Chapter 25

It had surprised the others at how quickly she was ready to be up and training again. Because sure enough, Kima was standing on the mats, grinning like the Cheshire cat. Toshiro wasn't sure if he should be frightened or glad. It must've shown on his face as well, because Kima was now laughing at him as she made room for him to join her.

"I didn't know sparring was such a well thought out affair."

Toshiro took his expected place before setting himself in a hand to hand form. He watched as Kima readied herself too before he relaxed and dropped the form. "I'm going to have to reteach you everything, aren't I?"

"What? When I got my armor, I didn't have any fancy martial arts training like the other guys. I just went in swinging!" The blonde protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And there was nothing wrong with that…when you were a child." Toshiro chastised. "It's time that you learned the proper way to do it and we'll start off with that stance of yours. Do that again." He waited for her drop to her stance again, watching him warily as he walked around her as if he were doing an inspection. "Good form, but not flawless. You leave yourself too open."

As if he were making a point, he drove his fist toward her stomach, knocking the air out of her and sending her across the mats. The blonde groaned as she rose back to her feet. Shaking her head a bit, she made her way back over to him. Trying to get her wind back, Kima shot Toshiro an aggravated look.

"If this weren't for educational purposes, I'd slug you." She grumbled under her breath.

Toshiro chuckled. "I'm hoping that you do or at least try to. All that spiritual pressure is wasting while you sleep. Now, take that stance again. Like I said before, you're leaving too many openings." Within a few seconds, he adjusted her arms, legs, and shoulders to the positions they should be in. "There. You're in correct form. Now, let's see what you've got."

The captain made his way back to her front before taking up his preferred stance once again. It was several moments before either made a move, almost as if they were assessing the other. It was finally Kima who struck first. Her knuckles passed within a few centimeters of Toshiro's nose, but he'd managed to dodge. The blonde brought her leg up to introduce his shoulder to a heel drop, but the white-haired man was just a split second faster. He'd grabbed her foot and pushed her away only to have her leap quickly back to her feet.

Kima was able to barely block his oncoming blows, his knuckles grazing her jawbone once. That's when she felt something surging through her veins along with her blood. The spiritual power that Toshiro was talking about was flowing through her. How did so much power just appear at once? The blonde didn't know, but it was time to try to put it to use.

In the few seconds between each attack that she had, Kima tried to focus, imagining that energy surging into her fists and her legs and feet. It was amazing how quickly her fighting improved. Before she'd realized what was happening, Toshiro was easily matched in fighting skill. He and the blonde exchanged equal blows, blocks, and counters. It was in one sly movement that Kima ducked a swiping punch and ended the match in a less sophisticated manner. She placed all of her strength into tackling the captain and ended up straddling his waist, pinning him to the ground.

"I win." She grinned, panting to regain her breath.

Kento was whooping wildly from the sidelines. "Way to go, girl! You kicked his ass!"

Toshiro smirked as he stared up at her. "Go for a jog. I've got some things to work on with them and then I'll meet you at the hot springs."

"Oh GOD, no!" Kento cried. "Anywhere but there! We all know what goes on up there with Claudia and Renji. That water is probably tainted!"

Kima quirked an eyebrow at Kento, but said nothing as they were joined by another presence. The strawberry blonde from her dream stood before them, bowing to her captain, who was still pinned under the blonde. A hateful gleam entered her eyes as she glanced at Kima before addressing Toshiro.

"Hitsugaya-taichou! You've been playing games while you've been here! Just wait until Hinamori-kun hears about this!"

Toshiro sat up a bit, causing Kima to slide into his lap. "Matsumoto, why are you back? I thought you were sent to deliver a message to Kurosaki-kun."

"I was." His second seat replied. "I came as quickly as I could to bring you the reply to find you fooling around with a human!"

Kima scrambled off of his lap to save at least a bit of her dignity. "We were sparring. That's all."

"Is that what you call it these days, you little tart?" Matsumoto asked her, blowing her a raspberry. "I think you're trying to seduce my taichou."

"What?" Kima growled and one could practically feel the chill rolling off of her.

"You heard what I said, or are you deaf? Taichou, I wish you'd come back. Hinamori-kun is a much better choice than this tart."

It wasn't until then that Kima realized what this woman, Matsumoto, was doing. She had a child's jealousy when it came to her captain. She was pulling out every phrase she could think of to make Kima angry or jealous. Taking a deep breath, Kima remained silent. Toshiro released the breath he'd been holding before he replied to his second seat.

"That's enough, Matsumoto-fukutaichou. Deliver the message you were sent with and return to headquarters. I'm sure there's work to be done."

The triumphant look on her face withered at the thought of the mounds and mounds of paperwork she'd left on his desk. "Ishida-san has agreed to help. Kurosaki-kun is delivering him by means of his shunpo as quickly as he can. Inoue-san has also requested to come so that she may help with any injuries sustained due to training."

"That will do. Arigatou, Matsumoto."

The woman saluted before she disappeared through the brightly lit sliding paper door that had appeared in front of her. Toshiro rose to his feet and dusted himself off. Kima had a sour look on her face as she turned to face him.

"Matsumoto-san doesn't seem to like me much." She commented. "By the way, who is Hinamori-kun?"

...

Darkness swirled around the three figures as they stood in a circle. Each had sinister and malicious thoughts of his own, but they were all stuck on the subject of the one person who could be a threat to them. Only one person who held the armors. Two of the figures began to laugh, turning their attention to the third. The man's face was hidden by shadow and twisted with sadistic humor as plans began to form in his mind.

"You have thought long on the annihilation of the bearer of the armor of Destruction, have you not brother?"

"I have; long and hard. I want her obliteration to be complete. I want to see her writhe in pain before I crush her completely."

"Then all you must do is attack, my brother of Illusion. Our master would know great happiness if you were to destroy one of his greatest enemies."

"It is not so simple as that. I will not only crush her, I will break her. I will lay siege to the one place my greatest enemy would find sanctuary. In the deepest reaches of the mind where sleep takes over, one thinks they are truly safe. It is not such."

"You mean to say that you are attacking the mind in sleep?"

"Of course. There, the mind is trying to reenergize and is often times unable to come out of sleep quickly."

"You're invading Destroyer's dreams."

"Precisely. I will turn her dreams to nightmares so that she may never wish to sleep again before I slay her. Her end will not be over quickly; she will not enjoy it; I will be her end."

"Mighty words you speak, Dais. Let us see you put action behind them. I would love to see the utter destruction of that pig-headed fool and her armor."

"See, then, tonight my brothers of Darkness and Poison. Her misery and pain will begin at midnight and her fall from power will be eminent."

...

The dinner table was filled with laughter as Kento finished another amusing tale from their younger days as Ronin Warriors. Even for those who didn't know the group back then, the stories were funny. Claudia had to be assisted several times, otherwise she'd have choked.

"Oh yeah, that was nothing. Little miss warrior of love and justice," Kento began, pointing to Kima, "Thought she was clever enough to outsmart the original prankster." He said, pointing to himself. "Let's just say that the whole ordeal ended with a bang."

"Oh no, Kento. You can't leave us hanging. Give us the details. Most of us were there. We just want to hear the details." Sage grinned as he shot Kima a glance, catching sight of her frown.

"Don't tell that story. It's not as funny as you think." The blonde warned.

"Oh, you just don't want to be embarrassed." Kento commented before going on. "Kima thought she was slick when she waited until it was my turn in the shower to steal my towel and clothes and hide them conveniently out in the tree. Well, I waited until she and Cye were out by the lake before I decided to light the rest of the fireworks I had left over from New Year. Kima ended up in the lake and soaking wet. She didn't try to get cute with her practical jokes anymore."

The room erupted in laughter once again, Kima even falling into a fit of giggles. Toshiro glanced over at her with a look of admiration. She'd seemed a bit lighter since she'd been back on her feet. On their trip to the hot springs, Toshiro explained that he and Hinamori were childhood friends and that they'd grown up together. The captain knew that he didn't have to explain anything to her, but he wanted to. Their trip hadn't gone in quite the heated passion as the one Renji and Claudia took, but they'd talked; Kima in the water and Toshiro on the bank since he wasn't that fond of hot temperatures.

Kima pushed her plate back and rose from her seat, stretching her arms above her head. "Mia, dinner was great. I'm a little tired, so I think I'm going to head to bed."

"Goodnight, Kima." Came a chorus of voices.

"Goodnight, guys."

"I'll be up soon." Toshiro added quietly.

Kima nodded as she headed upstairs. Since she and Toshiro had started sharing a room, even if he did sleep in the chair, the others had started teasing. Toshiro was quite the gentleman. He left the bedroom door open and never complained about sleeping in the chair. He even made sure the balcony door was locked before he went to sleep.

The room was dark as she turned down the blankets and crawled into bed. The light of the full moon was shining in through the balcony door. Stars dotted the night sky as several black clouds started to roll across. It felt like a storm was coming. A sudden chill had filled the air and the wind had definitely picked up a bit. Her blonde hair fanned around her as she lay on her side, watching the wind mercilessly shake the leaves of the trees. She seemed to be staring off into space when she felt a slight chill enter the room.

"There's an ominous feel in the wind tonight."

Kima gripped her pillow a bit tighter as she felt the bed sink a bit with Toshiro's added weight. "I feel like I should be prepared for something."

"Maybe you should be. I can almost feel the spirits moving around tonight. They know something's going to happen." Toshiro said, his brow furrowing as he rested a hand on her side. "I think it may be your friend the traitor."

"Dais? He wouldn't attack so openly. He knows better than that."

Toshiro shook his head as he shifted his gaze to her. "You really should be careful. If he means to kill you, then there's nothing that will stop him from trying. As much as I don't like him, Dais is one not to be underestimated."

The blonde sighed as she sat up, snaking her arms around Toshiro. "I know. I'm pretty sure I know what to expect from him. I don't know. There are a few tricks he could've been hiding."

The white-haired captain tilted her chin up as he claimed her lips sweetly. "The tricks that you don't know about are often the most dangerous. I'll help you as best I can. For now, you need sleep."

Kima nodded as she lay her head back on her pillow. Toshiro's fingers in her hair seemed to be lulling her to sleep and soon, the room faded as she entered the world of sleep.

...

The world looked like it hadn't won its war with the Youjakai. Buildings were crumbling, vehicles were rusting and falling apart. There were no people anywhere. She was alone as she moved along the cracked pavement. The wind was tossing her free hair as she carefully watched all of the possible hiding places in front of her. There was no sound as the dust from the streets was picked up and carried away. It was just how she'd imagined the apocalypse.

Kima didn't expect to see anything as she moved deeper into the heart of the city as it was hidden by shadows. The swift movement of black and white blurs moved quickly ahead of her as she sped up to a run to discover their destination. Several people dressed in the captains' garb that she'd seen Toshiro in were standing around one of the Dynasty gates that had been opened. One was an old man that looked much like the Commander General that she'd seen before. There were two others; one with white hair and the other sporting a bright pink kimono.

"Ukitake-taichou. Shunsui-taichou. The balance has been upset. Aizen Sosuke has done what he set out to do."

"Sotaichou, what should we do? The Rukongai has been overwhelmed with incoming spirits. I don't think there are many humans left."

"I'm uncertain. Those Ronin warriors are being killed one by one. Which have already come to Soul Society?"

Shunsui tipped his hat a bit further over his eyes. "The leader; Rekka. Korin and Suiko. That leaves two; Tenku and Kongo. Destroyer is still going up against the warlords. Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou are there assisting. I also believe that Kurosaki-kun and the other ryouka are assisting with the warlords."

"It would seem that the warlords are stronger than they were given credit for." Yamamoto commented. "The arrancar is biding his time or is awaiting orders from his master."

Kima continued past them to a site that looked like a battle zone. There were people standing there that she'd never seen before. She assumed that they were the ryouka that the head captain was talking about. The warlords were scattered about as the remaining Ronin Warriors were fighting. The others had been killed. The blonde fought the burning in her eyes as she got closer. Two figures met as their weapons clashed. The figure in the black and silver armor, who she recognized as herself, screamed as the figure she was fighting drove the blade of his weapon into her left eye. Vermillion came gushing from the eye as she crashed into the ground. The figure in the purple armor, Dais, landed as well, raising his mourning star.

"You knew this day would finally come, Destroyer. Today is the day I put an end to this ridiculous feud once and for all." He said, raising his weapon above his head.

"Go ahead." She heard herself say. "As you took my eye, you just angered the Ronins. The others will return, Dais. You have my word."

His laugh filled her ears once again, sounding much like it had seven years ago when he gave her that scar. "Do what you want. You're dead!"

Bringing the mourning star down in one swift movement, Dais pierced her with the six different blades. Kima's eyes widened as the wounds began to bleed profusely. As she coughed, the crimson liquid stained her teeth and snaked from both corners of her mouth. Fighting for breath, a laugh managed to escape her. Dais's smirk turned to a frown as he looked down on this piece of garbage.

"Laugh all you want. You're time is running out, Destroyer. Little Desu-chan."

"As your blades made contact, I returned the last of the Ronins' power. You'll have to deal with their armors and their sure-kills now. Farewell, Dais, you treacherous bastard."

The warlord of Illusion leapt away to join his brothers in arms. Being the oldest of them, he would grant his enemy the wish of an uninterrupted death. Toshiro was next to her in a matter of moments, scooping her injured and dying body into his arms. His icy eyes glowed with something she'd never seen before as her vision was beginning to blur; tears. He frantically pulled the helmet from her head and crushed her to him as he ignored the blood that was staining his uniform. Kima could feel his whole body shaking as he held her. He must be sobbing.

"You're showing the enemy your weakness, Shiro-chan." She told him in a raspy voice, a small sad smile on her face.

"What does that matter now? They've taken away my weakness. You're dying." He said with burning eyes.

Another small laugh and the further expelling of blood. "Remember your promise to me. You perform the konso if my soul decides to linger."

"I promise. I promise you."

Kima looked on as she watched herself die and Toshiro fall apart. In his rage and pain, he lay her body gently down on the ruined pavement and charged at the warlords without reason. Her eyes widened as she called out to him to stop. Sekhmet cut him with his poison blades, Dais pierced him with his mourning star, and finally, as he fell to his knees, Cale beheaded him with one swift motion of his No-datchi. Kima screamed as she knotted her fingers in her hair. Dais picked up his zanpakuto and crushed the blade into a thousand pieces with his fist. Then, looking straight into her maddened eyes, he smiled as he tossed the hilt of the weapon in her direction.

"You knew this would happen. You should've never expected to win, Kima. My master will destroy you all. You will lose everything that is precious to you."

As her knees gave way, the image of Toshiro's headless body began to ripple before her. It was replaced by a familiar scene of the past. Dais had knocked her to the ground. Her younger self lost consciousness as she was given the scar that she now bore. Dais then turned to her, laughing once again. His laughter filled her head, causing her to cover her ears and squeeze her eyes closed as the tears escaped them, screaming the whole time. No matter how hard she tried to shut out the images that flashed through her mind, the sight of her friends dead before her was burned into her brain and the back of her eye lids.

"You brought this upon yourself, Kima the Destroyer. You will pay for everything and this battle will finally be finished."

...

A blood-curdling scream woke Toshiro from his light sleep immediately. His eyes landed on the bed first to find Kima thrashing about under the blanket and continuing to scream. The white-haired man was on his feet and by her side in a matter of seconds. He spoke to her several times to try to return her to the real world, but nothing seemed to bring her back from her nightmare. Toshiro finally began to shake her frantically, worry twisting his features. Mia and Claudia quickly entered, Claudia taking the other side of the bed. She shot him a worried glance.

"What's happening? What's wrong?" Mia asked in a panic.

"She's dreaming, I think." Toshiro replied, relieved when her blue eyes finally pulled open.

Kima looked at him with growing recognition as her face crumpled, hiding it in his chest. He pulled her close, embracing her tightly. Claudia's expression softened as she laid a hand on her back, rubbing it gently. The blonde sobbed into Toshiro's chest as he exchanged confused glances with both of the brunettes.

"I know you're probably not going to want to, hon, but try to tell us about your dream." Claudia said gently.

"It was terrible!" came Kima's muffled voice. "I saw the head captain and two of the other captains; Ukitake and Shunsui. The world was destroyed. The Dynasty gates were open. Most of the guys had been killed by the warlords. Then…Dais. I died. He killed me."

"Go on." Toshiro urged softly.

Kima pulled far enough away to look at him. "You tried to attack them all. The warlords attacked you and…and…Cale killed you. I was watching it all. Dais looked right at me. He told me that his master would destroy us and I would lose everything that was precious to me. Then I saw him the day he gave me my scar. I kept seeing my friends dead. All I heard was his laughter. It was everywhere. Dais said that I brought this on myself and our battle would finally be done."

Claudia's face became angry as Mia looked thoughtful. Toshiro looked angry as well. It was Mia who finally spoke. "He's begun it then. Dais has thrown you the gauntlet by entering your dreams and twisting them, Kima. He's letting you know that you don't have much time until your final battle with him. Our time is running out faster than we thought."

Toshiro's head turned quickly toward the balcony. A slight smile placed itself on his face. "It would seem that Ichigo has finally arrived. Rowen will have his archery instructor in the morning. Ishida is one of the best. Inoue-san is here as well."

Claudia rose from the bed, positively enraged. "Where does that bastard get off? He's attacking people in their sleep? I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to send me a sorry-assed message of apology next. When I see him next, he's dead!"

She stormed from the room without another word as Mia shook her head. Toshiro declined her offer for tea and she too left. Kima was still shaking as she clutched his shirt for dear life. He gently smoothed her hair and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Are you alright?"

The blonde shook her head. "I'm scared. For the first time, thinking about this final fight has made me aware of everything there is to lose. I don't know if I can do it. I'm afraid, Toshiro."

"I know." He said as he climbed over her to the empty side of the bed. "I'll be there with you, though. We'll all be there. I know you're afraid, but let us give you our strength."

Kima nodded as she snuggled close to him after he'd settled under the covers. She laid her head on his shoulder and smiled a bit as she felt his arms wrap around her. It wasn't long until Toshiro felt her breathing level out and she was asleep once again. Hopefully he could chase away her nightmares. Leaning his cheek against her head, he stared at the ceiling. He doubted that he'd be able to go back to sleep that night.

...

Pulling open the door, Mia saw three figures on the front porch. Blinking, none of them looked older than fifteen or sixteen. The young man with the orange hair turned around to look at her with a scowl on his face. She put on a bright smile as she greeted them.

"You must be Kurosaki Ichigo, Ishida Uryu, and Inoue Orihime. I'm Mia Koji. Please, come in."

"Where is that little white-haired midget? I want to know what this is all about. His hair-brained lieutenant didn't give us details at all."

Mia, not thinking twice, gladly gave him the information he wanted. "Toshiro's upstairs; second room on the left."

The orange-haired teen was up the stairs in a flash and entering the bedroom. As he opened his mouth to speak, it fell the rest of the way open. "T-Toshiro? Wh-what is that?"

A scowl placed itself on the captains face. "Can I not sleep too?"

"It's just…you…a girl…oh, never mind."

"I have feelings just like any normal person."

"That's just it, midget, you're not normal."

...

End Chapter.