Massive thank you to the two guests and Diah77 who left me reviews for the last chapter :D I hope you enjoy this one!
Be warned: PLOT ahead! :D
Chapter 5 - Gryffindor Vs Slytherin
Toshiro PoV
It felt like Toshiro had barely any time to breathe between Halloween and the first Quidditch match of the season. As tradition, the first match was Slytherin vs Gryffindor and he was dreading it. Every single year the two teams played and in every single match it felt like Gryffindor flattened them. Then he'd have to endure Rukia's teasing taunts and jeers for weeks before she finally settled down and focused on her next match.
He was sure this year would be worse, given the fact that she was Captain.
Toshiro made his way down to breakfast already dressed in his Quidditch robes and sat at the Slytherin table with the rest of his team. Yukio had woken early and came to join them, pushing toast toward him from across the table while they ignored Grimmjow's barking voice shouting strategies for the whole hall to hear.
'You should eat something,' Yukio said with a smile. Hyorinmaru agreed, pulling a bit of toast from the plate in his beak and dragging it over toward Toshiro's hand.
'Thanks,' Toshiro picked the bit of toast up and took a bite, just to stop the two of them worrying. He felt his stomach contort uneasily. It was hard to know you were your team's only hope in the match.
'No matter what happens,' Yukio said sternly, 'I'll still be here for you at the end. Rukia might ditch you but I won't.'
'Gee thanks,' Toshiro rolled his eyes but he did smile and Yukio smirked back.
'Good luck, Toshiro,' someone called. Toshiro's head snapped around and he saw Rangiku beaming and waving at him. She had her Ravenclaw scarf wrapped around her neck, looking ready to head down to the pitch.
'T-thanks,' he flushed visibly in front of his team mates who turned to gawk at him following the interaction. Yukio laughed as Rangiku turned away, none the wiser to the situation. Toshiro still hadn't taken Yukio's advice and looked at her properly. Each moment he'd been presented felt wrong. What girl wanted a guy staring at them in the library when they were trying to study? Or during their Alchemy class? Or when she did yoga in the bathroom?
Their bathroom time had only overlapped a couple of times, their conversations pleasant but short-lived. Toshiro hadn't found a good enough time to take his best friend's advice.
'You going to stay and watch the match with me today, Mate?' Yukio asked Hyorinmaru. The bird looked at him and then flew off across the hall to the approaching figure of Professor Shiba. 'I'll take that as a "no",' Yukio sighed.
'I was just coming to collect him,' Professor Shiba said in his hearty voice, grinning broadly down at them, 'good luck today Toshiro.'
'I'm going up against your daughter,' Toshiro replied, 'why aren't you wishing her luck?'
The Professor boomed a laugh that had Hyorinmaru fluttering his wings in surprise.
'Because she doesn't need it, trust me,' he said, winking. Toshiro was left feeling unsettled as the Professor moved away. He headed towards the Gryffindor table with Hyorinmaru swinging from the hood of his cloak.
'Do you think Hyorinmaru will ever like me?' Yukio scowled.
'The day you stop tripping up over your own two feet,' Toshiro said with a smile, 'I am sure he will.'
Considering Yukio stumbled as he stood up from the table, it didn't seem likely any time soon.
The boys made their way down to the pitch together. The excited chatter of students broke around them. A few people wished Toshiro good luck, some of them Gryffindors, though most just glared good-naturedly at him. It was the only time at the school when there was even remotely a taste of the house rivalry that had once existed.
'Toshiro!'
He turned to the sound of his name to see Professor Urahara pushing through the students toward him.
'Hello, Professor,' Toshiro smiled.
'Listen, I need you to win this one. I have a ten Galleon bet on you to catch the Snitch against Yoruichi, and I wasted the last of it down the pub at the weekend,' he didn't look remotely abashed at having to admit this.
'I'll see what I can do,' Toshiro sighed.
It didn't help that a few minutes later Yoruichi came to him and asked him to lose for the exact same reason.
'They must be fucking behind the scenes,' Yukio said with a sigh watching her depart, his gaze a little lower on her retreating form than Toshiro thought appropriate.
'Please don't talk about our Professors like that,' Toshiro scowled, 'I don't need those images in my head.'
'Does it make it hard snogging her when you're- I'M JOKING!' Yukio threw his arms over his face as Toshiro pulled his wand from inside his robes.
They made it down to the pitch without any more of a fuss. Yukio wished him good luck one last time before breaking away to go to the stands. Toshiro made his way into the changing rooms. Grimmjow wasn't big on inspirational speeches, so they simply got shouted at for five minutes before Soi Fon's whistle blew outside and they left the room. The air was mild and there was enough cloud cover to stop the sun getting into their eyes. Across the pitch, the brilliant red robes strode confidently toward them. Toshiro could see Rukia's grin as she and Grimmjow stepped forward to shake hands, then they were mounting their brooms. On Soi Fon's whistle, they kicked off from the ground and at once Toshiro urged his broom to the outer perimeter and away from the carnage.
He needed to find the Snitch, fast.
His eyes glanced around, ignoring the mass of green and red robes that had sprung into action, when a very familiar voice echoed around the arena.
'And it's Gryffindor in possession of the Quaffle. If only Rukia could hold onto it as well as she holds onto her men- whoops, there it goes!'
Toshiro whipped around to the commentator box so fast he almost slipped off his broom. There in the box, his blond hair pushed away from both eyes and his feet up on the deck as he looked out onto the pitch, was Yukio. Rukia had been caught off guard too, which had caused her to drop the ball.
Toshiro's mouth fell open and he just stared at him, because Yukio hadn't mentioned anything at all about commentating. The last commentator they'd had, had been a seventh-year called Rudbornn, so they'd obviously needed to replace him. Judging by the look on Professor Yadomaru's face, she greatly regretted her decision. Professors Shihouin and Urahara roared with laughter at Yukio's comment from behind her.
'OI!' Grimmjow barked at Toshiro, waving his beater's bat threateningly, 'GET GOING!'
Toshiro whirled around and went back to circling the pitch. His eyes glanced around for anything that might be glinting gold. He strained his ears trying to catch the commentary that Yukio was dishing out.
'Oh, nasty hit to Nemu from that Bludger by Chad, thankfully Riruka caught the Quaffle, still won't go out with me though,' his friend's voice rang out. Toshiro was laughing. The apprehension of the match was lost in the absurdity of what was happening. 'And she's gone and lost it to Rukia of Gryffindor. Don't worry Riruka you can make it up to me later. It's Rukia speeding down the pitch toward Ninny, will the tiny little Gryffindor score the first match of the game- yep there it is! Ten points to Gryffindor! The famous short shit has done it again!'
'YUKIO!' Professor Yadomaru had apparently had enough now, 'LANGUAGE!'
Toshiro spotted something flashing at him from over at the Gryffindor goalposts and sped toward it, dipping into a dive when he spotted that it was the Snitch! This early into the game he could secure a win for Slytherin if he caught it. A distant thud had Toshiro pulling out of his dive as a well-aimed Bludger was sent at him from Ikkaku. It was all that was needed for Toshiro to lose sight of the Snitch. Cursing, he rose back into his usual position and shot a glare at the smirking Ikkaku. By the time he found it again, Gryffindor was up by sixty points.
'Come on,' Toshiro urged his broom back into another dive.
'And Toshiro's seen the Snitch, always liked that guy, a smile that good should be illegal on the pitch though, too distracting-'
Yukio's voice was drowned out by the whirring of wind in Toshiro's ears as he reached one hand off his broom outstretched toward the Snitch. This time it was Karin who cut directly in front of his path and Toshiro pulled from the dive with a hiss of surprise, missing a collision by centimetres.
'KARIN! C'mon, you couldn't let us have that? You horrid wee tree goblin!'
'He's getting creative with those non-swear words,' Rukia laughed, circling around Toshiro for a second with the Quaffle under her arm before she darted off toward the goalposts to score yet another ten points for Gryffindor.
'Toshiro GET THE DAMN SNITCH PAL!' Yukio hollered at him and Toshiro scowled, glaring at the stands where his best friend was. 'We can't lose to these Christmas-cloaked wannabes again!'
Toshiro moved with more haste around the pitch. He was blocked twice more from getting the Snitch by another two Bludgers from Ikkaku and Chad. Growing more irate by the second, Toshiro spotted the Snitch up in the sky above the pitch. Shooting up at it he noticed that Karin was also hot on his tail. They were just one hundred and sixty points down now, if he caught the Snitch it wouldn't be that bad of a thrashing.
Karin drew level with him and he almost started to move out of her way, but remembered that there was a time and a place for being nice and on the Quidditch field she was fair game. Karin knocked into him, in a bid to try and throw him off course, but Toshiro was larger than she was and with longer arms, raised his fist and caught the tiny fluttering golden ball tightly in his grasp.
'YES!' he called, looping back around and flying down toward the pitch with his hand held aloft. It seemed during his and Karin's struggle, Gryffindor had managed to score another goal.
The sound of Soi Fon's whistle was music to his ears.
'Gryffindor win!' Yukio cried, 'but my best pal in the whole world caught the Snitch. Look at him, how is he still single? If he can't get a date what hope in hell do I have to get lai-' Professor Yadomaru had grabbed the microphone off him before he had a chance to finish.
The final score was one-hundred-and-seventy to one-hundred-and-fifty points. Toshiro disembarked his broom the moment he got to the ground, watching his team mates land around him.
'You couldn't have held off,' Grimmjow scowled at him, 'we only needed to score two goals.'
'Grimmjow we had about as much hope scoring two goals as you do marrying Nell,' Ninny said, touching down beside them, 'Toshiro did the right thing.'
'If I hadn't caught it, Karin would have,' Toshiro glowered at Grimmjow, 'then we'd be three hundred points down.'
The taller seventh-year narrowed his eyes at him and opened his mouth to rebut him but was distracted when a Bludger landed in the grass very close to his left foot causing him to hop backwards.
'Sorry,' Ikkaku said simply, 'thought you wanted it back.'
Toshiro didn't have time to properly grill Yukio about his commentary until they went back to the castle for lunch. He showered and then rushed to the Great Hall to see that Yukio was swarmed with people, some clapping him on the back and laughing and others - mostly Slytherins - scowling at him. He made his way over to the table and to his friend and the students parted like the red sea, while congratulating him for his amazing catch of the Snitch.
'Why didn't you tell me?' Toshiro said the moment his blond haired friends eyes glanced up at him. Yukio blinked innocently.
'I thought it would be funnier this way,' he replied.
'Funnier? Oh yeah you're a real comedian,' Rukia was one of the faces currently scowling at him.
'It's not my fault you lack a sense of humour Rukia,' Yukio said calmly.
'You could have at least given me the warning,' Toshiro cut across Rukia's angry barrage of swear words, 'then I'd not have been so distracted trying to find the Snitch.'
Yukio's pale lips pulled back in a beautiful smirk, 'I'd say I'm sorry but honestly I just wish I could have seen your face.'
Laughing, Toshiro dropped into the bench beside him, 'is Professor Yadomaru going to stop you commentating after all that?'
'No, she tried to, but she needs the approval of the majority of the staff before she can fire me and most of them enjoyed my performance,' Yukio shrugged. Toshiro remembered seeing Professors Shihouin and Urahara laughing and supposed that would be true. They were drinking buddies with Professors Kyoraku and Ukitake after all.
'So does this mean you're going to continue?' Rukia scowled at him.
'Course I am,' Yukio grinned at her, 'have you ever known me to give up anything?'
'I've never even known you to care to try,' she narrowed her eyes at him.
'Then be pleased he found a hobby,' Toshiro chuckled.
'Congratulations Toshiro!' he whipped around to the sound of his name and saw Rangiku beaming down at him, Hyorinmaru already perched on her shoulder.
'Oh, um, thanks,' Toshiro tried to quell the heat that usually rose onto his cheeks whenever Rangiku spoke to him in public.
'You flew really well,' she smiled and then obviously saw his friends staring at her from behind him and faltered. 'Are you going for your jog on Tuesday night?'
He blinked at the question, surprised she'd already learned his jogging schedule, 'um, no I have a lesson with Professor Shihouin.'
'Next week then?' Rangiku smiled and he nodded. She waved goodbye and turned to walk away, leaving both Hyorinmaru and Toshiro to stare after her.
'Mate, for the love of God, ask that woman out,' Yukio grumbled.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘ ༓ ∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
The week following their loss wasn't as unbearable as Toshiro had expected it to be. Rukia continued to give him the same smirk and knowing smiles that drove him mad, but otherwise she kept her mouth shut. Toshiro would have thought something was wrong with her, until he stumbled upon her wrapped tightly around Ichigo on his way to his lesson with Professor Shihouin the following Tuesday night.
He'd not known how to react so he said nothing to announce his arrival and instead turned and marched in the opposite direction, taking a much longer route than normal toward the Transfiguration classroom.
'There you are,' Yoruichi grinned when he closed the door behind him and apologised for being late, 'thought maybe you'd forgotten.'
'No, sorry, I got…' he hesitated, 'distracted.'
'Oh?' the familiar Cheshire grin was spreading across her face, 'by who?'
Hyorinmaru started making kissing noises from his shoulder and Toshiro swiped at him. Yoruichi laughed as the bird flew out of his reach and landed down on one of the distant desks.
'It wasn't like that! I found… Rukia and Ichigo,' Toshiro shook his head. It felt like a stone was settling itself in his stomach. He'd felt this way before, when he'd seen Rukia with Kaien and Renji.
'Were they snogging in the corridor?' Yoruichi asked.
Toshiro felt his face heat up.
'I thought so, I've passed them once or twice myself,' she chuckled, 'oh to be young and in love.'
Now he knew she was just saying things to prompt a reaction. His face got steadily hotter. 'I brought the clothes you asked me to.'
His attempt at a distraction was obvious but she flashed him a smirk and nodded her head. This time he'd brought his tight leggings and shirt as well as a slightly looser fitting shirt to see if they had any better luck. He changed into the tighter clothing first and was able to change forms with both of them on.
'At least you've got the hang of that,' Yoruichi said in her deep, masculine cat voice from where she sat beside Hyorinmaru on the table. Toshiro was flying solo around the enclosed space, finally getting the hang of things. 'Your flight has improved too.'
Hyorinmaru clicked his beak in agreement and Toshiro flew down onto the table they were sat on watching him, fluttering his wings closed the way he'd observed the school owls doing.
'You're looking more and more like an owl every day,' the cat said, 'maybe we should test your flight outside?'
Toshiro watched as the black cat turned her face toward the high windows and twitched her ears.
Feeling a wave of apprehension crash over him when Yoruichi changed back to her human form, he gazed up at her with, what he hoped, were reproachful eyes. She didn't care for his concern and held her arm out. His tiny heart pounded in his chest but he knew better than to try and deny the Professor what she'd set her mind on. He was curious to know how much more difficult flight outside would be compared to inside. Hyorinmaru flew up to Yoruichi's shoulder and Toshiro flew onto her arm.
They walked out of the classroom and Yoruichi turned, taking a different route to get out the castle than the main entrance hall. Toshiro glanced up at her questioningly and tilted his head. She smiled down at him.
'I assume you still want to keep this a secret and I'm pretty sure Rukia would work it out in two seconds if we walked past her like this,' she gave her arm a small bob and Toshiro fluttered his wings to regain his balance.
Rukia would put the puzzle pieces together in two seconds if Yoruichi showed up with an unnaturally pure white, smaller than usual barn owl on one arm and Hyorinmaru on her shoulder. That is, if she wasn't already too busy with her tongue down Ichigo's throat. His feathers puffed up and he turned to glance down the hallway they were walking.
Despite Toshiro's astute hearing in this form, the castle was silent. The only sound he could hear were the gentle pads of Yoruichi's steps and her breathing. Even in human form, she reminded him so much of a feline in the way she held herself. He once even witnessed her purposefully knocking a goblet off the staff table during a feast just because she could.
He still had a lot to learn about being an Animagus. It wasn't enough to just be able to transform. Arguably that was the easier part. Learning to move and act like the animal, especially one with flight, was a far more complicated undertaking than he'd originally anticipated.
They reached a large fire escape and with a tap of her wand the large door clicked and she was able to push it open. The cold air hit Toshiro differently. He'd been expecting to feel the wind against his skin as if he were standing outside naked, but the air felt pleasant against his feathers. Yoruichi shuddered in her thin, skin-tight clothing which meant that it was a cold autumn night. The cool air couldn't penetrate Toshiro's feathers, which was comforting to know. Once the door closed behind them Toshiro could feel his senses becoming overwhelmed like he did the first few times he transformed. There were a lot more things out here that he could see and hear.
'Remember and close your eyes,' Yoruichi whispered softly to him. It's what she'd first instructed him to do when the input of both sight and hearing were overwhelmingly new. Toshiro closed his eyes, blocking input from one of his senses.
He could hear the scurrying of two or three mice nearby, the swish of several wings of the Hogwarts school owls out on the hunt and even the lapping of the distant lake against the water edges. He calmed himself. A barn owl didn't need to turn his head to hear in different directions, he could actually alter the disks and muscles around his ears and even his beak to change the direction that sound came into his head. It was all these little nuances that he'd had to learn when he'd first transformed.
When the sensory input was more bearable, he opened his eyes again. The darkness was crystal clear to him in such a way that made him think humans might be blind. He could feel Yoruichi's eyes on his face, watching him and she stayed close to the castle door in case they needed to go back inside. Toshiro looked around. He could actually see movement in the distance, a small creature scurrying in the undergrowth that his neck turned to follow.
'Did you see something?' Yoruichi asked, softly.
He couldn't verbally reply, but clicked his beak so he didn't need to move his head and lose sight of the small mouse.
'Do you want to try catching it?' she asked. It was tempting. Toshiro wanted to try, but at the same time, what on earth would he do with a dead mouse if he was successful? He fluttered his wings experimentally, testing the air and the wind. There was very little wind where they stood, and judging by the gentle sway of the tree tops in the distance, the only wind present was much higher than ground level. Biting the bullet, he flew from Yoruichi's arm down onto the ground. When he turned to glance behind him, the witch was gone and a black cat was stalking through the grass toward him. He knew that cats had much better night vision than humans, so should have expected her to transform, but the sight of the black cat in the dark filled him with a sense of fear that was more owl instinctual than necessary.
Hyorinmaru was flying above the ground, circling them. His feathers looked ethereal in the moonlight that spilled down between the clouds. Toshiro gave a little run along the ground for his take-off and flew up to join him, surprised by how much easier it was than he expected. He followed behind Hyorinmaru once more, just as he had done in the classroom.
Toshiro slowly learned how unpredictable the wind was. He'd always known of course, but he didn't ever need to be bothered by it before. As a human, you were firmly planted on the ground and there was very little the wind could do to you unless it was blowing a gale. In the air, as a diminutive bird, there was a lot the wind could do to you. The slightest unsuspecting gust had him blown off course from Hyorinmaru and he couldn't correct himself fast enough to keep up.
They stayed out well into the evening, when Toshiro was sure the time was well past midnight, practicing in the limited wind and making sure to not go too high. The well-trained eyes of Yoruichi glinted gold in the darkness of the grassy floor, studying them until she eventually called them down.
Toshiro was more exhausted than he'd ever been in his life by the time he stumbled back to his dorm. It was well past one in the morning, but he felt accomplished and was looking forward to trying again the following week.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘ ༓ ∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
'Will you be quiet already?' Yukio groaned, leaning back in the grass and rubbing his temples. They were sitting outside on a surprisingly warm and dry autumn morning for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson. They were meant to be observing Professor Shiba extracting treacle from the Glumbumbles without getting stung.
He'd already been stung twice.
'I'm worried okay?' Rukia hissed. She had been frantic following the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff match.
'I mean,' Yukio's mouth twitched cheekily, 'Ravenclaw didn't even get flattened, they got absolutely steamrolled.'
'Yes they appreciated that comment when you announced it,' Toshiro indicated the fading bruise above Yukio's left eye where Noel had thrown a goblet at his head as soon as she joined them in the lunch hall.
'Worth it,' Yukio chuckled.
Ravenclaw had lost to Hufflepuff three-hundred points to fifty. It put Hufflepuff ahead in the standings with Gryffindor now behind with only one-hundred-and-seventy.
Toshiro had seen Rukia annoyed about Quidditch scores, of course he had. She was a passionate Quidditch player and had been ever since they'd become friends, but this year was different. This year she was the Captain and the weight of a loss rested on her shoulders.
'You're going to have to flatten them,' Rukia said, turning her large violet eyes on him. Toshiro sighed and shook his head.
'We both know Hanataro is one of the best Seekers in the school, there's no way they're going to let me get the Snitch that early in the match.'
Her eyes turned even more pleading and Toshiro deflated under her gaze. Hyorinmaru was perched on her shoulder and was trying to comfort her by gently nudging her cheek.
'I'll see what I can do,' Toshiro groaned, feeling an anxious ball twist in his stomach.
'Just stop them getting too many points, if you can do that then at the very least I can look to claw some of the score back in my match against Ravenclaw,' the three of them were distracted by Professor Shiba. He gave a howl of pain and swatted at some of the Glumbumbles which was what he'd told them not to do.
'Which of you has Quidditch practice tonight then?' Yukio asked.
'Me,' Rukia replied, 'I booked the pitch for after dinner.'
'Toshiro, fancy splitting a bar of Honeydukes chocolate with me and ignoring some homework?' he grinned and Toshiro narrowed his eyes at him.
'Pretty sure you're three essays behind,' Toshiro pointed out.
'Only because you won't write them for me,' his grin stretched wider and Toshiro sighed.
They made their way back inside the castle and then parted ways to their final classes of the day. Toshiro only saw them both briefly in the Great Hall when he picked up a light dinner and then went for his usual jog around the castle.
Every time he went for his runs he paid attention to the forest, checking for signs of the Dementors that Rukia had informed him about. At points he was sure that he'd seen dark shapes moving above the trees, but as Hogwarts was located quite far north the days were starting to get darker faster, making it hard to tell if his eyes were seeing tree tops or other shapes moving within.
He made his way toward the prefect's bathroom and gave the door his password and let it swing open. He knew instantly he wasn't alone as the entire chamber was lit with a beautiful dancing glow of lights around the ceiling. Toshiro faltered just inside the door, his eyes sweeping up and his mouth falling open.
Hyorinmaru gave a happy and excited chirp, instantly flying from Toshiro's shoulder and up into the sky above. The hues of deep green mixed with pink and purple moved gently and reflected off the white marble of the room.
'Do you like it?' Rangiku's voice was all too familiar to him now. She was sitting in her yoga pants and a comfortable looking t-shirt on her pink mat.
'It's incredible,' Toshiro said, lost for words as he watched Hyorinmaru fly in and out of the dancing lights. The bird's plumage reacted interestingly to the colours, they mixed and blended but as Toshiro continued to watch his wings started to refract the light. Toshiro blinked his eyes once more and then lost sight of the bird entirely.
'I thought so,' Rangiku said smugly.
'Thought what?' Toshiro was still looking around for the bird, but he had completely vanished.
'His colours were always interesting to me, I thought maybe it had something to do with the Northern Lights,' she shrugged.
'Rangiku… this… this is really impressive magic,' Toshiro jerked his head up to the ceiling. It was true. What Rangiku had done was similar to the ancient magic that adorned the Great Hall.
She waved her hand dismissively, but Toshiro was sure he saw her face darken a little, 'oh it was nothing. Nanao helped me.'
'She's not here,' Toshiro said, looking around for her.
'No, I mean she helped me practice. I wanted to surprise you,' Rangiku turned to face him, crossing her long legs on her mat. Her hands fell into her lap as she glanced up at the lights, clearly unable to find Hyorinmaru either.
'That,' Toshiro felt emotional. There was a lump at the back of his throat which he swallowed, 'that was really nice of you.'
What he wanted to say was that it was probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for him. True, it was also for Hyorinmaru whom Rangiku adored and who adored her in return, but it still meant a lot to him because Hyorinmaru meant a lot to him.
'How cool would it be to shower under the Northern Lights?' Rangiku beamed at him as Toshiro walked closer. He dumped his bag down at the side of the marbled wall close to where she sat, knowing beyond all measure, he could trust her entirely.
'Yeah, this will be cool,' Toshiro grinned and began to pull his socks and shoes off. Rangiku turned away from him and to her own bag as he started to undress and slipped into the shower cubicle. Though the lights themselves weren't directly above the showers, the source they provided bounced magically off the walls and danced around him as he showered.
He stepped out with his towel wrapped around his waist to hear Rangiku giggling. He glanced over to where she sat with her back to him. She was tossing something up into the air and watching as Hyorinmaru swooped down out of the dancing lights to grab it.
'Are those treats?' Toshiro asked.
'Yeah, they're for exotic birds, bits of dried fruit but I thought he'd like them,' she rustled the packet and extracted a few more then tossed them up into the air.
Toshiro smiled to himself as he sat down on the bench and began to dress. She was an incredibly thoughtful and caring person.
Gin was a fucking idiot.
Toshiro slipped a pair of loose grey tracksuit trousers on. He'd be heading back to his dormitory after this so didn't see the point in dressing back into his robes. He was sure Rangiku wouldn't care what he wore, since she wore a lot of muggle clothing too. Toshiro pulled a plain white t-shirt over his head and left his feet bare, then made his way over to her.
'Oops,' she said, glancing over the edge of the large unfilled bathtub, 'I think that one fell in the bath.'
Toshiro chuckled and sat down cross legged across from her. She grinned and turned so that she was facing him as Hyorinmaru swooped down into the bath, searching for the treat he'd missed.
'Nice tracksuit bottoms,' she grinned. Toshiro felt heat climbing up his face.
'Nice yoga pants,' he quirked an eyebrow at her and she just laughed back at him.
'Touché,' Rangiku put the packet of treats down and leaned back on her arms, regarding him. 'How was your run tonight?'
'It was good, I stayed clear of the Quidditch pitch, didn't want to end up like Ichigo,' Toshiro smirked.
'Oh so he was hit by a Bludger?' Rangiku's eyes had gone wide as she leaned forward eagerly, her golden hair falling down her right shoulder as she moved.
'I am neither confirming nor denying,' Toshiro grinned back. He felt the need to ask her questions about herself, given that she had asked him about his run. 'What subjects are you doing?'
Rangiku grinned, 'I am studying Alchemy, Divination, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts,' she rattled them off and counted them down on her fingers as she spoke.
'All the qualifications needed to become a Healer?' Toshiro raised an eyebrow at her. She ducked her head, her hair falling even more into her face as she sheepishly smiled back.
'Yeah, that's what I want to be.'
Toshiro's eyes softened, 'you'll make a fantastic Healer, Rangiku.'
He watched with fascination as her cheeks darkened and she shrugged her shoulders, 'hopefully. What about you? What does the great Toshiro Hitsugaya want to be?'
'"Great"?' he scoffed at her and she grinned back.
'I saw you play Quidditch, you can't pull the wool over my eyes,' she pointed a finger playfully at him. For the first time in her company, Toshiro felt shy. Not just embarrassed, but shy. The thought that she'd been watching him during the match had him worried that he'd not played as well as he could have.
'I got distracted by Yukio,' Toshiro felt the need to explain. Rangiku's whole face morphed, her lips stretching into a massive smile and her teeth glinting in the dancing lights above.
'Oh my god, that is hilarious, hands down, he is the best commentator the school has ever had,' she was already laughing, 'his comments at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff match were amazing!'
'Right?' Toshiro happily gushed about his friend, 'he's super funny. A job like that would really suit him but I think it's only a matter of time before he's asked to stop.'
'They better not,' Rangiku chuckled, 'I don't really care about Quidditch that much but he makes the matches so much more fun.'
Toshiro smiled, 'I'm going to tell him you said that. He's had the biggest crush on you since forever.'
'Oh,' Rangiku shook her head and pursed her lips, 'I know.'
'You know?'
'Sometimes girls can tell when a guy has a crush on them, some men aren't very good at hiding it,' she smiled at him and tucked her hair behind her ear.
'Huh,' Toshiro mulled over her words and sighed. That shouldn't have come as a big surprise to him. Toshiro was sure that Rukia knew how he felt about her but he'd found that since Rukia had started dating Ichigo, his crush had started to dry up. Maybe because she was with someone he knew would treat her right?
'But you'll have to tell Yukio that while I think he's charming and hilarious, he's not my type,' Rangiku said with a small smile.
'I'll pass that on,' Toshiro smiled back, and before he could stop himself he asked, 'what is your type?'
Rangiku grinned at him and Toshiro opened his mouth, worried he'd overstepped his mark but she replied anyway. 'Guys who are kind to their friends, nice smiles and don't gawk at me.'
'I guess it must get annoying when men won't leave you alone,' Toshiro replied sadly to her, 'on behalf of my gender, I'm sorry.'
'Don't be,' she giggled at him, 'you're nothing like those other guys.'
'Well Yukio told me I'm not looking at you properly,' Toshiro rolled his eyes, 'said I need to look harder.'
'Well you have my permission to look at me,' Rangiku said, spreading her arms in a brilliant impersonation of Head Master Yamamoto.
'I-' Toshiro hesitated but found himself doing it anyway. The green and pink lights off the fake sky above danced across her blonde hair, creating a glowing halo around her face. Her eyes were a much paler shade of blue than Toshiro had ever seen before, almost grey or icy. She had perfectly symmetrical features, except the dark brown beauty spot on her chin. Perfect pink lips were clearly holding back a smile as muscles twitched at the side of her mouth. The t-shirt she wore was figure-hugging, clinging close to her well-endowed chest where a flash of cleavage could be seen, then coming in tight against her pinched waist and tight abdomen before extending onto the long, athletic looking legs that she had crossed under her.
There wasn't a hair out of place, not a blemish on her skin, nothing. It was as if she'd been made in perfect design by a man for other men to look at.
'Maybe I'm broken,' Toshiro sighed eventually. Feeling like he had to say something.
'What do you mean?' she tilted her head.
'I mean,' he ran a hand down his face, 'this will sound so lame. But I don't think I can look at a girl and find her sexually attractive. I can clearly see all the ways you're considered to be one of the most beautiful girls in school, and you are beautiful, but I don't feel…'
She was patient as he tried his best to analyse his thoughts.
Toshiro was worried he'd offend her soon if he didn't hurry up and articulate himself. 'I mean… I can look at a girl and know that, yes, she's attractive, but that doesn't make me attracted to her.'
'What made you attracted to Rukia Kuchiki?' Rangiku asked, genuinely curious.
'Rukia is a pretty girl, there's no denying that,' Toshiro hastened to explain, 'but… she was funny, bold, loyal and confident.'
'So… you fall for personality first?' Rangiku questioned.
'Yeah, I guess I do…' Toshiro shifted uncomfortably, watching as the muscles around her lips successfully pulled back into a soft smile.
'Interesting.'
'Not weird?' he asked.
'Not weird,' she shook her head, 'I actually think it's rather adorable.'
'Thanks,' Toshiro's voice was flat as he said it and she laughed softly.
'I've always just assumed that men look at me and see boobs and ass,' Rangiku shrugged. Toshiro saw right through that instantly. She might have shrugged, but he knew that was a very real thing she had to put up with. She couldn't even study or do yoga in her own common room and had to resort to coming elsewhere to get away from the stares of the people around her.
'I don't,' Toshiro frowned, 'and I promise to never make you feel that way when you're around me.'
There was a soft smile on her face, a look so tender that Toshiro had to glance away because of the intensity of it.
The silence stretched on between them for a few moments before Rangiku finally broke it.
'You didn't answer my question.'
'What question?' Toshiro asked, turning back to see her staring.
'About what you want to be when you leave school?' she said.
'Oh, I want to be a wand maker,' he grinned as he watched the expression on her face change from the shy and tender look to one of shock.
'You're studying wandlore?' her mouth fell open and then she grinned broadly, 'actually that suits you.'
'Thanks,' he had to stop himself from gushing to her and pursed his lips. Ever the astute woman she seemed to be, Rangiku crawled away from him over to where her robes had been neatly folded and then dumped on the floor beside her bag. Toshiro stayed true to his word and looked at the ceiling instead of her ass as she grabbed something and crawled back to her yoga mat.
'Go on then,' Rangiku smirked, holding her wand out to him.
Unable to contain his excitement, Toshiro pounced, taking the wooden wand from her hands eagerly. A wand was a very private thing, witches and wizards usually didn't like handing them over, so this was a big sign of trust from Rangiku.
The wand was longer than his, and quite flexible as he tested the wood. It was very pale in colour, but not nearly as white as his birch wood wand.
'Eleven and three-quarter inches, very flexible, beech wood?' he questioned and the smile on her face stretched into a grin as she nodded her head.
He let his fingers ghost over it. Each wand had a core and the three cores commonly used in Britain were dragon heartstring, phoenix feather and unicorn tail hair. Toshiro had experience with each of them, given that his was dragon heartstring, Rukia's was a phoenix feather and Momo's was unicorn hair. They each had a kind of hum to them, one he'd prized himself in being able to identify.
'I can't tell the core,' he said, closing his eyes so he could try and hear the gentle vibrations as they came from the centre of the wand.
'I thought that might be tricky for you,' Rangiku chuckled, 'my wand was made in France. It's Veela hair.'
'Veela?' Toshro's eyes opened and he gazed intently at Rangiku who was still grinning at him.
'My great grandmother on my mother's side was part Veela.'
'I've heard of them,' he spoke excitedly, 'they're meant to make quite temperamental wand cores.'
'I think they can,' Rangiku said with a nod, 'unless the Veela was close to the person who owns it.'
'Is this your great grandmother's wand?' Toshiro asked, putting the pieces together.
'Yup,' Rangiku grinned, 'passed down. What about the wood, what does it mean? I've always wanted to have my wand properly assessed.'
'Beech is a good wood,' Toshiro said with a nod, '"The true match for a beech wand will be, if young, wise beyond his or her years,"' he quoted the book he'd read three times through about wandlore. 'It's said to perform poorly for the narrow-minded and intolerant, but is meant to work really well for someone who suits it.'
He couldn't imagine anyone less-narrow minded and intolerant than Rangiku Matsumoto.
'The length is more related to the person's height, likely your great grandmother if this was passed down, and the flexibility is usually reflected in its owner's ability to flex and adapt.'
'So you're saying I'm flexible?' Rangiku was smirking now, and Toshiro was pretty sure there was a joke in there that he wasn't getting.
'Yeah,' he said, watching as she tried not to laugh.
'Okay, I showed you mine, now you show me yours,' she held her hand out for her wand, the same cheeky smile still in place on her face. Toshiro handed her wand back to her then turned to where his wand was situated.
Accio wand.
The wand was in his hand without him having to move away from the mat. He watched the dumbfounded expression on Rangiku's face as her mouth fell open.
'Wait! WHAT! What the hell?' she leaned over and snatched the wand out of his hand as he laughed, letting her take it, she tossed it across the room. 'Do that again!'
'I can't do it when it's that far away,' Toshiro said, feeling his face flush and watching as the bit of wood bounced and rolled over a meter away, 'I'm still working on it.'
'Try!'
He laughed, wishing he hadn't shown off now that he was going to feel incredibly dumb for not being able to do it from more than a few feet away. He'd only done it so he didn't have to embarrassingly crawl across the floor for his wand.
Accio wand.
He concentrated as much as he possibly could. The wand gave a small wobble on the floor, but it was just too far out of his reach for him to get it. Thankfully, ever the wing man, Hyorinmaru swept down out of the dancing lights and landed beside the wand,then proceeded to grasp it in his claws and brought it all the way over for him.
'You've always got my back,' Toshiro thanked him with a stroke before the bird disappeared back into the dancing lights above.
'Were you worried I'd look at your ass if you had to crawl and get it?' Rangiku grinned.
'Maybe,' Toshiro smiled sheepishly and she laughed.
'I won't lie to you, I'd be tempted,' she shrugged and Toshiro felt his cheeks heat again, 'but fuck me Toshiro, non-verbal spells without your wand in your hand? That's…' she shook her head.
Toshiro cleared his throat, 'about the wand…'
'Right yes,' Rangiku smiled, 'I'm listening.'
Instead of just telling her, he handed his wand over to her and had her try to guess everything. He facilitated her answers, and guided her to the right outcomes.
'Birch wood?' she asked, comparing the unusually whiter wood to her own wand.
'Very little is known about birch wood wands,' Toshiro said with a smile, 'another reason why I want to study wandlore. It certainly favours witches and wizards who know what they want and are pretty singularly focused. It's how I have to learn new spells.'
'That's fascinating,' Rangiku said, 'and the core? Dragon heartstring, it's pretty common right?'
'Yes it is,' he nodded, 'it's meant to learn the fastest and produce some of the strongest magic.'
'Well I can see that,' she smiled rather impressed and Toshiro ducked his head at the compliment.
'What about Rukia and Yukio's wands?' she asked, 'what wood do they have?'
'Rukia has ebony,' Toshiro rolled his eyes, 'suits her, and Yukio has vine.'
'What about ebony suits her?' Rangiku asked, she reached down and picked up a small black box and was opening it as Toshiro replied.
'She has the courage to be herself and knows exactly what she wants to do, ebony favours that,' Toshiro was distracted as he watched Rangiku pull a deck of cards from the box and begin to shuffle them. 'What are those for?'
Rangiku smirked, 'I know you said in Hogsmeade you don't believe in Divination-'
'I didn't quite say that-'
'-well I'm going to give you a card reading.'
'You've been studying Cartomancy?' Toshiro asked.
'Yup, I'm still a little rusty but we can give it a try,' she handed him the deck of cards to shuffle. Toshiro was even more surprised to find these were regular playing cards and not tarot cards like he'd been expecting. It seemed he wasn't the only one wanting to show off tonight.
Humouring her, he shuffled and pulled a few cards out as per her instructions. He laid them down in the order she wanted them and Rangiku glanced over the cards, her brows furrowed in concentration.
She moved her hands over the cards, first his two of hearts and then to his two of spades. She paused when she got to the seven of diamonds and the seven of clubs.
Toshiro was patient with her as she mulled over his cards. Eventually Rangiku seemed to have collected her thoughts enough to begin to explain.
'Friendship is coming out really strong and clear here,' Rangiku said, 'but… not always for a positive reason.' Her hand was hovering over where the heart and spade card were close together.
'It looks to me like you're going to make new friends who will be important to you, but you're going to lose someone else,' she pointed to the two of spades, 'this one means conflict.'
'Okay,' Toshiro tried to look like he believed her but he wasn't really paying her much attention, instead he was absorbed in the way her hair fell around her face as she read the cards. It reminded him so much of all the times he'd seen her studying in the library, pouring over her books.
'This one,' her voice piqued his interest now as she sounded highly amused, 'is romance.'
Rangiku picked up the two of hearts with a grin and held it up so he could see it, 'someone you really like.'
Toshiro didn't need the reminder of Rukia and frowned at the card.
'Remember this is your future,' she smiled, as if guessing where his mind went, 'and they feel the same way.'
'Oh,' Toshiro blinked and leaned forward, suddenly interested. Rangiku smiled at him and put the card back down onto the floor.
She silently read for a little while longer.
'Can you tell me if I'll catch the Snitch super early in my match against Hufflepuff? I'm sure that's something I have to ask the cards,' he said. He knew it would be the first thing Rukia would ask him about the moment he told her and Yukio about this exchange.
'If you want to ask them something specific we can do that,' she swept the cards up off the floor and handed them back to him. 'Just shuffle them and think really hard on your question.'
He did as he was told and three or four shuffles in, a card slipped out and fell on the floor.
'Don't move,' Rangiku quickly picked the card up and looked a bit taken aback.
'What?' he asked.
'It's the two of hearts again,' she frowned.
'So love is going to be the outcome of the Hufflepuff and Slytherin match,' Toshiro rolled his eyes. Rangiku shrugged and handed him the card to put back in the pile.
'Ask the cards a question I don't know,' she said.
Toshiro was thoughtful for a while. He thought about asking the cards about his Animagus transformation, but decided against that. Then he thought about Gin speaking to No One and the Dementors above the forest, but struggled to articulate a question around them. Then he thought about how Hyorinmaru had been behaving that year.
Is Hyorinmaru in danger?
He thought the question repeatedly as he shuffled the cards. This time no card fell out, but he selected one himself and handed it to Rangiku to read for him.
'The four of spades,' she said, 'whatever you asked, the prospect doesn't look good. It's the card of threat and peril.'
Toshiro clenched his jaw.
'What did you ask?' Rangiku seemed concerned now, as she looked at him.
'I asked if Hyorinmaru was in danger,' he whispered.
The two were quiet for a while as they digested this. The bird in question swooped down at the sound of his name and hopped toward them on the floor. His little talons clipped against the marble as he moved.
'Who would want to hurt him?' Rangiku asked.
'I don't know, but someone does, because he's been abnormally clingy this year,' Toshiro said.
'You don't think he's the friend you're going to have conflict with?' Rangiku frowned.
'Maybe, I can see me telling him to leave for his own safety, but I know he wouldn't go,' Toshiro sighed and the bird hopped up onto his leg, getting a scratch around the neck as he sat on Toshiro's knee.
'Well, I mean, I'm still learning,' Rangiku said with a dismissive shrug, 'so who knows maybe he'll be fine?'
'Maybe.'
Toshiro could tell Rangiku was trying to make him feel better, but in truth, the cards had just confirmed something he'd already been worrying about.
'He'll just need to stick close to us,' Rangiku said with a smile.
'Yeah,' Toshiro said and watched as Hyorinmaru flew over to sit on Rangiku's knee now, getting scratches from her slightly longer nails.
Not wanting to end their time on a sour note, Toshiro circled back to a point she made earlier.
'You said something earlier about being tempted to look at my ass,' Toshiro smirked at her and watched her laugh as she put the cards away. There was undeniable heat rising up her neck and across her cheeks.
'You run,' she said.
'I… yeah I run, what does that have to do with my ass?' he asked, roughly confused.
'Runners are meant to have nice asses,' she winked at him and this time it was Toshiro's turn to flush. He grumbled to himself as he watched her stand up, Hyorinmaru swapping to her shoulder as she moved and fed him another treat before bending to pick up her yoga mat.
Toshiro stayed where he was on the marble floor, the hard smooth surface had become uncomfortable, but he was gazing up at the ceiling and deep in thought.
Maybe encouraging Hyorinmaru to leave was the safest thing for the bird?
As if sensing where Toshiro's thoughts were going, Hyorinmaru swooped down onto his head and Toshiro laughed. That would be a conversation for later.
He stood up and stretched, watching as Rangiku waved her wand and the colourful lights around the room broke and diminished. Hyorinmaru twittered sadly on Toshiro's head, but they knew that Rangiku would do it again for them if they asked.
'What's on the agenda for you tonight then?' Rangiku asked conversationally, watching him as he bent down to pick his things up from the floor. If her eyes were on his ass, he pretended not to notice.
'I'm going to save Yukio from his homework,' Toshiro said, straightening back up and turning to look at her. 'What about you?'
'Oh,' she shrugged, 'I don't know. I know Nanao is meant to be visiting her uncle, Professor Kyoraku, tonight to help him organise his students' paperwork, and I think Miyako might be spending the night with Kaien, so I'll probably get some peace.'
Rangiku spoke with a confident smile on her face but Toshiro remembered the conversation he'd overheard Nanao and her having in the library. She missed Gin.
There was nothing Toshiro could do for her, besides trying his best to cheer her up when they found private moments together like they had tonight.
'I'll walk you back to your dormitory at least,' he said.
'Okay,' she lit up and the two of them walked toward the door, Rangiku chatting happily about one of the books she'd been reading.
True to his word, Toshiro walked her all the way back to her dormitory and was pleased they'd not run into anyone else along the way. He didn't need more nasty rumours spreading about her.
By the time Toshiro got back to the Slytherin common room, Yukio had eaten all of the chocolate and done none of his homework.
'It was your fault for taking so long,' he pouted.
'I ran into Rangiku in the bathroom again,' Toshiro said. At once Yukio's expression lifted, his eyes twinkling as they reflected the orange glow from the fireplace.
'Tell me everything!'
His unwritten essays stayed there, forgotten, as Toshiro filled his friend in about his encounter with Rangiku.
'I thought she was part Veela,' Yukio grinned.
'Well you were right,' Toshiro said with a smile, 'she's got a beautiful wand too.'
'Trust you to find her wand attractive,' Yukio said, rolling his eyes, 'did you do your homework? Did you look at her?'
'I did,' Toshiro shrugged, 'she's pretty, sure I can see that, but I like how much she cares about Hyorinmaru.'
Yukio was smiling fondly now, shaking his head but looked resigned to accept the way his best friend was. The bird in question was dozing beside Toshiro on the armchair beside the fire. Yukio seemed less intrigued by the Divination card reading that Rangiku had given him.
'She knows you have a crush on her,' Toshiro said with a smirk.
'W-what!? Why would you tell her that?' Yukio frowned and Toshiro grinned at him.
'It just came up, but she already knew! Cat's out of the bag, better stop staring so much,' Toshiro chuckled.
'Do you want me to stop staring because it makes her uncomfortable or you?' it was Yukio's turn to smirk now. Toshiro scowled at his words and threw a cushion at him which he laughed and caught.
'Haven't you got work to do?' Toshiro huffed. Yukio's smirk slid off his face and he pouted. Toshiro helped him write one of his essays and then gave him a few pointers on how best to correct his second. Once the two of them were finished, it was well past midnight and the boys made their way up to their dormitories to sleep.
Toshiro pulled the hangings around his bed closed and before he had really thought about it, pulled the ancient pages of the Marauders Map out of his bag. He hadn't used it at all this year and had very little need to ever use it. He mostly kept it now to stop it falling into the wrong hands.
It was an incredibly fiddly piece of parchment and it took him a while to find his bearings when using it, but as he settled into bed with the light of his wand held aloft, he finally found his dorm. In it he could see his own little dot with his name above it and Hyorinmaru beside him as well as Yukio sleeping in the bed opposite him. Toshiro moved across the map, folding the pages he needed to get a few floors up and then spotted the Ravenclaw Common room. It was mostly empty apart from two or three students whose names he didn't recognise. His eyes finally found a name he did recognise.
Rangiku was alone in her dormitory and seemed to be pacing the space. Her little dot was moving around and around in circles as Toshiro watched. She would sometimes stop, close to the window and then go right back to pacing again. His heart clenched in his chest. He was worried that she was feeling lonely without Gin or her friends.
He flicked through the pages trying to find Nanao, wondering if the girl was on her way back to the Ravenclaw common room yet. He was struggling to navigate the pages when something caught his eye. Holding his wand aloft to get a better reading of the names, he saw a tiny black dot in the middle of an empty room on the third floor corridor labelled "Gin Ichimaru".
And there, beside him, was another little black dot that read "The Dark Lord."
Toshiro sat looking at the pages, a cold feeling trickling down his back and his hairs standing on end.
It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible?
'Yukio!'
Toshiro hissed into the darkness, yanking the hangings back from around his bed, 'Yukio!'
'Mmm?' the boy mumbled and Toshiro yanked the hangings back from his bed too. 'S'happenin?' he turned to stare blearily and half asleep up at Toshiro.
'The Dark Lord,' Toshiro swallowed and watched the obvious confusion on his friend's face. 'He's at Hogwarts.'
'What?' the young boy's voice was torn between annoyed and amused now, 'you've been dreaming.'
He was about to roll over and go back to sleep when Toshiro shoved the map in his face. It took him a few moments of staring at it before recognition dawned on his face.
'How long have you had this map?' his voice was cold.
'A while,' Toshiro sighed, 'I didn't tell you because I thought you might just use it to spy on the girls.'
Yukio hummed in agreement but sat up, letting the red covers fall away from his soft torso as he twisted around to get a better view. Toshiro let him take the map from his hands as he continued to stare at the dots.
'We should go and see what's going on,' Toshiro said.
'Shouldn't we tell a teacher?' Yukio said, panic in his voice.
'Maybe…' Toshiro's first thought went to Professor Shihouin.
'If the Dark Lord really is back, that's…' Yukio swallowed, 'a problem.'
'No kidding,' Toshiro shook his head, 'look maybe it's someone playing a prank. I noticed when I first got it that the map will change names when that person decides they're someone new.'
'What do you mean?' Yukio asked.
'Remember in third year? When Rosie became Ross in seventh year? And everyone was shocked? The map changed his name for him, the moment he decided,' Toshiro explained.
'That…' Yukio frowned, 'that makes sense. Okay so before we send the school into panic we should go and see for ourselves?'
Toshiro nodded his head, 'it could just be a stupid Slytherin student being reprimanded by Gin for being a git.'
'Alright,' Yukio slipped out of his bed and pulled his robes on as Toshiro went to grab his wand. Yukio dropped his while trying to wrestle it out of his candy drawer. Eventually the two were ready to go. Hyorinmaru gave a soft little chirp and looked apprehensive but didn't wish to be left behind. He flew over to Toshiro who cast the Disillusionment Charm on both himself and Yukio before the two of them made their way out of the common room and off in the direction where they'd seen the two dots on the map.
Other than Yukio catching his foot on a stair, they made it to the empty room with decent speed. Hyorinmaru kept close to Toshiro and was incredibly still and silent as they stood outside the empty classroom.
Gin was certainly talking with someone, but the voices were incredibly muffled by the large door. Toshiro pulled an extendable ear out of his pocket, one he'd confiscated off a boy who was trying to use it to hear into a girl's bathroom. The thin flesh-coloured wire wound its way down and under the door and he and Yukio stood close together to hear.
'I did as you asked, what more do you want?' the voice was clearly frustrated and they recognised it at once as Gin Ichimaru's.
'Your unquestioning loyalty,' the second voice was cold, low and commanding. Toshiro remembered what Rukia had said about the meeting she'd overheard Gin having with someone. Just like her, Toshiro recognised the voice but couldn't quite place it. It sounded familiar, yet different, as though it had been altered magically.
'It's not my fault it's not moving as quickly as you'd like,' Gin sighed, 'I thought it was going well, all things considered.'
'It's a good thing we have the boy, it's been about all he's good for so far.'
'Then why are you angry with me? Is it because they've sent Kenpachi?'
'I am frustrated, that is all,' the voice coldly replied, 'Kenpachi will be dealt with.'
'This doesn't sound like a student pretending,' Yukio hissed at Toshiro, 'we should tell a teacher.'
'Wait a second,' Toshiro moved closer to the door and closed one eye trying to see through the crack created by the hinges, 'I want to see if we can see him.'
Toshiro looked through the small space but the only figure he could see in the room was Gin. He went to move closer to the door and Yukio moved to look as well but he tripped over the extendable ear and fell to the floor with a hard slap. Without waiting for a warning, Toshiro grabbed Yukio by the scruff and the two of them started running down the hallway.
'Who's there?' a harsh hissing voice cracked like a whip toward them and there was a feeling of unbelievable magic, unlike anything Toshiro had ever felt in his life. It was as if gravity itself had been impacted by the intensity of it, making it harder for the two boys to run. Toshiro felt Hyorinmaru peck his ear and tug, without thinking, he reached a hand out and grabbed Yukio by the arm and in a brilliant flash of colour the two of them collapsed in the Slytherin common room.
They lay panting in a heap on the floor together.
'Thanks Hyorinmaru,' Toshiro said eventually, watching the bird fly around and around above them, clearly expelling his own nervous and frightened energy.
'Without him we'd be goners' Yukio said standing up and almost tripping back over Toshiro in the dark as he attempted to pull Toshiro to his feet. Toshiro was still shaken and his legs felt like jelly, like he'd been riding a rollercoaster. He'd only travelled by side-along apparition once before, when he'd been lost in Knockturn Alley and Hyorinmaru had to rescue him.
Toshiro pulled the map back out and together he and Yukio glanced through the pages searching for The Dark Lord or Gin they saw the latter making his way toward the very common room where they were currently sitting and the two of them fled back up to their dormitory.
'How could we not see the other person?' Toshiro asked.
'A really good Disillusionment Charm?' Yukio replied. It did make sense, Toshiro's own spell was really good, but even the best Disillusionment Charm's had flaws that if you knew where to look for a person using one you could usually see a blurry outline. It would take an incredibly powerful wizard to cast one so clean and that thought frightened Toshiro.
'Okay well, that's enough excitement for one night,' Yukio said, clapping him on the back. He looked pretty shaken and Toshiro had to agree with him, 'we'll catch Rukia up in the morning see what she makes of all this.'
'Right,' Toshiro wasn't even sure he'd be able to sleep now, given everything that had just happened. His mind was a whir of anxiety and thoughts as he pulled the hangings closed on his bed again. Hyorinmaru flew down onto the covers and blinked up at Toshiro.
'Why couldn't I see the effects of the Disillusionment Charm?' Toshiro frowned at the bird as he scratched his little head lightly, 'what am I missing?'
Hyorinmaru gave his finger an affectionate nibble, sticking it with his little black tongue and then stepped away. Toshiro watched as the bird disappeared in a flurry of blue flames and for three beats, Toshiro sat on the bed panicking.
No more than ten seconds had passed and fire was suddenly igniting his bed once more. This time Hyorinmaru was perched on something silvery. Toshiro reached out, frowning as he picked the material up. He'd seen Hyorinmaru bring him things before, such as the Marauders Map and the Wand-makers journal. He had a talent to find some of the rarest and most prized possessions.
'Wait,' Toshiro said as he felt the fabric of the new prize between his fingers. It was silky smooth and almost liquid like in appearance. Toshiro didn't need a book to tell him what it was.
He already knew.
It wasn't just an invisibility cloak.
It was the cloak of invisibility.
Okay, shit is starting to pick up now! lemme know your thoughts / opinions and where you think this is all going to go! As always you can see my Trello schedule, my link is at the very bottom of my profile and a link to our Bleach fan ficition discord server where you can come and chat Bleach with us :D and share your own work and read other peoples!
You may even find some of your other favourite Bleach authors in that server we have LOADS! :D
Until next time~