A/N: Here's the next chapter of Lost and Found! Sorry for not updating as fast. Here's the thing: School has started again, and I WILL BE BUSY SOMETIMES! So expect slower updates…Again, enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: (I need to start doing these more often!) Do I have to say it? I don't own Bleach, or the Naruto terms used. I only own my characters, and my sister owns Minako. I just write Mina with her permission.
~24~24~24~24~
Chapter 24: The Reunion and the Prophecy
No POV
Minako Aino's beautiful blue eyes fluttered open.
"Where am I?"
"Urahara-san!" The grunting voice of Tessai filled the room. "She's awake!"
Kisuke Urahara bustled into the room, hiding his face with his fan. "Ahh...Aino-san...how lovely to see you, and awake too."
Minako looked at him like he was nuts, which he almost always is. "How long was I out? And what happened?"
"You were out for about a week. Today's Saturday. How are you feeling?"
"First off, I asked you a question, Old Man! Second, I'm fine."
"Oh, gomen. I didn't realize. You saved Ichigo from being killed by a bomb after he was cornered."
Mina wondered if Ichigo was okay.
"Don't worry, Ichigo's alright," Urahara said, as if reading her mind. "And you need to train again. For a whole week."
"What? Why?"
"Because you've been out for a whole week. You're loosing your touch, I'm afraid."
"Who's going to train me? Yoruichi-san?"
"Oh, no...I get a whole week to torture you like I did Ichigo."
"...uh oh..."
~After a Whole Week~
"By Urahara-san! See you! Thanks!"
"No, problem, Aino-san!" The hat-and-clogs man waved back.
As Mina walked down the streets in her gigai, she wondered if anyone was missing her. She had faked her death. But she didn't mean too.
Her pink hair was not in a ponytail anymore, but down to the middle of her back. Her bangs her not off to the side anymore, but cut off over her eyebrows and straight down. Her blue eyes were still blue.
She saw a familiar auburn-haired girl talking to a familiar boy with raven hair and glasses and a Mexican boy who wasn't talking at all.
"Hey, Orihime..." Mina said. The three jumped and turned around to see the brand new Minako Aino.
"Aino-chan..." Orihime started. "Is that you?"
"Why yes it is..."
"It's so good to see you again!" All three, even Chad, jumped on her and hugged as tight as they could, Orihime being the tighest.
"How are you?"
"I'm good, Ishida-kun."
"Are you really alive?" Chad asked, just to be saying something.
"Yes. If I wasn't, then I wouldn't be here..."
"Who helped you?" Orihime asked.
"Um...Urahara-san and them...and also Ichigo's dad..."
"Oh, there goes Urahara-san saving the day again!" Orihime and Minako laughed.
"How are you guys?" Minako asked.
"Oh, we're just fine!"
"How are things here?"
"Things are pretty dull without Kurosaki, but I'm glad he's gone, even if it's only for a few hours," Uryuu said, pushing up his glasses.
"Where's Ichigo?" Mina asked.
"Oh, he had to go to Soul Society..." Chad's deep voice filled their ears.
"Really? What for?"
"Kurosaki-kun has to help set up this Ninja event called the Chunin Exams, which are a full day set of duels that Konoha and another Ninja village called Suna does every decade just for fun," Orihime said.
Uryuu broke in. "Inoue-san, they don't do it for fun...they do it because every decade or so, Konoha gets a second chance to beat Suna in the Chunin Exams, because Suna always wins. So every decade Konoha gets a chance to compete for the position as the honorary Chief Village..."
"I thought that was a legend..." Minako said. All three turned to her. "I remember reading about it in a textbook and thought it was a myth..."
A new voice broke into the converstaion. "But it's not..." The four turned around to see Ami Hitsugaya standing in front of the Senkai Gate. Ami went on. "You may come to Soul Society now. Ichigo Kurosaki has been granted permission to bring in three of his comrades to be referees with him."
"And he chose us?" Chad asked.
Ami simply nodded.
"Hitsu-chan?" Ami's white head turned to the pink one. Her eyes popped out.
"Mina-chan?"
Mina nodded. Ami smiled.
"Well then, you four may come to Soul Society now."
All five went through the Senkai Gate.
~In the Head Hokage's office~
Ami took Minako to Hoshimoto before she went back to the Konoha/Suna Hokage meeting taking place.
Minako was now wearing a pink jacket with white sleeves but pink cuffs. She was also wearing dark pink Capri's and black summer sandals. She was wearing her now black forehead protector around her neck.
When the little tenth Hokage left, Hoshimoto said, "Minako Aino. How lovely to see you..."
"Konnichiwa, Sir..."
"How on earth did you survive?"
Minako told the Head Hokage the whole story. Hoshimoto said, "I shall give you a spot in the Chunin Exams if you like, to prove me your skill. If you win your duel, I shall give you the Kage position of Team 6."
Mina accepted. "What happened to the former Kage?"
"Your former Kage was attacked and killed by a Suna Ninja...and that's what started this whole Chunin Exam mess...it's actually been eight years, not ten. That's why we're arguing this in the Division 1 barracks in Sereitei..."
~At the Division One Barracks in Sereitei~
Toushirou's POV
Outside, we, the Shinigami captains, were listening anxiously to all the yelling going on inside.
When the yelling died down a bit, we were breathing again.
"That was pretty close," Kyouraku said.
"That was very close..." Komamura muttered.
"I don't think it's over yet..." Kuchiki said.
"Why not?" Unohana asked the sixth division noble.
"Because they've been in here for at least five hours..." Korutsuchi reasoned. "I don't think they'll be out soon..."
"Wow, your sister does have a set of lungs on her, Hitsugaya-kun..." Ukitake commented.
"She got that from her mother..." my father explained.
When we thought all the yelling had finally died down, we could only hear the Hoshimoto's voice (yes, he got back in time...) stating calmly that, "...we can only hope that he will be able to apologize the right way..."
At that moment, there was another instant uproar. We heard, "SHUT UP! IT WASN'T OUR FAULT! WE DIDN'T ORDER HIM TO KILL THAT KAGE!"
We heard Ami's voice again above all others. "Shut up! He was one of your ninjas, wasn't he? He was on your side! He was from your village! Do you deny any of that?"
"No! He was on our side and from our village! Why do you ask!"
Fourth Hokage Aiko's voice roared above all the others now. "She's trying to say that yes it is all your fault! It always will be!"
"You shut up! We didn't order him to kill that Kage! He acted upon-!"
"Hey, stop talking like that! Maybe he did act upon his own accord! WHERE'S THE PROOF IN THAT!"
There was another uproar for this one too. "SILENCE!" Hoshimoto yelled. All went quiet again, and we Shinigami captains could breath normally again. We heard Hoshimoto's voice boom through the room.
"Thirteenth Hokage Ryuuno brings up a good point. Where IS the proof that he acted upon his own actions?"
"We could ask him. We could bring him in here and ask him..."
There was another uproar. "HE COULD BE LYING!"
~After Another Three Hours Of Arguing~
The Suna Hokages had finally left. It was now after dinner, but yet, we Hokages and Captains didn't get to eat yet. There was a scheduled Hokage/Captain meeting in the morning, but that Konoha/Suna debate had gotten in the way. Now we were having that postponed meeting that was supposed to be this morning.
When the Heads called the meeting to order, Hoshimoto said, "We have come to a conclusion that the Chunin Exams will be set two years earlier than should-be time. We will have it in four days. I'm sorry, but no Hokages or Shinigami may participate. You may sign up, but you will not duel with anyone."
When this had been peacefully settled, it was now time for casual talk amongst the leaders. We found out that the Hokages had yelled themselves hoarse, until the Chunin Exams had been set earlier.
"You guys sure have a set of lungs on you..." Kyouraku commented.
"We weren't about to loose to the Chief village..." Hokage Yamato said. "We are widely considered as the second strongest village in the Ninja Land...we weren't about to lose to the strongest..."
"They brought up lousy points that we had good comebacks to," Ami put in.
"She's right, we may not be the strongest, but we are the smartest..." Seventh Hokage Tokugawa said.
After this was over, Kurotsuchi and Twelfth Hokage Kyouko had something that was the main reason why we had to do this meeting.
"We found something that we think might be related to Aizen," Kyouko said.
"It's found in the Hall of Prophecies if anyone would like to have a more closer look at it," Kurotsuchi said.
We heard a woman's voice that was eerie sounding, but yet it spoke clear.
"One united family, once divided,
Two Divided Kingdoms, fated to reunite,
Three traitorous captains, who took the sacred Hokyoku,
Two unfortunate siblings, who lost everything,
One unexpected destiny, waiting to be fulfilled,
All these things must be put together..."
There was a heavy silence. 'One united family'...that was referring to me, to us. Mom, Dad, Ami, and me. 'Two divided kingdoms'...that was referring to Konoha and Sereitei, because they were once allies that were 'divided' when Mom and Dad were supposedly killed. 'Three traitorous captains'...who else than Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tousen? And of course, they took the Hokyoku. Who doesn't know that? 'Two unfortunate siblings'...that gave me a totally strange, familiar feeling...it was talking about Ami and me. We had thought we lost everything, and we had. We had both lost our memories of each other and our parents when we were separated. I had a feeling that if all these things were to mix together, then it would cause chaos. The reason our Winter Showdown didn't work was because that Ami and I weren't there together. That was why I kept falling in front of Aizen. That's why...that prophecy explains everything...
"There is another part to it," Kyouko said.
The same voice spoke.
"Once light shows it face again,
the darkness will flee in terror,
and all living things will live,
once again, in peace and harmony..."
That was a saying of hope. That Aizen was not going to win unless he had killed both me and Ami. At the same moment...I closed my eyes. I thought about both parts of the prophecy. I knew what I had to do. Ami had done this when she was least expecting it. Something I hadn't done. Something I wasn't that she was.
She was a fully-trained hybrid.
~That night~
I knew what I had to do. I had a Ninja side to me all along. And I never knew. That prophecy was referring to my sister and me.
So that night, after dinner, I painfully left another goodbye note to my sister.
To Ami Hitsugaya:
If you're reading this, you're probably awake by now. You might have gone into my room and not find me there. But don't worry. I'll be all right. Yuki-chan. You know what happened last night during the meeting. About that prophecy. I'm gone because of that. I know what the prophecy means:
I have to kill Aizen. You have to kill Aizen. We both do. Together. The reason the Arrancars are still alive was because that you weren't there beside me during the Winter Showdown. I know you were there, in my heart, but I didn't know that. And for that, Aizen is still alive.
I'm sorry if I'm scaring you, Yuki-chan. I'm doing my best to keep you from having all these heavy burdens on your shoulders. You've been through so much, yet you're only still a kid. I don't want you to worry anymore. You mean too much to me, Yuki-chan. All I want right now is to tell you that I'll be alright. I don't want you to worry. I'll take all those burdens off your shoulders one day, and I'll carry them myself all the way to the end. I'll be back, Yuki-chan, I promise. No, I swear.
So in summary, I'm doing this for you...Yuki-chan...
With all my love, your big brother,
Toushirou Hitsugaya
P.S. I'll be back in time for the Chunin Exams. Remember, don't you worry one bit.
I placed it down on her bedside table and gave her a light kiss on her forehead.
"…Aishiteru…Ami-chan…" I whispered. ('I love you')
And I left Sereitei without another word.
I left to find the woman who took my sister from her Shinigami path. Who led her to her path of destiny.
I left to find Sayoko Kuzuki...
TO BE CONTINUED...
~24~24~24~24~
A/N: Review, please!
And another thing: I will allow at least five people to submit an OC so I can use it in here, but ONLY IF YOU WANT TO! If you are interested, please PM me for the bio format. I have a Shinigami AND a Ninja verison. Just PM me and tell me and I give it to you, and submit your OC back to me via PM only, please.