I left off at a pretty weird spot last time…
I don't own Harry Potter, Bleach or Fairy Tail
"We'll have to see, won't we?" Harry grimaced, "Ruins magic is something I've always excelled in…not to brag or anything." He chuckled.
"Looks complicated." She said looking over his shoulder.
"I should have my first prototype method done in a couple of hours." He said, "And hopefully one of you will be testing it while you go visit Aizen."
"I'll do it." Hitsugaya decided, "If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it before. I'll trust you…for now."
"Matsumoto-san, did you here that? I've just gained the great Hitsugaya-taichou's trust!"
Matsumoto laughed,
"Please, Harry-kun, call me Rangiku. Matsumoto sounds way too formal." She waved.
"Then just call me Harry." Harry insisted, "I'm not really used to formal stuff anyways."
"Harry then." Rangiku smiled happily.
"Good god, it's the alliance from hell." Harry swore that's what he heard Hitsugaya mutter…but it could have just been the wind.
Harry spent hours working on his schematic for his spell, then he began the actual magic part.
It was two o'clock and Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were working on paperwork by then. Well, Hitsugaya was working on paperwork. Matsumoto was lounging and drinking sake.
"I've got a prototype." Harry said.
"That just looks like rice paper with an eye on it." Matsumoto pointed out, "Are you sure it will work?"
"No idea." Harry admitted, "That's why we're going to test it."
He got up from the coffee table and handed the paper to Hitsugaya,
"Just go in and stick this to your forehead. Close your eyes and see if you can see past Aizen's illusion." Harry explained, "I tested it on myself, and it seems to allow me to see with my eyes closed, but the trick is getting pass the illusion."
"Alright." Hitsugaya said, "Here goes nothing. I'll be back to tell you if it worked. Matsumoto…do your paperwork."
"But taichou…" She whined, "Half my pile is already gone, see." She said proudly.
"That's because Harry did those yesterday!" he growled.
"Yes, but they're still gone." She countered.
"Do your work, Matsumoto. I'll be back shortly." He said, closing the door behind him.
Harry let out a sigh, then began working on the ruin schematic again. He ran a hand through his hair.
"Even if it does work, that paper's going to be flimsy in battle. I'll have to find something better to bind the magic and the senses." Harry frowned, then began writing again.
"Hm…you're really smart, aren't you?" Rangiku said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
"I like to think so." Harry admitted, "I've been studying magic a long time, well, for me anyways. It's been…maybe seven years now, come to think of it."
"Seven years?" Rangiku asked curiously, "So, you started when you were eight or nine?"
"Eleven." Harry said, "When I was fifteen my time stopped. I won't age until I've done what I set out to do."
"Oh? And what's that?" Rangiku asked curiously.
"Hmm…" Harry hummed, "That's kind of a secret. Even I don't know entirely. But…I know I'm supposed to learn some sort of lesson."
Harry spent thirty minutes working on another way to bind his design to the senses another way. Hitsugaya came back in.
"Well?" Harry asked him.
"It sort of worked." He said, "For a moment, the body flickered out of existence. It won't be enough in battle." He said grimly.
"I didn't think it would be powerful enough." Harry admitted, "But the fact that it flickered out of existence, even a moment means that I'm on the right track. I think my problem is finding a way to apply the design and integrating it into the other senses while still keeping it separate." Harry ran a hand through his hair, then began writing something else down.
"Give me another hour or two and I think I'll have something else ready. I've got a good base, now I just need to better improve upon it."
"Alright." Hitsugaya said, then he froze, as did everyone in the room.
"What was that?" Harry wondered, "I mean, from the level of reiatsu…is that a captain?" Harry asked. He knew it was far away, but even from where he was he could sense it as plain as day. It was on a completely different level from that lieutenant Ichigo had fought the night before.
"Kenpachi Zaraki." Hitsugaya said, eyes narrowed, "He's fighting someone. I need to go. Keep working on your design. Matsumoto, if Harry finishes before I get back, will you test out his spell or whatever it is?"
"Of course." Rangiku said, "I think we can trust Harry."
"I'll tell you when I've got something." Harry waved, not taking his eyes off the paper.
He did hear Hitsugaya leave the room though. The crushing reiatsu would distract him every now and again, but Harry forced his mind back to the work at hand.
After another solid hour he finally had something in mind. It was another rice paper design as Harry hadn't quite gotten to the point where he could figure out any other way to link the spell and senses yet.
"Try this one." Harry said, "Another prototype. Come back here right away and tell me if it worked at all. Tell me everything you experience when using it."
"Alright." She said, "But I'll have to drop by to give something to a friend first."
"That's fine." Harry nodded, "I'll try reading up on better methods of infusing the magic. If I add any more power to the rice paper, it's going to end up burning apart."
"Is it safe?" Rangiku asked concerned.
"I've taken every precaution I can think of. If it doesn't work, it shouldn't hurt you or anything." Harry added.
"Alright. I'll see you soon." She said, the door closed behind her and Harry went back to work.
He knew he was nearly there, but he was going to need something more than just ink and rice paper for a spell so powerful.
How was the emerald eye created the first time? He knew it used a similar method, but still…Should he start over?
No, it was growing dark out already and Harry didn't think he'd have that sort of time. Especially not with the time limit. He let out a frustrated growl. How the hell was he going to do this? Normally it would take him a week to actually create a spell like this. Even with the book, which had given him a ton of hints in regards to the eye of emerald, would still take him that long. He let out a frustrated groan. He was going to be pulling another all-nighter.
The door to the captain's office was pushed open.
"You look frustrated." Rangiku said, "Anyways, your paper kind of worked. It was like…" she paused, "The body was flickering in and out of existence."
Harry hummed,
"Then that means I've got the right rune array." He said, "But I don't have the right bonding agent." He frowned, then began sifting through his bag until he pulled out a smaller brown book with a leather binding.
"What's that?" Rangiku asked curiously, "It looks different than the other books."
Harry looked down at the book with an intense gaze,
"It's a book on…the less savoury magics." He admitted.
He unclasped the leather binding and opened it up.
"What do you mean the 'less savoury magics?'" Rangiku asked curiously.
Harry sighed,
"There are some really scary magics out there. This stuff…it's not too bad, in comparison to things like death magic or magic that takes away free will or…" Harry scrunched his nose, "Magic designed to torture…But it still borders on that." He admitted, "Where I come from, there are three horrible spells that are forbidden to use no matter what the circumstance. The Avada Kadavra, the Cruatious curse, and the Imperius Curse. But there are curses that are far worse than those. I've encountered them before. The lullaby, a flute that causes any of it's victims to die if they hear it being played…These are all classified as dark or black magic."
"Magic…can really do all that?" Rangiku wondered.
Harry nodded,
"Yes, it can. This book, it doesn't have anything in it that involves killing a person…but things like blood magic, sacrificial magic…even the spell of four minutes…I attained it from a client as payment for a job a long time ago. But I remember reading in it something about bondings. I'm hoping that it will have something inside it that I haven't thought of yet."
"But the papers could work." Rangiku said.
"I'll make a few more up, but they won't last long. About…ten minutes." Harry said, "And I don't think that would be particularly convenient in a fight."
"No, it wouldn't." she admitted, "Not to mention, the paper's attach rather flimsily. It could just be blown off."
"Yeah." Harry agreed, "That's why it's so important to find a better bonding agent. I have a feeling I'll be looking at a more organic material for this particular spell."
"Organic?" Rangiku asked uneasily.
"Yup." Harry said sifting through the pages, "Plant matter, or animal organs, I don't know yet. I'm kind of hoping not to use anything from animals though, that…I mean, I'm not even sure where I'll find animals around here."
Rangiku looked sick,
"I'm not sure I want to know." She decided quickly.
Just then, reiatsu seemed to explode through the air.
"Uryu." Harry said.
"That's one of yours?" Rangiku said looking out the office window.
"Yeah, Uryu." Harry nodded, "But who's he going up against?"
"Mayuri Kurosuchi." Rangiku grimaced, "And it seems they're really going at it."
Harry looked back down at his work and started writing again. Suddenly, there was a huge burst of energy, Harry's eyes widened. He hadn't realized Uryu had become that powerful…
"That's your friend?" Rangiku asked wide eyed.
"I didn't know he was that strong either." Harry admitted, "Last time I saw him fight he wasn't nearly that strong…Guess I best keep going." He said, writing down some more runes on another piece of paper.
"I'm ready to test whatever you come up with." Rangiku said seriously.
"Alright." Harry said, jotting down a couple of ideas, "I have a few plant materials in my bag, herbs and stuff. I often need them for making potions and healing."
The office door slid open again and Hitsugaya came in, he had a pile of paperwork in his arms. He moved it to his desk and began writing.
"Are you close to figuring it out?" he asked Harry.
"Yeah, I'm progressing faster than I thought I would." Harry admitted, "I have the right rune design, but I need a different bonding agent. Rice paper isn't strong enough. Rangiku tested it out earlier and she reported that the image of Aizen's body double was flickering in and out of existence. I'm close. I just got to figure out which bonging agent to use. I have a few candidates here." Harry said, taking out some vials of plants he'd collected.
He took out a knife and a vial of liquid.
"Now comes the fun part." Harry said, taking one of the plants out of the vial and looking through his leather book.
"Medusa Leaves...Lets see if this works." He crushed up the leaves, it took at least twenty minutes to get all the juice out, and Rangiku had fallen asleep.
Harry ran a hand through his hair when he realized the potion wasn't right at all.
"This isn't going to work." He vanished the liquid, then looked through the book again.
He tried a few of the more ordinary plants, then tested then out through small drops of sensory potion. None of them turned the right color or texture that Harry was hoping for.
It was close to midnight when Rangiku woke up, startled.
"So you're finally awake." Hitsugaya said.
Rangiku looked over at him owlishly,
"Taichou I…What are you doing here in my room?"
Harry smiled, Rangiku sure was funny.
"Better take another look, Matsumoto. We're in my office, not your room. Since you're awake, you can take over." He said stacking up the papers in his hands neatly, "I'm completely exhausted."
"Maybe if you hadn't done all the paperwork for squad five's takeover yourself, you wouldn't be so exhausted." Rangiku said getting up and walking over to his desk.
"Be quiet, and just finish it off, will you?" he handed the papers over.
Rangiku looked the over,
"It seems that you left out a few things." She noted, "What about all the details of…"
"Didn't I tell you to keep quiet?" Hitsugaya sighed, then took a sip of his tea.
"I, uh…" Rangiku began, "I've been asleep a long time, haven't I?"
"Don't worry about it." He said looking away.
Harry was a bit lost, but it wasn't really something he ought to worry about. It seemed like a private conversation somehow.
"You have a classmate who's fighting with your kohai. That can't be easy for you." Hitsugaya said, but he wouldn't make eye contact with her.
"Excuse me sir." A voice said from behind the door, "I am Kichikiro Takezoe, tenth division seventh seat. I'm looking for Hitsugaya-taichou and Lieutenant Matsumoto. May I come in?"
Harry cast a quick disillusionment charm on the potions and books. Hitsugaya gave him a quick nod,
"Yes, what do you want?"
"Sir!" The door slid open to reveal a kneeling Shinigami, "I beg your pardon, but this is an urgent matter. There's been an incident at the prison that requires your immediate attention. Sir, Lieutenant Abarai, Lieutenant Hinamori and Lieutenant Kira, sir, have all vanished from their cells."
Harry was surprised at this. Lieutenant Abarai, as Rangiku had informed him earlier was that red headed Shinigami who had fought Ichigo. Harry had a feeling he had vanished to seek the orange haired hot-tempered substitute out, though he couldn't quite explain his reasoning on that. Just a hunch.
Lieutenant Hinamori was close to Hitsugaya, though Harry didn't know the extent of their relationship, and he hadn't pondered on it long.
"Show us." Hitsugaya said, "Li, stay here and finish your assignment. That's an order." He told Harry.
"Yes, sir." Harry saluted, he'd told Hitsugaya his fake name already, and though it was originally Chinese, Hitsugaya agreed that it would better help him blend in.
Rangiku and Hitsugaya ran out of the room, the seventh seat escorting them along the way. The door was closed behind them and Harry went back to work, all his equipment reappearing.
It wasn't long before Rangiku came back.
"What happened?" Harry asked, mixing two vials together, and frowned when he still wasn't getting the desired effect.
"Lieutenant Hinamori…Momo escaped." She confessed, "None of us…none of us thought she would take things so far."
Harry frowned,
"That sounds like…"
"You know something?" Rangiku asked Harry curiously.
"It's a theory." Harry admitted, "But…her behaviour isn't normal. It's almost like she's been brainwashed."
"Brainwashed?" Rangiku repeated alertly.
Harry frowned,
"It's a tactic that's often employed by manipulative old men." He said with annoyance, "I was a victim of such brain washing once. Trust no one else but that person. If that person tells you your best friend is your enemy, they're your enemy. If they tell you to sacrifice yourself, that's what you…" Harry's eyes widened, "Damnit!" Harry slammed his fists down on the table, then got up, "This is a trap!"
"A trap?" Rangiku said alertly.
"Momo's escape, Hitsugaya's going after her. Don't you see?" Harry said, and it was quite obvious to him.
Rangiku's eyes widened with realization,
"You aren't saying…Aizen set them up to fight?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Harry grinded his teeth, "He's playing them like a fiddle. Rangiku, we're going." Harry told her.
"But what about…"
Harry took a look at his work, then quickly packed his things into bags, stuffing them away hastily, then putting his bag on. He wasn't about to leave his things. Not where they could be easily stolen.
"If I get caught, I'll just do my work elsewhere. I won't let Hitsugaya-taichou take the fall for this. I swear. If you need me to make an unbreakable vow, I will." Harry told her seriously.
"An unbreakable vow?" she repeated.
"A vow that kills you if it's broken. Come on." Harry urged.
Rangiku nodded, it was incredible how she could change from aloof to dead serious within milliseconds.
They both Shunpoed away, through the streets and up on the roof tops. They were in time to see Momo standing outside of the squad three barracks. She held a sword up to Hitsugaya's throat, while the white haired captain stared at in confused, shocked and sad…sad that she would do this.
"Hitsugaya-Taichou!" Harry shouted.
"Li! Matsumoto, stay back!" Hitsugaya ordered just as Momo lifted her sword and plunged it downwards, obviously hoping to kill her childhood friend, but Hitsugaya got out of the way effortlessly.
"Don't be a fool!" Hitsugaya tried to reason, "Think about what you're saying! If he dies he wants you to risk your life as well? Do you honestly believe Aizen-taichou would say that?"
Harry let out a small breath through his nose. Good, even in the midst of the obvious emotional turmoil he was in, Hitsugaya had managed to hide the fact that he knew of Aizen's treachery.
"The Aizen-taichou I knew would not be stupid to face unbeatable odds alone. And if he did, he certainly wasn't a coward who would let his subordinates bail him out because he couldn't get the job done!"
"I know!" Momo shook her head, tears streaming down her face, "But Taichou wrote it all in his letter, he did! And I know it was his handwriting. I recognised it! I didn't want to believe it either, but it's true!"
"Oh, Momo." Rangiku said sadly.
"He's not going to be able to reason with her." Harry said grimly, he held out his finger in a familiar fashion, "Bakudou no ichi. Sai!"
The spell shot out and restrained her, she tried to break free, struggling around on the ground.
"Momo…" Hitsugaya said, obvious hurt in his voice.
"Forgive me, Hitsugaya-taichou." Harry said, bowing as he'd seen his subordinates do, "Lieutenant Hinamori is not in the right state of mind right now. I believe we won't be able to reason with her at this time."
Hitsugaya's face returned to it's serious and cold expression,
"You are forgiven. Matsumoto, call for the fourth squad immediately, and the second squad. Lieutenant Kira escaped his cell."
"Sir!" Rangiku said, summoning a hell butterfly.
"Li, I believe you were working on something important and I ordered you not to leave. Return to my office immediately and wait for me there. You will be reprimanded later."
"Sir." Harry said, playing along.
Once he and Rangiku were a fair distance away, she smiled slightly.
"You are quite the little actor."
Harry smirked,
"What can I say? It's a gift. Now, to get back to that project…"