Intro: To all those who missed me and my wonderful work: SORRY! To those who didn't: You suck and you have no idea what you missed out on.
Now that I've finished with my humble return, I can sorta try to explain why I've been away from for a while...
At first with holidays I thought I'd have plenty of time, then I realised I had exams right after holidays so I started studying, then after exams, I became obsessed with a game or two so I couldn't be bothered to update here anymore. But anyway! I've taken advantage of my momentary lapse of interest in Maplestory to try and at least finish this fic off. Another chapter after this one should do it, hopefully anyway. As for my other one, I'll see, I need a bit more work in the ideas department before I continue with that one anyway.
Now, after that pointless blah-blah-ing... I present the next chapter in this strange story that I've concocted over the past few months.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, no one here on this wonderful site does unfortunately...
It had only been a few days, but the word had quickly spread. The rumours spread far and wide about how 10th Squad captain, Hitsugaya Toushirou, known to be one of the most uptight of the captains, second only to Byakuya, Yamamoto, Komamura, Soi Fong and Kurotsuchi, had been forced to guzzle down 5 bottles of sake by an unknown kidnapper. After a few days, the number had increased to 20 bottles, and it was said that the young captain had given a rare performance, poledancing around one of the columns that held up the 10th Division building. Hinamori was often asked about the incident, and tried in vain to correct these claims, while her busty friend and vice-captain to the captain in question, Matsumoto, urged them onwards, describing vividly her own accounts of the incident, adding in a few hundred touches of her own to make the story much more 'exciting' and 'awe-inspiring'.
As Toushirou walked around Seireitei, he couldn't help noticing that everyone he passed seemed to be staring at him. Worst of all, he was actually getting embarrassed by it. Out of the corner of his mouth, he whispered to Matsumoto, who was walking beside him. "Hey… why's everyone looking at me weirdly?" The orange-haired vice-captain could hear perfectly well, but made a big show of bending over especially as if commenting on her captain's size.
"Gee… I dunno Taichou, but I think everyone's impressed with how you swallowed 50 bottles of sake before fainting in a heap on top of Kyouraku-taichou, humming lullabies to yourself." Toushirou stiffened.
"What the hell have you been telling everybody?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all Taichou… you know how rumours… spread." Toushirou heard the innocent tone in her voice, almost too innocent for his liking. He was certain that it meant that she had a much bigger hand in this rumour business than she had made out. He was about to argue with her once more when someone bumped into him, spilling a large bottle of sake all over his hair.
The perpetrator, Yumichika, looked up and smiled at the captain, putting his charm into full gear. "Oh! Dreadfully sorry Hitsugaya-taichou… didn't mean to do that, but I'm sure you don't mind anyway, I heard you developed quite a taste for the stuff…"
10 minutes later, an urgent call was received by the 4th Division, an 'anonymous' caller had contacted Kotetsu-fukutaichou, and the report stated that Ayasegawa Yumichika had been found, encased in a large block of ice, and he seemed to be bleeding heavily from inside his frozen prison.
Back at the 10th Division, the white haired captain was fuming as he held his head in a tub of water, trying to wash the alcohol out of it. Matsumoto had wisely decided to stay out of his way, at least for the next few millennia, and was currently en route to the 5th Division, to visit her friend Hinamori, and of course, her boyfriend Kumatsurou. She burst through the door, a big smile plastered onto her face. "HI HINAMORI! HI KUMATSU-KUN!"
Hinamori jumped up in surprise, but Kumatsurou wasn't distracted from his work, he had experienced Matsumoto's sudden entrances a few too many times since they had gotten together to be affected by them anymore. Hinamori, however, it seemed, remained as innocent as ever. "What is it this time Rangiku?"
"Aww... Kumatsu-kun, I thought you'd be pleased to see me!"
"If you're not here to ask for something, you're obviously here to hide again, and I don't hear you asking for anything." Kumatsurou still hadn't looked up, but was both talking to her and scribbling furiously on the paper in front of him.
Matsumoto pouted. "I'm insulted Kumatsu-kun. Is there something wrong with me coming over to visit?"
Kumatsurou rolled his eyes. "Now I know you're in trouble for sure. What did you do to Nii-san this time?" Matsumoto opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it again, thinking hard. She had found that Kumatsurou, not unlike his twin brother, had an uncanny knack of knowing the truth when it was hidden from him, and was also annoyingly stubborn to unearth the entire truth.
Sighing, she told him. "Well, remember last week, when Taichou took all my precious sake away, then we found him and Kyouraku-taichou and-"
"Let me guess. You've been spreading rumours about him, someone provoked him just then, he sent them to the 4th Division, he's now grumbling to himself, and you're trying to find a way to stay alive for a while longer… right?"
Matsumoto nodded sheepishly. "SUGOI! Hitsugaya-taichou! How'd you know all that!" Hinamori gazed at her captain in admiration. Kumatsurou put the last piece of paper on the top of a large pile on his desk, and stood, stretching with the satisfaction that he had finished all the paperwork for the present.
A loud crash from outside distracted the attention of all three Shinigami from Matsumoto's predicament. Racing out, the captain and two vice-captains looked up to see a dark cloud swirling, lightning flashing as a blanket of darkness set in on Soul Society.
"Kumatsu-kun, you think this has something to do with Taichou…?" Matsumoto broke off, she knew Hyourinmaru could control the weather, but would her captain really be that angry that he would summon such a hurricane to attack all of Seireitei?
"No, this isn't Toushirou's work… Look up there…" Kumatsurou pointed to the sky. Hinamori let out a gasp, the sky was cracked, a pair of clawed hands had reached out and grabbed hold of the edges, and was slowly pulling them apart. "Aizen has returned, it is time for the final battle…"
Toushirou had just finished washing his hair when he heard a loud voice call over Soul Society. "All Shinigami to defence positions, the treacherous reprobate, Aizen has returned with his army of Menos and Allankar. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill." Toushirou frowned. He had no time to fix his hair up now, he'd have to use a secret little method he had let no one know of so far, and to the present, he had only used it twice anyway. Unsheathing his Zanpakutou, he swept it around a few times, summoning a miniature version of the mighty dragon that inhabited his sword.
"Go Hyourinmaru, I don't have enough time to spike it properly…" It was over in a second. The small dragon swept up and through the captain's white hair, freezing it into place in its usual patented spiked style. With his hair done, he ran outside and looked around at the chaos before him. Shinigami left and right were falling as they tried to take on the Menos that had spewed out from the crater in the sky. If Aizen was back, that meant only one thing to him, it meant Ichimaru was here as well.
A few blocks away, Kumatsurou, Hinamori and Matsumoto were supporting the Shinigami around them as they battled the Menos in a group.
"Growl, Haineko!"
"Snap, Tobiume!"
"Surge through the storm, Raibikaritatsu!"
A volley of cries followed these three, as Shinigami released their own Zanpakutou, and those who had not reached that stage tried to do their part against the gigantic Gillian that surrounded them.
One after another, the large Hollows were eradicated. After a dozen or so were taken out, a voice interrupted them. The voice was quiet, yet even amidst all the chaos, it could be heard clearly. "I wouldn't imagine that you would want to waste your time with those pathetic Menos, Hitsugaya Kumatsurou."
Kumatsurou turned to find a dark figure standing on top of the building, his braided hair unmoving in the violent wind that had picked up, his sightless eyes hiding behind his glasses, dark and dull as always. Kumatsurou's eyes widened as he breathed a single word. "Tousen." The blind ex-captain turned, having sensed that his opponent had used Shunpo to get behind him.
"Do not think that simply because I have no sight, that I cannot tell when you sneak around behind me, little boy." Kumatsurou didn't answer, too many thoughts were going through his mind at this time. Thoughts of rage, every fibre in him wanted to rip this evil man to shreds. Images of the last time they had met filled his head. Images, of blood, of his beloved Matsumoto, swords protruding from her body, her still form lying in a pool of her own blood. His hand shook as he grabbed his sword from behind his back. Seeing that Matsumoto, Hinamori and their group had defeated the Menos around them for the moment, he took the opportunity to get them away.
"Matsumoto! Hinamori! Get all those guys away from here, don't drag them into our fight. Also…" He swung his sword around him, sparks trailing from it as he did so. "Go find Toushirou, you'll be safer with him." He didn't want the same thing to happen again, even though he had no recollection of the times he had lost control of himself, he knew from eyewitness accounts that no one was safe then, even those he loved. When he felt that Matsumoto and Hinamori were a safe distance away, he turned back to the cold face of the blind man in front of him. Kumatsurou hadn't been awfully close to the 9th Division, but from what he had known, Tousen had been a kind and gentle man, who'd go through every sort of compromise possible before drawing his sword. Yet, here he was, sword drawn, ready to fight to the death.
Although his face didn't change, Kumatsurou could sense the slightly sneering tone in his enemy's voice as he spoke. "Quite noble of you, Kumatsurou, you are indeed one of justice."
"How can you talk of justice? After all this, isn't it obvious that justice has no place in your life?"
"Like I once told my fellow captain, Komamura…" Tousen had been on the verge of saying 'friend', but that implied he was still attached to those emotions that Aizen had taught him to leave behind long ago. "The road that I chose with these sightless eyes of mine will forever be the one not dyed with blood, the path of justice. However, as I also told him, any path that these sightless eyes gaze at will not be dyed red with blood, so whichever I choose, that is the path of justice. So there is a place for justice in my life, my justice, however, is very different from yours, Kumatsurou." Kumatsurou held up his sword instinctively as Tousen rushed forward. The two swords clashed, and Kumatsurou jumped back. "Now is no longer the time for idle chit-chat. We begin… now!" Again, Kumatsurou held up his sword to block the furious onslaught of Tousen's Suzumushi as it clashed against his own Raibikaritatsu.
I can't keep defending like this, I have to end this as quickly as possible. Kumatsurou lived up to his title as the fastest Shinigami in Seireitei, and disappeared before Tousen's eyes. Sword clashed against sword once again, but this time it was Kumatsurou who was on the offensive, and Tousen who was blocking expertly from every side as Kumatsurou's incredible speed seemed to grant him the privilege of attacking from any direction almost simultaneously. The two fighters leapt forward, and brought their swords down, the two zanpakutou locked onto each other. In perfect unison, the two of them leapt back from the deadlock, and began emitting a powerful spirit force. "I'm guessing you agree with me when I say it's time to start fighting for real… Surge through the storm, Raibikaritatsu!"
Tousen made no answer to this comment, but recited his own incantation, "Suzumushi 2nd form, Benihikou!" As sparks flew from one sword, the other was swept in a circular motion, chiming softly as it did so. A dragon composed of blue lightning emerged, roaring loudly as it flew towards its target, the blind swordsman. At the same time, a rain of blades fell, anchoring the dragon to the ground.
Those two attacks were almost equal in power, this is going to be a stalemate at this rate… Kumatsurou's thoughts were cut short as instinct told him to jump out of the way. He did so, and not a second too soon. Once again, a heavy rain of metal blades fell, landing in the precise spot the blue haired kid had been standing a second earlier.
-
"Long time no see, 10th Captain-san… Thought ya wouldn't be too long. Have trouble finding the place?" Toushirou scowled, a look of pure hatred etched onto his face.
"Shut up Ichimaru, and prepare to die."
"Aiyah… so harsh and hurried Hitsugaya Toushirou… ya never were a patient kid, were ya?"
"I said… shut UP!" Toushirou leapt up, bringing his sword forward as he did so. He descended upon the former 3rd Division captain, his eyes blazing with a cold fury. Slash after slash, Toushirou tried to hit his elusive opponent, but the eerily grinning ex-captain was as slippery as an eel. After a minute or so, they stopped momentarily.
"Oh… don't tell me ya tired already are ya? I was just beginnin' to enjoy this…" His answer came in the form of a sword slash. He ducked, the sword whizzing past his head, before punching the shorter captain in the gut. Taking advantage in this momentary lapse in the assault, he retaliated with his own barrage of thrusts. The tables had turned and now it was the younger captain who was blocking and avoiding the many thrusts and jabs Ichimaru was throwing his way.
"This is far from over Ichimaru…" He leapt into the air, his eyes turning white. Ichimaru knew what was coming. He watched as Toushirou's zanpakutou spurted water from it, forming a large dragon, made up of the same coldness that the 10th Division was known for. "Soar in the frozen sky, Hyourinmaru!" The snaky column of ice and water flew straight for the grinning captain, and he knew the perfect way to counter it.
"Shoot him dead, Shinsou." The sword he held in front of him suddenly lengthened, stretching into an immensely long blade, slowly cutting through the ice, heading straight for the airborne captain.
Stuff: Well, cliffhanger-ish ending to this chapter... In some ways it seemed a bit too abrupt an ending, but meh, read, review and tell me what you think.
Also... kudos to Nainanox's Intrusion for the idea of instant hair-styling for Toushirou.