...
"No pain... No sadness... No regrets. There is nothing for my heart to linger in this world."
First, sadness... Overwhelming, excruciating, inescapable sadness. Aside from adrenaline coursing through her as she sprinted alongside Ukitake. They ran together so closely that occasionally their hair would tangle together, but only for a moment. The feeling was oddly comforting, but it didn't help Hiori shake her feelings of despair. She was well aware that if she were to hold Amaterasu at that moment, the melodic hum of the blade would be enough to alert everyone to the fact that inside, she felt like she was dying.
Next, coupled to her sadness, she could feel Rukia's. She didn't know how, and she didn't know why. Perhaps Rukia thought that she had made peace with her passing... But Hiori knew it wasn't true. Coupled with her despair, Hiori could feel Rukia crying out to be saved, even if she told others that she was alright with it. Guilt, regret, sadness, she felt all of these... And denial. All of these feelings came crashing down on her more and more with each step that she took, and no matter what she did, she couldn't escape it.
Then, heat. Overpowering, fiery heat. She could even hear the cries of the unsealed Soukyoku, and the farther she ran, the louder they became. But she felt no rage; No anger, no hate. She felt none of the things that she had expected to feel from the fiery executioner. It was blank, it was clean... It was nothing but fire and death.
"Making space for a second attack?" Hiori could hear Ichigo's voice now as her feet touched the dirt of Soukyoku hill. "Good. Come." Hiori blocked out Rukia's furious cries of defiance as Ukitake stopped and turned to her, setting down the shield and staff roughly in the dirt.
"Brace yourself, Hiori-san." Ukitake murmured, and the next second, all Hiori could do was watch as the Soukyoku came to a screeching halt only inches in front of Ichigo's Zanpakuto. Ichigo and Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, their heads snapping down in Hiori and Ukitake's direction. The other Shinigami watching the execution also turned their attentions towards them, a young gray haired woman gasping in surprise.
"C-Captain Ukitake? And Kiyone?" she murmured, and then her eyes fell on Hiori. "And a Ryoka?" The next second, none other than Shunsui Kyouraku made his appearance. He and his Lieutenant came to a halt beside Ukitake, a goofy grin stretching Shunsui's features as he peered at them from under the brim of his Sakat.
"Hey there, handsome. You like to make people wait for you, don't ya?" Despite having nearly been killed by him a day ago, Hiori felt a small smile tug at her lips. "And lookie here- Hitsu-chan, it's good to see you've healed!" Hiori rolled her eyes.
"I'm glad you've come around to our side. It's about time," Hiori replied, earning herself a soft laugh from the brown haired man.
"C-Captain Kyouraku!" the gray haired woman cried again, but none of them seemed to be paying her any mind. Ukitake simply smiled, meeting Shunsui's eyes.
"Sorry, the seal took longer than expected." he said, and as he spoke he crouched low behind the shield. "But we can still do just fine!"
"Stop them!" a young woman with short, dark hair yelled, her Lieutenant stuttering in response. "They're going to destroy Soukyoku!" Hiori's eyes wandered from the shield, to Shunsui, to the fiery bird in front of Ichigo- How could a simple shield destroy such a powerful being?
"Back away Hiori-san!" Ukitake called, but a second later Hiori was pushed into Ukitake's Lieutenant as a sudden burst of energy from both Shunsui and Ukitake was sent upwards, meeting the fiery bird for a split second- And then it burst. The millions of tiny flames scattered around them like angry butterflies, glowing brightly in the afternoon sun. If it hadn't been such a morbid occasion, Hiori might have actually thought it to be beautiful.
"Ukitake, what are we-"
"Now we watch..." he murmured, backing away from the shield. He stood beside her, and she could feel his labored breathing as they each stared skyward. Red and white, side by side. Even as she watched Ichigo raise his sword to destroy the rack that held Rukia suspended in midair, all her mind was focussed on was the strange feeling of family that she felt when she was near the white haired man. Even as the rack glowed blue and Soukyoku Hill shook with the immense release of raw power, she felt an odd feeling of calm sweep over her.
For a moment, all was silent. Soul Society Shinigami, Traitors and Ryoka. All of them stared upwards, watching in blatant shock and awe as the orange haired boy who, only month ago, wasn't even what anyone in Soul Society would consider to be a full fledged Shinigami. He was weak, and working off of borrowed power. And now, as Hiori watched, she knew that now he was even more powerful than she could ever hope to be. A sudden cry of pain broke through the tense silence, and all attention was directed towards the source of the noise.
"Abarai!" Hiori called, watching as several unseated Shinigami fell around his feet. His eyes met hers, but were then directed up to where Ichigo stood, Rukia held precariously underneath his arm.
"Rukia!" he yelled, and Rukia's face broke into a smile. A smile that Hiori suddenly found that she had been missing these past weeks,
"Renji, you're alive!" Rukia called back, beaming down at him from underneath Ichigo's arm. "I'm so glad!"
"Renji!" Ichigo yelled gruffly, and Hiori arched an eyebrow as Ichigo lifted Rukia above his head.
"H-hey Ichigo, what're you-"
"Wait a minute, you've gotta be-"
"Ichigo, don't be stupid!" Hiori called, but Ichigo had already made up his mind. With an enormous grin on his face, Ichigo tossed the helpless Kuchiki forwards and towards Renji's outstretched arms.
"CATCH!"
"ICHIGO YOU DUMBASS!" Renji and Hiori yelled in unison, their faces falling as Rukia's horrified face closed in on Renji. Luckily for Rukia, she at least managed to fall into Renji's arms; Just not without being sent flying several yards backwards from the force of the throw. They lay on the ground for a moment, getting their bearings, before they leapt up once more.
"Ichigo, you idiot!"
"She could have died you idiot!"
Despite the gravity of the situation, Hiori couldn't help but laugh at the brief comic relief offered up by the pair of old friends. Ichigo, however, was all business, and immediately began instructing Renji on what to do next.
"Don't just stand there, get her out of here! Don't let her go even if you die!" A second later, Renji had disappeared from Soukyoku Hill.
"What are you doing?" It was the same dark haired woman who had known that Ukitake was going to destroy Soukyoku. "Go after them- That means all of you Lieutenants!" They did as they were told, but they stopped in their tracks as Ichigo suddenly appeared in front of them. It all happened almost too fast for Hiori's eyes to follow- One minute, the Lieutenants were releasing their Zanpakutos, and the next, they were lying on the ground.
"Nee-san!" Ukitake's Lieutenant, Kiyone, went sprinting forwards towards the gray haired Lieutenant, who was lying on the ground near where Ichigo and Byakuya were now exchanging blows.
"Kiyone, don't!" called the second Lieutenant, but it was too late, and he was swept off of his feet by an unseen force, too quick for the eyes to follow. Ukitake, however, seemed to follow it just fine. He whirled around in a flash of pure white, his face wild as the short, dark haired girl from before closed in on his unsuspecting Lieutenant.
"Suì-Fēng, wait!" Hiori made to follow Ukitake, but she, Shunsui and Ukitake were stopped before they could even get started. In front of them stood the most ancient man that Hiori had ever seen. His old face was weathered from many years of life and of battle. A long beard reached to his hips, and multiple scars marred his features.
"Don't move." he said. His voice was slow, commanding and forceful. Level, but enraged. Ukitake's green eyes widened, but Hiori didn't need to assess his facial expressions to know that they were in deep shit.
"Genryuusai-dono," The old man interrupted, however, before Ukitake could continue.
"The man who ran off with the criminal is a Lieutenant. He can easily be caught and slain, that matter can wait." he explained, his back turned away from the fight between Byakuya and Ichigo. Hiori was mesmerized, entranced by the amazing spiritual pressure radiating off of the old man. "However, I cannot forgive you two for what you have done..." Hiori was now aware of just what she had gotten in the middle of- A fight between the leader of the Shinigami, and the two Captains who had betrayed him. And she was caught in the crossfire.
"You are Captains, yet you did the unthinkable." he murmured, though his voice was still biting and angry. "You must know quite well yourselves the severity of the crime you have just committed."
"I see!" Hiori jumped, the mood suddenly swinging from dark and frightening to light and airy. "It can't be helped then! I guess we better get the heck out of here! Ukitake, grab Hitsu-chan!"
"Hey, wait-!" Hiori's breath was swept away from her as a strong arm gripped her stomach, pulling her off of her feet and off of Soukyoku hill in one swift motion. Her gray eyes were wide as they fell off of the mountainous place, and Hiori's gaze was met with the hard stare of the old man as they dropped from the cliff.
"Wait, Kyouraku!" Ukitake called, and Hiori suddenly realized that it was Shunsui who was dragging them both away from the battlefield. "My people are still up there!"
"Calm down, there!" Shunsui replied jovially as they took off through the air. "If you stay there and fight Old Man Yama... We will all die." Hiori's eyes widened. Why had they taken her, too? She couldn't fight- She couldn't even hold her Zanpakuto without risking their lives and her sanity. And now she was being dragged into a battle with the man that all Shinigamis bowed down to?
She must just have the worst luck of anybody living, dead or otherwise.
"Those two will be fine... There is one more person back there, don't you sense it?"
"... It's Yoruichi." Hiori murmured, and Ukitake smiled serenely.
"Yes. I can feel it."
And then, they halted. They stopped altogether, and Hiori felt the pads of her feet touch the ground once more. She felt strangely light, but she knew that this inner peace was only temporary. Soon, all of the sadness she had left behind at Soukyoku Hill would catch up with her. Soon, the old man would catch up with him. Soon, she would be a powerless girl stuck in the middle of a fight that even Ukitake doubted he could win.
Soon... Would she die?
In front of her, she could see Yamamoto stepping closer, closer and closer. There was no turning back, no looking the other way, but at the same time, there wasn't anything that she could do. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Shunsui's Lieutenant, her face a mask of seriousness to guard her fearful interior. They had two Captains, a Lieutenant, and a girl who had power but couldn't use it. Hiori knew their chances of winning against someone like this were slim. A sudden wave of enormous power swept over them- Hiori could feel her bones creak, and her lungs protest. The girl behind them, however, seemed to be feeling this tenfold, and collapsed to the ground.
"Leave." he growled, pointing his staff at the brown haired woman behind them. "A child like you... I have no patience to teach you how to breathe." Shunsui was beside of her in a flash, his hand placed on her head as if comforting a cowering child.
"It's alright, Nanao-chan..." he murmured softly, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry that I brought you here... Go..." And then the woman and Shunsui were gone, and the only thing of her remaining behind was the lingering doubt that she had left with Hiori. All she had done was make eye contact with Yamamoto... And she had collapsed in fear and weakness.
"Nice Shunpo, Kyouraku, it seems that you are able to go a long distance with one leap, now."
"Thank you," Shunsui said, bowing his head as he returned.
"But this is surprising... I had hoped to get rid of this Ryoka as well." he said quietly, eyeing the red haired girl from top to bottom. Shunsui smiled, patting the top of Hiori's head in a similar way to how he had comforted the woman earlier.
"But don't you recognize her?" he asked happily, ruffling her hair fondly. Hiori made a face, glowering at the brown haired man to her right in embarrassment. "It's Hitsu-chan."
"How could I forget?" Yamamoto replied as he took a step closer. "I suppose I should have expected this... After all, all three of you have always had powers more impressive than the rest... Kyouraku and Jushiro... Your complimentary powers together in battle are unrivaled by anyone before or after you..." Hiori could see what looked like reminiscence in the old man's eyes, and he watched the two men beside her with a mixture of fondness and betrayal. "Always training with self-discepline, you two were the first to become Captains... Through the Academy that I founded."
"And you, Hitsugaya Hiori... The older sister to one of Soul Society's child prodigies, and you were considered one yourself." he said, his eyes now only resting on her and her alone. "Alone and distant, always on your own... I was proud of these two as if they were my own sons, and Jushiro loved you like a daughter... And you threw that all away with your laziness, arrogance and ruthlessness... How different you became..."
"I believed that, even if the character is different, it is fine if they took the same paths..." The walking stick that he held in his hand began to swirl with flames, his anger manifested in the licking, biting, angry and orange heat that now surrounded his hands. "How wrong I was!"
"Genryuusai-sensei," Ukitake began, but Yamamoto cut him off before he could begin.
"Do not speak a word," he growled deep within his throat. Without thinking, Hiori reached down and entwined her fingers within Ukitake's. She felt protected, safe, even though everything around her should have made her feel the complete opposite. Ukitake's green eyes met hers for a moment as the energy around them continued to grow, even as the peacefulness within Ukitake's eyes remained. "It is too late for words... Draw your swords!"
In a flurry of motion and metal, three, then four swords were drawn. The peaceful thrum of Amaterasu's war cry filled the air, and Ukitake's eyes fluttered shut for a brief second, letting the calming noise wash over him. Hiori sighed- She'd made her choice. Her hand was on the hilt, and there was no putting it down. She had known what would happen the moment that she didn't fall down with Nanao Ise. The moment that Yamamoto had tested her and she had passed; She had known all along that she would have to fight, too.
And now, it was like rolling dice. Now, it was all left up to chance.
Soul Society Arc is drawing to a close!
Hiori finds herself in quite a predicament now- She can't use her Zanpakuto without risking her Hollow seizing control. But Ukitake and Shunsui seem to have unwittingly dragged her into the middle of a fight with Yamamoto, and she can't use her powers! So either she can run, or she can use her Zanpakuto to fight and risk her Hollow taking hold. Obviously, she chooses to use her Zanpakuto- We'll have to wait and see just how tht affects her!
BlueFox of the Moon: If you don't mind me turning her human, it'd be awesome if I could use her! Thanks so much!
Thanks for all the reads and reviews and favorites.
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