seems they didn't want to do what they were told to do either. It's most likely they thought it was a waste of their time. The two captains turned around and proceeded to open the doors to Soul Society. I took the time to turn around and face Ichigo, Matusmoto and Toushiro. They all still looked very shocked at what I was doing.

"Don't worry you guys, I'll be fine." I assured with a sigh. Gosh, now I'm starting to think that they really don't trust in my abilities to handle myself. Toushiro was the first to snap out of his shocked state. He immediately stepped forward and looked me in the eyes with his piercing sea-green ones.

"You're not going." He simply said sternly.

"I'm gonna have to at some point." I replied back, shrugging slightly.

"But you're innocent! Yamamoto-soutaicho would probably execute you for something you didn't do!"

"Then I'll take on whatever he'll throw at me." I said back confidently. Toushiro took me by the shoulders and shook me a bit.

"Don't be an idiot Reimei!"

"Well I can't run away from this forever!"

"Oi, oi can we continue this love fest til later on? This is tiring enough." I turned to Kenpachi who was standing at the opened gates of Soul Society, it seems like Byakuya left already since he was no where to be seen. I finally turned my attention back to Toushiro and placed both of my hands on each of his arms that held my shoulders.

"I promise nothing will happen to me." I smiled reassuringly to him and gently removed his hands from my shoulders. I held them for a while and looked him in the eyes before nodding my head confidently. I could see the worry in his eyes as I finally loosened my grip on his hands and began to back away, heading towards the gate.

Kenpachi waited until I headed in first before he went in himself. Taking one last glance back at everyone I left behind, I only smiled at them before the doors slid closed.

" Is there something going on between you and the snowball? " asked Kenpachi as we followed our butterflies through the dark tunnel. I only shrugged.

"Maybe..."

"Heh, weird kids..."

End of Flashback

So afterwards, Kenpachi escorted me to Yamamoto's court where they questioned me and finally decided on a punishment for me. Of course it was execution but I decided to add a small request of my own in it. I don't know if I was insane from the lack of sleep or something but I had asked Yamamoto, Captain-commander of the Gotei 13, to duel with me to the very death. That was when everyone in the court gasped out of shock. What was more surprising was that Yamamoto actually agreed. After his pledge of agreeing to my request, he sent me to a prison hold and that was when I decided to take a nap finally.

Now I'm awake and I have absolutely nothing to do. Just when I was about to force myself to go back to sleep, the dungeon door opened and light poured into the darkness of my prison hold. I had to squint my eyes to adjust to the sudden light but when the brightness subdued, I could make out two figures; one of them was the guard, the tall forked staff that was carried gave it away but in front of him there was a faint outline of another figure. This one was much shorter and on closer inspection, I came to the conclusion of who it might be.

"Leave to your post, I need to talk to her in private."

"But taicho, she's under strict orders to be watched at all times and it means we have to..- "

"I said to leave to your post as an order. Now." I was now confident as to who this mysterious figure might be. The dramatic drop in temperature that accompanied the annoyance and frustration growing in his voice gave it away. Along with many other points but if I was to list it all, it would probably take quite a while to finish. I snapped out of my train of thoughts when the guard shuffled back nervously to his post and slammed the door shut hurriedly while on his way. The sound echoed throughout the prison and after it passed, it resumed back to being silent and still except for the small drops of water every now and then.

I drew my attention from the door to the young captain that was slowly approaching me. Once he was directly in front of me, he knelt down to the ground so that he could make direct eye contact with me, or try to since I was still lying on my back against the cold ground.

"Honestly Reimei, you tell me you're not reckless how many times and look what happens to you!" There he goes, scowling me again. After not seeing him in a while, the first sentence he tells me is how reckless I am. Oh well, this is a pretty troublesome situation to be in.

"But at least I'm not gonna die by execution where I'm basically waiting for my death to come." I replied back, looking back at him. He growled under his breath frustratingly, he was gripping the bars to contain his annoyance. I could tell. I waited for him to take a few deep breaths before speaking.

"But that doesn't mean you're not risking your life for something that you didn't do! After turning yourself in so easily, I come to see if I can still save you from any more trouble and I find out you're sent to prison already and due to fight the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 in a death match! This is insane! "He took a few deep breaths again, now using one of his hands to pinch the bridge of his nose to prevent a headache while muttering something. I figured he must be frustrated at how calmly I'm taking this. The temperature of the room dropped to below freezing and then rising to above freezing continuously. I sighed, deciding to try to relieve some stress from him.

" Look, Toushiro," I sat up and made my way to him. As I got close to him, I took one of my hands and placed it gently over the hand he was gripping the prison bar with, "I know you're worried about me and you're probably angry because I seem really careless and inconsiderate about the situation I'm in, but please don't be. I know what I'm doing no matter how insane it might sound."

I heard him sigh; he lifted his head that was bowed to look me in the eyes. I could see his eyes were searching mine as if to make sure no waver of doubt, fear or a hint of a lie was in them. As if to confirm it, he took my hand and held onto it in between the bars.

"I know, it's just that...this was something I've never wanted to happen ever. Now that it is, I guess it threw me into panic of what might happen to you." Toushiro said quietly. I smiled at him, no matter how many times he's been sweet to me; it never stops me from thinking how cute it was. He must've caught my smile, he averted his glance to the side and I wasn't sure if it was my imagination but I was pretty sure a tint of pink coloured his cheeks. I smiled wider.

"Shiro-kun you're so adorable! Like I said, you have nothing to worry about! "I said reassuringly.

"I know! I can't help it sometimes because I know you're gonna end up doing something stupid and I don't want anything to happen to you...You're never one to sit still..." I noticed his voice grew from being loud to a small mutter. I laughed lightly, just like how I knew him well.

"So you've noticed. Anyways, I haven't exactly stuck around to know when I'm actually fighting the old man. So, if you've been poking around long enough to hear about my fight against him, I'm sure you'll know when it is. "I remarked, keeping a steady eye on him.

"Yes I do, it's scheduled to the day after tomorrow."

"Oh, well that gives me the time to think about some battle strategy, maybe reminisce a bit just in case I die. " Toushiro's expression immediately stiffened and he became incredibly serious.

"You're not going to die, Reimei. Not on me. If things go bad on your side of the fight then I'll step in, everyone in Soul Society is coming to see this big fight anyways so I'll be in the crowd. "

"Wow, this all really seems exciting. " I said to myself in thought, I imagined myself standing in a stadium like battleground with everyone seated above the arena. Maybe that's how it'll be like, I hope not. I'm pretty sure a fight with the Sou-taicho himself would require much more spacious areas. Who knows what kind of damage we would both cause.

"I probably should get going." Spoke Toushiro, looking off towards the exit of the dungeons. I noticed it was getting a bit dark from the small window that was available in my prison cell, "I'll come back tomorrow too but in the meantime, try to think of ways you won't die in this fight."

"I'll try Shiro-kun. " I smiled at him sincerely. He just rolled his eyes but had a small smirk on his face. He leaned forward a bit and placed a small kiss on my lips before pulling back and looking back into my amethyst eyes. His sea-green ones still shone visibly despite the limited lighting in the cell.

"Good night, Reimei."

"Good night, Toushiro." I smiled once again as he got up from his kneeling position and began to exit through the door. I sighed, shrugging my shoulders a bit.

"What a great guy." I said softly to myself as I laid back down onto the cold, hard floor.

"Quit your daydreaming about your lover boy. He's right about this whole situation, how the hell are you going to defeat the old geezer with the bird?"

" Quiet you lizard. I'm well aware that my abilities are weak against the captain-commander's fire zanpakuto. So you don't need to rub it in my face! "

" Who says I was only using Tsukuyomi for this fight. " I replied, ceasing the argument between my zanpakuto. Before any of them could question the plan I was scheming, I shut them both from my mind and allowed the silence of the dungeon to consume me. Smiling, I let my eyes close and drifted off to a light sleep, still a bit giddy and maybe nervous for the future fight I had at hand.

Gasp! :O fighting the Sou-taicho?? Wht will happen to Reimei? Will she win? Or will she lose to her death? I dunt no but stay tuned ;D R&R plz!