A/N: Hey everyone! How have you been? Good I hope! Well I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed; I appreciate every single one of them. Sorry about the delay on this chapter but I was working on my other story which I've been neglecting for…quite some time now.
Over 800 reviews! You're all just…awesome.
PS. It's my one year anniversary of joining FanFiction! An entire year…where did the time go?
The man turned at the sound of metal brushing against metal as the Shinigami drew his katana.
"Toshiro Hitsugaya."
"Sirius Black," Toshiro smirked "It's wonderful to see you again."
"So how'd you find me," Sirius asked as he stood unarmed against the Shinigami.
"It was simple enough. This was the only place close enough to the school but still hidden away from people and the Dementors."
The man smiled, "You are a bright one."
"Flattery doesn't get far with me."
Black smirked, "But does the truth?"
Silence fell upon the run down room as Toshiro frowned, "The truth."
The haggard man nodded, "I told you before. This is all a misunderstanding!"
"Doesn't every guilty man say that?" The white haired boy asked coldly as he raised Hyorinmaru, prepared to cut down the convict in front of him and be done with it. (1)
"But I didn't kill James and Lily," Sirius protested as he backed away from the tip of the blade that drew ever closer, "They were my friends."
Toshiro quirked an eyebrow as he pressed Hyorinmaru to Black's neck, "Then why are you here to kill their son?"
"I'm not. I'm here for Peter," He said solemnly "I was framed. I would never hurt Harry."
Hitsugaya sighed; things were getting far too complicated for his liking and to think, this was supposed to be a simple mission, "How did you get into the castle with— you turned into a dog."
The man nodded with a small smile, "They're easy to fool once you know how. You don't really need to bring me in do you? You said yourself that you're not really involved in this."
Toshiro shook his head, "I'm sorry but I'm under orders. If it ever got out that I'd had you in my custody and let you escape…well Dumbledore wouldn't be pleased to say the least."
The man looked thoughtful for a moment before a look of understanding spread across his haggard face, "He's got something on you."
"Hn. I suppose you could say that."
Black pursed his lips, "Dumbledore… doesn't have to find out about this."
Hitsugaya lowered Hyorinmaru slightly until it was pressed against his chest, "But the question is: why shouldn't he hear about this?"
"You know that I'm not trying to hurt Harry so wouldn't it save you some trouble to just forget all about what Dumbledore's ordered you to do?"
The taicho smirked, "Or, I could bring you back to the castle, turn you in and be done with all this."
Black paled, W-Well, that's true but I'm an innocent man and you wouldn't want to be responsible for the death of an innocent at the hands of the Dementors would you?"
Well crap. He had a point.
Toshiro resisted the urge to growl. His orders from Soul Society were to protect the living from the Dementors which…included Black.
"I'm innocent; please you have to believe me."
And he did. Being able to tell who was trying to deceive you and who was being truthful was an important skill for any taicho to have in their arsenal. And Sirius Black was telling the truth.
"Whether I believe you or not isn't the problem. I have orders from the Headmaster that I must carry out. You can plead your innocence with him."
"Please! Just give me a chance!"
Toshiro stared up at the pleading man as he considered his options. He could bring Black to the Headmaster, but that meant that the Dementors would leave which at this point would make the last four months a complete waste.
Or, he could let the man go seeing as apparently he was innocent-not that he really cared either way-and try to move on with his mission from Soul Society.
The later of the two would also allow him to carry out his mission to the full extent and it wasn't exactly a bad thing that he'd be betraying Dumbledore…
"I'll make a deal with you," he started as he lowered Hyorinmaru and replaced him on his back. "I'll let you go, but I want a full explanation and if I find it acceptable I may even assist you in your endeavors."
Black let out a giant gust of air that he'd been holding in, "Really?"
The boy nodded, "Yes. If you intend no harm towards Potter or the other students then I suppose my contract is void."
He took a step back to allow the man some space and Sirius gave him a grateful look as he moved to sit on the ragged looking bed, "Thank you. I'm surprised you actually agreed," he chuckled disbelievingly.
Hitsugaya smirked, "If I can complete my mission and also get the chance to spite that annoying, meddlesome bastard then I'll gladly extend my hand in order to lend you aid. Dumbledore needs to learn where his boundaries lie. Now," he continued as he leaned against the damp wall
"Tell me about this Peter character."
Toshiro sighed as he neared the farthest edge of the village and the structures began to thin.
As he moved farther and farther away from the citizens and Hogwarts he could feel the buzzing sensation in the back of his mind begin to lessen as the magic in the air began to dissipate.
The taicho pulled his communicator out from his pant pocket and was glad to see that for the first time in the past four months that it would actually turn on. The magic had somehow interfered with it and from what he'd heard from some first years that was to be expected. Even summoning a Hell Butterfly had been futile. It had simply disintegrated mid-flight as it neared the school boundaries.
He sent a simple message informing them that there had been a problem but it had been resolved and that he'd be able to report in again in April.
The trek back into town was rather difficult seeing as he'd thrown his coat at Weasley and Hyorinmaru was clearly visible for all to see. As he made his way through the small town, trying to take as many back streets as possible he heard the familiar enraged voice of Harry Potter.
The taicho stopped for a moment wondering if he really wanted to get involved. As the yelling continued and soon turned to crying Hitsugaya knew he wanted to do anything but get involved…yet he didn't have much choice in the matter.
Weasley had his coat after all.
He found them almost exactly in the same place he'd left them, right in front of the Shrieking Shack and in the back of his mind he wondered whether Sirius could hear his Godson expressing his anguish and hate for his parent's betrayer.
Hermione was the first to catch sight of him from her place beside Harry sitting on a downed tree. He almost immediately spotted his coat strewn across the bark beside her along with the invisibility cloak and walked over quickly the crunching of the snow barely audible beneath his boots that his jeans were tucked into.
The Shinigami grabbed his coat and swung it around his shoulders before pushing his arms through the sleeves and throwing the hood over his head. The taicho made sure the cloak which he'd subtly grabbed was well hidden within the confines of the coat before turning around to face them.
Harry had stopped his crying to watch him as Toshiro went about doing up the many buttons on the coat. The teen's face was red and wet in places and his eyes seemed slightly swollen.
When the transfer realized that all eyes seemed to rest on him for some reason he looked over them flatly, "Oh, don't mind me. Continue."
When they continued to stare at him he turned on his heel and began making his way back to the castle.
"I suggest you all hurry if you want to make it back in time for dinner," he called over his shoulder.
He could hear them scrambling to catch up to him and the taicho couldn't help but smirk.
Ron was the first to ask him, "So what happened in there? What was it like?"
Toshiro let his gaze land on the redhead, "It was nothing more then a dilapidated old shack."
"There…there weren't any ghosts?"
"The only things in there, other then myself, were the spiders and some mice."
The Weasley teen seemed to pale at that for reasons unknown to the taicho.
"But what took you so long?" Hermione asked, "You were gone for over an hour and a half. We were starting to think you'd gone back to the castle already."
Hitsugaya shrugged, "I took my time looking around and went for a walk around the village before coming to find you."
She smiled, "It's very picturesque isn't it?"
He nodded absentmindedly, "Yes, I suppose so."
"Is it very nice where you're from?"
He glanced over at her, "I don't remember much about where I was born but I know that it was very warm during the summers…I'd walk through tall grass and I could always hear cicadas… The winters were very cold though."
She smiled, "And what about where you live now?"
The Shinigami frowned, "It's…nice."
"Just nice?"
He shrugged, "There's a large forest…lots of clearings and there are many stars at night. If it's quiet or if you're close enough you can hear the river flowing and the waterfall…I suppose it's quite beautiful actually."
Hermione nodded as she continued to smile, "Yes, it sounds lovely."
"Would you like to inform me as to why Potter was blubbering back there?" he asked already knowing the answer. Harry's face turned a dark shade of red as he ducked his head in embarrassment.
"I wasn't blubbering," he muttered.
"Hn. My mistake, wailing then."
As the three relayed all of what had happened in the Three Broomsticks and what Harry had overheard Toshiro simply nodded occasionally as he pretended to be listening.
Truth be told, Sirius wasn't a bad man really- he'd definitely met worse. Black was just a sad product of the Wizarding World's misguided justice system. If all went according to plan though, he'd be a free man with a clear record and Dumbledore would learn that there were some things out there that he simply couldn't hope to control or force his will upon.
A hand suddenly invaded his vision.
–there?"
On reflex he slapped the hand away and side stepped.
The taicho blinked and found Ron standing with his hand still held out in the air, "Are you alright mate? You spaced out there for a bit."
He nodded as he kicked at the snow, "Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking."
"I know… it's hard to believe that he's Harry's Godfather…"
Actually, he didn't know because that's not what he was thinking…at all. But he nodded anyway to appease the boy.
The Shinigami slowed his pace as the castle gates came into view wanting nothing more then to get away from the sulky group. Potter alone was the poster child for Angst.
As the others continued on and he dropped behind Hermione stopped and turned to look at him curiously, "Are you coming? I thought you said we needed to hurry if we wanted to get back to the castle for dinner?"
"You go on ahead," He called back as he stared off at the gates "I'll head back a later."
She hesitated for a moment before Ron whined for her to hurry and she ran to catch up to her friends.
Toshiro ducked off of the dirt path and into the forest as soon as they left his line of sight. He made quick work of pulling off his coat and wrapping himself in the invisibility cloak. If he hadn't been able to properly sense Harry while he was under it, then the Dementors would have the same problem detecting him.
He knew that the Dementors would be stationed around the school gates to stop Black from getting in so in theory if he walked around the boundaries for a while he was sure to encounter one.
Hitsugaya had been walking around the edge of the school grounds for a few minutes before he realized that the temperature had dropped and it had nothing to do with him.
The taicho stopped in his tracks as the familiar feeling of dread and hopelessness washed over him but it was a comfort to know that they weren't targeting him for once.
In the failing light it was hard to pick out the darkly shrouded figure that had drawn alarmingly close to him but he managed when it came within thirty feet of where he stood.
He crouched low to the ground, making sure that the cloak was still properly in place as he did. The last thing he needed after getting so close was for it to suddenly turn on him.
Toshiro struggled to quiet his breathing which was beginning to become slightly erratic and if he didn't know better he'd swear his heart was beating loud enough for the thing to hear it.
Fifty-seven.
As it glided through the trees it was easy to ear the rattling sound it emitted as it inhaled. Maybe it could taste things on the air similar to how a snake could. It seemed to lack a nose or ears so that seemed to be the best bet.
Eighty- five.
From what he could see the Dementor only had a pair of skeletal arms. It almost seemed to be boneless from the neck down and yet there was something filling out the black fabric.
One Hundred.
On a normal human the stomach was generally in the torso so in comparison that could possibly be where the creature broke down and stored the souls…the radiating energy from the souls could be what caused the Dementors to levitate and could also in theory give the shroud that filled out look…
The shaking in his hands was growing steadily worse as the creature drew near in the darkness. In his mind Hitsugaya continued to count
…one-seventy-nine, one-eighty…
His breathing was coming in gasps as he drew Hyorinmaru, taking care not to knick the fabric of the cloak.
One-eighty-nine.
He blinked repeatedly to try and rid himself of the images of carnage, and shook his head to stop the sounds of screams from flooding his ears.
One-ninety-three.
The effects seemed to be less intense this time but maybe the Dementors could control how horribly a person was affected by them. Like a Shinigami who could control how much reiatsu they released in order to cripple their enemy or punish a subordinate.
One-ninety-seven.
Toshiro could feel himself breaking out in a cold sweat as he gripped a near by tree and forced himself to his feet. The cloak fluttered to the ground and the Dementor stopped for a moment and inhaled deeply before seeming to zero in on him.
Two-oh-three.
His theory was proven right when it was suddenly as if he'd been punched in the stomach. The taicho could practically feel himself being pulled towards the creature's gaping mouth as he was forced to lean back against the trunk of the tree for support.
Two-oh-nine.
Black was beginning to bleed into his vision and he could hear people yelling as his knees threatened to give way.
Two-ten…
It was drawing ever closer and as Toshiro looked down at the pale hand gripping Hyorinmaru fiercely it was as if a trail of dust was coming off his skin. He was actually being eaten…
Two-twelve.
With a slash of his zanpakuto the Dementor was incased in a layer of ice that shattered not a moment later.
The Shinigami shuddered as he slid down the tree and sunk to the forest floor. With unsteady hands he wrapped himself in the cloak not wanting to draw any more of the creatures to where he was.
Two-twelve. He'd lasted for roughly three and a half minutes.
As the feeling began to return to his legs Toshiro sighed and climbed to his feet a little perturbed when it required some effort to steady himself. He'd probably feel a little worse for wear for the next day or so but it'd been worth it.
He picked up his coat which he didn't even remember dropping and began walking into the school grounds and back onto the path. The sky was steadily growing darker as twilight approached and the stars began to appear in the sky.
Making his way back to the castle was…rather tiresome to say the least but once he was within school bounds and no longer standing on the border he pulled off the invisibility cloak and folded it neatly.
Even putting on his coat and throwing his hood over Hyorinmaru's hilt made his arms ache and he had a feeling that it'd be even worse by the morning.
---
He found a rather panicked looking Harry along with Ron and Hermione sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table closest to the Main Hall entrance.
Although Toshiro could see Neville and Luna sitting at the far end of the Ravenclaw table he sat down beside Hermione, not all too sure if he could even make it to where his two friends were sitting.
–put it!?" He caught Harry asking Ron sounding horrorstruck.
The white haired boy set the neatly folded cloak on the table, "Is this what you're so worried about?"
The glasses wearing teen nodded as he scooped it up and stuffed it under the table and rounding on him, "Did you take it?!"
Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, "Yes, because I have nothing better to do then steal your possessions. I found it in a pile on the path up to the school. You're lucky I found it and not another of the students."
Harry narrowed his eyes, "But…I didn't think I had it going up the path…I thought I'd left it near the Shrieking Shack."
Toshiro shrugged as he tried to stop his hands from shaking as he poured himself a glass of water, "You were rather distraught. I thought maybe you hadn't noticed."
Potter frowned before seeming to except the explanation, "Well thanks for bringing it back."
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked as he accidently spilled a bit of his water onto the table. He nodded as he wiped it away with his sleeve, "Yes, just fine."
"Are you sure because you look seriously pale mate," Ron said as he served himself some roast.
"You're not getting sick are you?" Harry asked and Hermione leaned over and pressed a warm hand to his forehead which he quickly pulled away from.
"You feel cold," She observed and went to go back to eating before she stopped short and turned to him looking horrified, "Oh I— I hope I didn't offend you or—
"Its fine," he said flatly before taking a sip of water, "I'm fine."
"Well you don't look it," Harry grunted "What took you so long anyway?"
"I felt like taking my time."
The teen rolled is eyes, "Taking your time. Sure."
Toshiro glared but was pleased with the dismissal of the subject.
"You know," Hermione started "People are going to think it odd that you're sitting inside with your hood up."
The Shinigami nodded, "I'll go to the dormitory in a moment."
"I don't get why you had to bring a sword with you anyway," Ron said through a mouth of meat.
"Better to be cautious then caught unprepared," Hitsugaya sighed as he let his burning eyes slip shut.
The redhead stared for a moment before simply shrugging as a loud knocking sound bounced off the walls of the Hall.
The student body fell silent for a moment until a very familiar voice rang through the room, "I'm so sorry for disrupting. I would have been here earlier but you wouldn't believe the trouble I had getting into the school grounds."
The white haired boy slowly peeled open his teal eyes wondering if he really wanted to turn around and confirm his fears of who was standing in the doorway.
"Hey Toshiro," Ron started "Is that your dad?"
1. So, that's how you're supposed to write a question in dialogue?
That ending line was for….! Okay, I've lost the email notification with your screen name in it. But you know who you are :P Its not exactly what you wanted but its the best I could do. We'll have to learn about Byakuya's fate another way.
Dear Readers,
My brother finally stopped with the Optimus Prime thing. But he's taken to going, "Jacqueline, I am your brother." in a Darth Vader voice. It's creepy when its two o'clock in the morning and he pops up in only his boxers apparently having decided to improve upon his Darth Vader impression…and people say I'm weird. He's a cool kid though. We actually don't fight seriously that much anymore now that he's not such a pansy. Its just playful banter and then we break out into Dane Cook quotes or something. But he can still be a pain in the ass. He loves repeating me in this high whiney voice and I've kicked him in the nuts several times when he wouldn't stop. I've also smacked him, thrown a shoe, a book… and a cat. Normally though once I start really yelling he stops because he gets scared. I have a bad temper... I can yell really loud and I have a pretty sharp tongue too so according to him I can be very scary. I learned from the best! My Dad. I've always said: Other kids go out to parties and get drunk and high but they don't have my Dad. He has a simple motto: Stay out of trouble. (Then I have to say) don't take drugs (and then he goes) or you'll die in your sleep little girl. He's said that to me all my life… It's our goodnight ritual. To think, some Dads read their kids stories before bed! Thanks for reading,
ForeverFalling.