Another chapter. Hope you like this better than the last one. Though, I don't know...
…
"I can't let you kill my mother," was all she said. Her voice almost too quiet to hear, but not a soul had missed it. Hana watched him, her stormy dark blue eyes reflecting the weight of her heart, "Please, Shuuhei."
His face grew dark and serious. His grip tightened on his zanpakuto as if trying to decide what to do.
She hadn't noticed, but in the few seconds since she crossed blades with him, the hollows began to quickly thin out. She knew, though, that everyone could see her. She would not be returning to Soul Society with them, or ever. She hadn't meant to, but she chose her side in that instant.
Hana stared at Hisagi for a minute, she couldn't believe what she'd just done. She'd just raised arms against her friends, her Captain and worst of all, Hisagi. She was hit with a sudden realization of what she'd just done, and she felt as though she might retch.
Hisagi drew back his blade only a little, then struck hard and fast. Hana barely had time to block, she held on tight as it rang through her arms and shoulders. Each strike was harder then the last one, forcing her to retreat. A step at a time, she was moved back.
She couldn't bring herself to fight back, only to defend. She could see the tears as they swelled in her eyes, but they didn't fall. Her mind had stopped responding and her body was now making automatic motions.
Hisagi watched every step as he forced her backwards, aiming to lock her into a corner. He wasn't going to let her make a mess of herself. He didn't want to loss her to Aizen's side, even though he knew what the punishment would be. He knew that at this point he'd already lost her.
He was letting out a lot of his anger in that moment. His jaw was clenched and every muscle in his body screamed with the effort and strain he was using to keep himself under control. He wanted to let out his anger, but he didn't want to hurt her at the same time.
Hana caught a glimpse of her captain, but kept her wide eyes on Hisagi.
Hisagi pushed her back a good distance, close to one of the tall buildings. Then broke the armband on his bicep. The band began to glow, then exploded, "Bakudou 62: hyapporankan!" the pieces of armband turned into a long rod that he held like a javelin, then he whipped it at her. The one rod became many, somewhat smaller rods.
Hana stared in shock as the pieces of kido came flying at her. Then slammed into her hard, pinning her to the wall. Her mind hadn't processed what was happening until after the fact.
"Hana," he said, his voice strained to stay calm. She didn't struggle to free herself from the kido, she only stared, numb. He sheathed his zanpakuto, "I can't let you do this. You're throwing everything away, and I care too much to let you do that."
She met his gray eyes, she was speechless. She'd essentially betrayed them, and he was still going to try to save her. She still couldn't say anything. She couldn't think of anything, she only hung her head in shame, her hair falling down around her face, hiding her.
Without warning, Hisagi froze, letting out a tiny gasp. Hana could feel it too. It was a strong arrancar. She knew who it was, she knew that feeling. She looked up to see a man with short white hair, a jawbone over his jaw, a hole in his chest.
"Grimjow," Hana breathed, her eyes wide in terror. The source of all of this, the man who had first pulled her from her human body. An inborn terror grasped her and she looked fearfully at Hisagi. The one that would be his opponent. The one that would fall beneath his hand.
Grimjow's grin was a little twisted, he had an intense look in his eyes. Something along the lines of what could be considered, blood lust. He slowly walked towards them, hands in his pockets, as if it were a casual encounter.
"Hey, shinigami," he said, his tone matched his grin.
"Shuuhei, run!" Hana tried as she watched the arrancar get closer. But no one was listening to her.
Hisagi's hand went to the handle of his zanpakuto. But before he could draw, Grimjow was inches away. Hisagi wasn't fast enough. And Grimjow had shoved his hand out, digging it deep into Hisagi's stomach.
"Shuuhei!" Hana screamed, her face distorted by fear and sadness. Finally she tried to fight against her bonds, but to no avail. The kido kept her secured against the building.
Hisagi slumped forward as Grimjow pulled his hand from the, now open, wound in Hisagi's stomach. Blood dripped out of the fallen man's mouth as he tried to keep himself aloft in the air, his arm securing his insides from falling out.
"Tch, weak!"Grimjow turned his eyes towards Hana, his smile ever-present. He took a few steps towards her and stopped only a few feet away.
Hana looked past him at Hisagi, then focused her wide eyes on him again. She swallowed hard and tried to keep from trembling. She could feel the wave of adrenaline rush over her with every step he took.
Then something made the arrancar stop. The sky became distorted and a tear appeared. As the sky ripped open, the battlefield stopped. Everything stopped, even the hollows. A black man with long dreds and a pair of clear wrap-around glasses stepped through. He wore the white uniform of the arrancar, but he wasn't a hollow.
"Tousen," Hisagi breathed as he looked up at the man. He couldn't move, Tousen's reiatsu and the pain from his injury held him in place.
"It's good to see you, Shuuhei," Tousen greeted, he didn't give Hisagi a chance to respond. Instead he used shunpo to move directly over to Hana.
She flinched a little when he appeared next to her. He pulled the rods out of the wall and her shihakushu, with great ease, releasing her from her capture. She didn't move, she wasn't sure what was going to happen next. Things had moved so fast, she didn't know which way was up.
Her eyes grew wide, she knew what was going to happen, and then she was gone. The arrancar were gone. Even the hollows. The only people left on the field were the shinigami. And they watched as the tear closed with Hana on the other side.
Hisagi would have gone after her, if he thought there was a chance he'd make it before the tear closed. But he didn't, he couldn't. Even if he weren't injured, Tousen's presence made an attempt even hardwe to carry out.
…
"Please, sheath your weapon," Tousen told Hana, his voice calm, and polite, even.
She'd been holding it this whole time. Her hand ached from gripping it so hard. She did as she was told, slowly returning Kaminari to her sheath at her waist. She stood still, almost frozen. It was strange, she expected to be treated as a prisoner, but no one was trying to drag her away to lock her up.
Her hand was thankful to be freed of its stress. She flexed it a couple of times, to stretch the muscles and tendons.
She looked over to Grimjow, blood still covered the end of his sleeve. Hisagi's blood.
"You gotta problem?" Grimjow barked.
She didn't answer with words. She only turned her eyes on him with anger. If she thought she'd live through fighting him, she wouldn't hesitate.
"Come," Tousen told Hana as he walked away, "It's time that you met Aizen."
Hana stared as they began to move, she didn't want to follow him. Not even if her mother was there. She wanted to return to the Real World. She wanted to return to Seireitei. It had been a reflex, an inner desire to keep Namiko alive, that had caused this. She stared blankly, her feet stationed, immobile.
"Hana Chiba," Tousen's voice had gotten more serious, demanding. Like that of a captain, "I do not want to have to make you move."
She turned her head to look at him, eyes cautious. He rested his hand on his zanpakuto. Although it looked like a harmless gesture, Hana had seen Hisagi use this same one, prior to fighting. She didn't want to anger him entirely. She needed to evaluate her opponents, and choose when to fight after she'd gaged them. From his reiatsu alone, she knew not to fight with this man.
Hana followed silently, her head down.
Namiko walked beside her. She did not acknowledge Hana. Her back was straight, her face stiff. And Hana was silently grateful that the woman did not act as her mother. A mother would try to console her child for a situation like that.
But Hana didn't want anyone to tell her, 'it will be alright.' She knew what she'd done, and now she had to find a way to fix her own huge mess.