Hello and welcome to the end of the previous cliffhanger!

Thank you everyone who has favortied or put Daisy into alerts! I've been lazy with my PMs once more, I'm sorry :(
I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys think of the chapter :D

Thank you Sassifrass for being a wonderful Beta and bearing with my insane writing habits :D You're the best!

OCs appearing in this chapter are:

Kobashigawa Hinagiku (11th)

Matsushita Koichi (11th)

Kida Rini (11th)

Mentioned:

Kusunoki Akio (7th)

Tanaka (11th)

Suzuki (11th)

Sawa Chiharu (11th)

And finally, some inspiration:

"I hope you weren't looking to me to be the voice of reason. I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." – Sturmhond (Leigh Bardugo)

Chapter 15: Tournament V: Legacy

It is dark.

It is always dark. However, I bear with it. I understand that it takes time. It all takes time. I am patient. I am calm. I bear with anything that comes my way. I will hold out.

Thump.

It feels like touching a live wire.

Thump thump.

I burn.

It is near.

I will hold out.

I smile, slipping down into my seated position, my nimble hands folding a piece of small paper. It will be a dragon this time. My little origami dragon.

And he will roar.

A smile slips onto my face. A wide grin promising that this wound will be more than a papercut. I burn for blood. I yearn for a battle.

And I will win.

Silence greeted him, as always. Tōshirō pushed the door of his home open with a sigh, turning on the lights. As Captains and Lieutenants had been allowed housing outside of the barracks, he had gladly taken up that offer. Though, he wasn't really sure why he had done it. He spent more nights than he would like to admit sleeping either at his desk or on the couch in his office.

Not to mention that the place was empty. He had lived in a few homes before this, so he would know. When he had first arrived at Rukongai, as a Soul, he'd lived in a house with his grandmother. That had been a lively place, full of children at any given moment, laughter, yelling and generally, it had been a mess. Tōshirō had gone back there, some ten or so years ago, when he'd been made Captain, to ask his grandmother if she would consider moving to his new housing outside of the capital. It was back then that he'd seen just how bad the condition of his grandmother's house was. When he was a child, he'd never noticed the peeling paint, the rotten planks, the holes in the roof or the lack of everyday things which every household should own. He'd simply been happy there, with Momo, his grandmother, and a number of children who kept coming and going.

His grandmother, had, of course, refused his request to move into the new housing. He was a grown man now, she'd told him. He needed to live on his own, take care of his own and be his own person. She'd asked him how in the world could he do that if he had her, an old, weak woman, to take care of as well. Tōshirō, had, of course, thought of the whole thing as nonsense. He didn't spend a lot of time in his official home. She would be able to do with the house as she wished, just like before. And, as reluctant as the young Captain was to admit it, he would greatly enjoy having a house full of children to come back to. They were loud, true, often annoying, yes, but quite honest and incredibly imaginative, which would undoubtedly brighten his day. Alas, his grandmother was happier staying in her own home, though she had accepted his help with repairs and he had managed to slip some of his salary into her 'savings chest'. When he'd talked about it with Momo, he'd learned that she did the same thing, too. The girl had gone all red in the face, thinking that he was accusing her.

Tōshirō chuckled to himself, remembering that conversation. The young Captain turned on the lights, dropping the files he'd brought home onto the table in his living room and then he headed for the small storage space which he'd organized. His thoughts drifted to the other home he'd had. The one at the Shin'ō Academy. It had been a small room, shared with two other people, but he'd loved it. Not that he'd ever admit that, of course.

Tōshirō had a great memory. Not exactly eidetic, but still, a great one. He could recall almost every detail of that room at the Academy. The plain white walls. The bunk beds pushed against them. The small nightstand, turned fridge. The closet in the corner, messily filled with clothes from three different people. The desk on the opposite side, pushed against the wall, as well, where a small dent had been made in their first year during a drunken scramble. Oh, he could remember just how much the three of them had fought over that desk. It had been all too insane. And in the end, Tōshirō had usually been the one to leave and head for the library. He'd spent more time in the library, with the older students, then in his room.

And his roommates. He could remember them, too. Kusunoki Akio had been a tall, slender youth with dark hair and dark eyes. Really, you could lose him in the crowd, as their other roommate liked to joke. Then again, you could always easily find him if you listened for his laughter. Kusunoki had had the loudest, most ridiculous laughter in their year, no, probably their generation, and you could always hear him laughing about one thing or the other. He'd ended up in the 7th Division, as far as Tōshirō knew. Well, he hadn't really had the chance to look his former roommate up. Perhaps it was his fault. Then again, they hadn't really parted on the best of terms.

Tōshirō bent down, pulling out one of the boxes from the bottom of his storage shelves. He read the label. 'Barracks' it said, so he pushed it back inside. He switched to the other one. 'Matsumoto'. This was the one he had been looking for. He opened the lid, browsing through the numerous sake bottles, both half empty and completely full, finally reaching the item on the very bottom of the box. A small mechanical gadget he had confiscated from his Lieutenant over a year ago. She'd been listening to the darn thing while he had been attempting to do both his and her workload. No surprise, he'd made her do both under his supervision, radio confiscated. He'd known that it would come in handy.

Walking back to the table in his living room, Tōshirō plugged in the small device, uncoiling the cable as far as it could go, and placing it on the wooden surface. Then, he seated himself on the small pillow, opening the first file as the usual announcements of the day came from the device. The 9th Division did their work thoroughly, he had to admit. They had informed him of the weather, upcoming events and important promotions throughout the Divisions in the last couple of months, as well as the next couple of weeks in the span of half an hour he'd been listening to the channel.

Finally, as he was finishing the tenth report on his pile, a man's voice came from the machine, announcing the beginning of the 11th Division program. Tōshirō reached over, turning up the volume on the radio. He went back to writing out the details of the mission which happened at least two months ago, all the while cursing Matsumoto in his head. She'd buried more than one file in another pile, only for him to find it months later and have to apologize to another Captain for the negligence.

"-name is Matsushita Koichi, current seventh and future fourth Seat of the 11th Division and I will be your host for the day. But, let me first begin by introducing our judges for today! We brought the best of the best, who will be able to tell you just how good these brawls –errr- I mean fights, are!" Came a male voice from the radio, introducing in a rather charismatic manner. Tōshirō attempted to place a face to it, but, he really couldn't. He could barely recall the faces of his own non-Seated officers, much less the lower Seats of other Divisions. After all, they changed a bit too often with all the dangerous missions and exchanges between different Squads. "First and foremost, we have Captain Sōsuke Aizen, a prodigy from his Academy days and one of the Shinigami to quickly rise in ranks. If my memory serves me correctly, the previous Lieutenant of the Fifth Division and now the Captain of the same Division, right?"

"Thank you very much for the kind introduction, Koichi-kun." Aizen's voice came from the radio as well, and Tōshirō was certain that he could hear a smile in the words. "I will do my best to judge as impartially as possible."

"Thank you, Captain!" Koichi replied with a chuckle. "Now, for our second judge, a woman known far and wide, trained by the infamous God of Flash, master martial artist, and commander of the Onmitsukidō, it is my utmost pleasure to welcome Captain Suì Fēng!" Tōshirō smiled at the introduction, well-aware that the woman in question was probably frowning and glaring at the seventh Seat from her spot.

"Get on with it." She growled finally, causing a roar of applause to come from the crowd, even louder than the previous cheer which Aizen had received.

Koichi nervously chuckled into his microphone. "Of course, sir, I mean ma'am! Anyways!" He managed to save himself. "Let me introduce our final judge of the day, the wonderful Lieutenant of the 3rd Division, famous for his variety of skills which include kenjutsu, Kidō and, Kaidō, our very own Izuru Kira!"

"It is my pleasure to be here, Matsushita-san." Came a voice unfamiliar to the 10th Division Captain. He couldn't recall this man, Kira, either, whom Koichi had just introduced. Then again, he couldn't recall all of the Lieutenants at all times. He was familiar with the Captains from the meetings, though. Tōshirō shook his head, making a mental promise to study the officer registration ledger further.

"And now, I will give you all the rundown of the rules, shall I?" Koichi continued and Tōshirō found himself dropping his pen in favor of listening to the radio with his full attention. "They will be a bit different from yesterday. While releasing your Zanpakutō is still forbidden, this time, real swords will be used. So, every Shinigami whom you see on that field will be actually fighting for their life with their Asauchi. Kidō is allowed as well, so, be sure to keep your heads down in case of a stray shot! And finally, without further ado, let us open the gates!"

But, Koichi didn't stop there. "Let me remind you that after this day we will have forty people who will be fighting in the finals for a Seated position, so, we wish all of them the best of luck!" Then, Tōshirō tuned out the rambling Shinigami who gave brief stats of the arena which had been set up for the fights of that day. The Captain grabbed his pen instead, writing his signature on the report.

"And here is the first clash of the swords! Those two eager men are Tanaka and Suzuki. If you haven't heard of them, you aren't familiar with the 11th Division brawlers in the restaurant district. Those two have caused more trouble than any of us combined. But, still, they manage to have splendid swordsmanship! Captain Aizen, would you like to share your thoughts with us?"

"Thank you, Koichi-kun." Replied the Captain. "It is true that their kenjutsu is on another level entirely, considering that they aren't Seated members of the Division yet. Also, it doesn't show that they have been brawling, at all. Splendid, controlled usage of their Asauchi in single combat." Aizen commented in his calm voice. "But, that was a splendid Kidō on that side of the arena, as well. Very well-aimed and effective."

"Yes, indeed!" Koichi agreed. "That was Sawa on that side, at the gate B, striking with a well-aimed Shakkahō into the crowd behind her. That sent quite a few Shinigami into the water. Let me remind you, that if any of the contestants fall into the water canal around the arena, they are disqualified from the competition for good." Tōshirō found himself just staring at his report once more, pen still and words on the page forgotten. He shook his head and attempted to read the first sentence once more. "But, a bit more information on the magnificent woman, Sawa Chiharu? She is one of the rare women in the 11th Division and a specialist in Hadō and Bakudō, as you have seen. Though, she prefers using her Asauchi at any given moment, as you can see now, while she slashes her way through the crowd. She is a definite favorite to receive a Seat number next to her name this year. On the other hand, if you are planning on asking this beauty out, let me tell you that she is fond of red roses and chocolate with almonds. Though, you might want to watch out for her brother, the 11th Seat of the 8th Division, as he will definitely chase you down for attempting to tap this 36-24-36 wonder!"

"Koichi!" A female voice was heard and a slap sounded out over the microphone, making Tōshirō chuckle. He had forgotten about his paper once again. He switched his focus back onto the report in front of him and read through the first sentence again.

"My apologies for this blatant attack on my person by the lovely Kida Rini, our 15th Seat. I would never dare to not call you beautiful, as well." Another slap sounded out before Koichi continued in a rather pained-sounding voice. "Captain Suì Fēng, any opinions you would like to share?"

But, Tōshirō didn't really hear the comment of the female Captain. Instead of attempting to read through the report in front of him, he finally let go of the pen and closed his eyes. With a single deep breath, he focused, mapping out the arena using the description given by Koichi earlier and beginning to imagine the fight. As the commentary continued, this time the 7th Seat getting a bit deeper into the actual fighting methods going on in the field, Tōshirō could see everything.

As soon as Hinagiku's name was mentioned, though, some time into the fight, his concentration broke.

"Indeed, Koichi-kun." Aizen spoke. "It is quite rare to see someone using this style and form nowadays. Kobashigawa-kun is using the quickdraw technique, which allows for fast, almost invisible, slashes with the Asauchi." The Captain further analyzed. "Quite a difficult and useful thing to know, however, I fear that it isn't too effective in these types of fights, as you can see."

Tōshirō grit his teeth as Koichi agreed, explaining how Hinagiku had been pinned down by the edge of the arena. Then, he went off to comment on another part of the fight, where a group was using tactical strategies in order to defeat a large number of scattered opponents. The commentary went on, not once mentioning Hinagiku's name until the end of the broadcast. It was as they started announcing the names of the competitors who would be participating in the semi-finals the next day that Tōshirō actually perked up, paying more attention. And then, something sounded inside the machine, like a metallic cough, before the sound went out.

"Damnit!" Tōshirō slammed his fist on the table, reaching over to attempt to fix the machine. However, after forty-five minutes of tinkering with the gadget, he finally gave up. Glancing at his clock, he noted the time: one thirty in the morning. With a sigh, the young Captain realized that he would have a long, stressful, sleepless night.

He turned back to the report on his desk, the one which had been there since the beginning of the broadcast, and re-read the first sentence for the nth time.

Hinagiku rose sore and tired the next morning. Her eyes ached, like she hadn't slept in a while and her head felt like it was swimming. However, she knew that she had to pull it together. After all, there was still a fight to be had that day.

The petite Shinigami stood from her bed, walking to the mirror on Rini's side of the room. She allowed her simple, purple yukata to slip off her shoulders and onto the floor and stared. There was a large cut on her side, just above her hip, where a stray sword had caught her yesterday. She didn't even remember who'd held it. She only remembered the steel biting into her flesh at some point, making her flinch and jump away.

A large bruise on her collarbone would likely prove painful today, but not bothersome while fighting. She'd gotten that one after she'd completed one of her quickdraw slashes, when her blade was in its sheath at her side. Hinagiku sighed, realizing that she would need another way to protect herself in the middle of her technique. As effective as it was in a one-on-one, it was her weakness in a battle against a large number.

She bent down and grabbed her yukata, hissing when she stretched her back. She turned around, looking over her shoulder to see the damage. Sure enough, there was a burn there from a well-placed Kidō spell. And those were only the larger injuries, not mentioning the numerous bruises, scratches, and cuts all over her body.

But, none of them were too severe to stop her from fighting today.

"You look worse for wear, Hina-chan." Commented a male voice from the door, making her squeak and hide behind the fabric of her kimono. She turned, wide-eyed, to find Koichi leaning on the doorframe and looking at the mirror behind her. With another squeak, she realized that he could still see her nude back in the reflection. Hinagiku fumbled and then finally jumped into Rini's bed, hiding under the covers. "No need to be so embarrassed." The Seated Officer gave her a grin. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

"W-what are you doing here?!" Hinagiku finally found her voice, in a rather high pitch, face as red as a tomato.

"Ah, right." Koichi pushed off the doorframe, nodding to himself. "We're starting to set up the arena and I wanted to check in with you. Also, we need the lists of participants, have you got them?" He casually strolled into the room, heading towards the mirror and opening the nightstand beside it, sifting through the contents absent-mindedly.

"Right." Hinagiku cleared her throat, focusing on the matters at hand and attempting to forget her embarrassment. "Today we are setting up the Three Levels, aren't we? Are there more hands needed? Materials?" She didn't dare rise from the sheets, though.

"Nah." Koichi replied. "We're all good. You be ready for your fight." He grinned, lean fingers pulling out a black piece of lacy underwear from the drawer. "Daaaaaaamn." He commented, turning them around. "Rini's got a bit of a sexy side, doesn't she?" Hinagiku was out of the bed before even she knew it, shamelessly using a small amount of reiatsu to fly across the room and snatch the underwear from Koichi's hand.

"If that is all, Matsushita-dono, I will require privacy to get ready." She seethed from her position above him, for once, as he had crouched next to the nightstand. "You will find all the necessary documentation for today in the labeled folder on the desk in the 4th Seat's office, as you had been informed a dozen times before."

"Alright, alright." Koichi stood, laughing. "I'll make myself scarce." He headed for the door, leaving Hinagiku fuming in silence. He stopped for a second before leaving, his forefinger in the air and turned around. "Ah! You really should get that burn looked at, Paper. Seems nasty." And then, with a small gust of wind, he was gone. Hinagiku grumbled, tossing Rini's sexy lingerie back into its drawer and slamming it shut before she stopped still. He'd mentioned her burn. The Kidō burn right above her behind.

He'd seen her butt.

For the first time in a while, Hinagiku screamed out in frustration.

She wasn't sure why, but the roar of the crowd at the stadium wasn't as deafening nor as threatening as the last time. She had her consent paper gripped in her hand, promising that she would obey all the rules set by the committee. Funny, she'd thought up half of them. Of course she would obey them. She liked rules.

Her hand trembled as she set it on the hilt of her Asauchi, this time not with fear, but with anticipation. Her blood was boiling, hot in her veins, preparing her. This time, she would figure it out. She would find a way to both defend and attack at the same time.

A Seated position was so close that she could taste it.

Today, the top forty contestants from the fights the day before would battle it out to enter the last round of the Tournament. If they managed to be one of the eighteen winners today, tomorrow, they would get a chance to challenge the current holders of the Seats for their positions. She gripped her consent paper even tighter, crinkling it.

Blades. Kidō. Shikai.

All included, all allowed. Undoubtedly, it will be a bloodbath. She didn't want to only watch it. She wanted to be in it. She could see some of the Shinigami from her Division doing their pre-battle rituals. Tanaka, one of the infamous brawlers, was combing his hair back, slicking it with gel, like he always did before a fight. On the other hand, Suzuki, his arch enemy and partner in brawling crime, was sitting in a meditative position, eyes closed. They were definitely people to watch out for.

She spotted the new recruit from the Academy, whom she'd suggested be invited into their Division, Nakajima Shin, hopping up and down in the corner, nervously getting ready for the fight. With a small smile, she turned around and headed for the officer at the door. She handed over her consent paper and then faced the entrance.

No backing down.

We don't lose.

This time, the fight had been different. Hinagiku's mind had been clear once she'd entered the arena, on the middle floor of the three levels, and she'd been able to sabotage the Shinigami next to her with a simple Bakudō spell. She'd wasted no time running down the stairs.

When designing the Three Levels Arena, she'd thought of it this way, the newest recruits would enter on the lowest level, while the most experienced would enter on the highest. And, while she wasn't cruel, she wasn't naïve either. She would eliminate the weakest links first.

Hinagiku could tell that the young Shinigami whom she had met on his way up the steps was shocked to see someone rushing down them, but he'd quickly directed his katana into an attacking stance and slashed at her. But, it was slow. For her, it was all too slow. Her training with Rini had made her nimble and quick, slippery like an eel.

She jumped, a small amount of reiatsu pushed into her toes, and landed on the tip of his extended sword, it buckled a bit, but he managed to hold her weight.

Iai: Backslash!

Her katana sung from the advantageous position and Hinagiku slammed the blunt back into the officer's biceps in a lighting fast motion. Re-sheathing her sword, she let go of the whole katana, proceeding to slam the sheath into the young Shinigami's head. His eyes lolled back and he fell to the side, unconscious.

With a grin similar to her Captain's, Hinagiku flew down the stairs once more.

The rest of the newer recruits had gone down in a similar fashion. They had been fighting among each other in a terribly focused battle once she'd reached the bottom, which had made it easy for the petite, quick girl to rush between them, using a mixture of Kidō and quickdraw kenjutsu to knock them out. Then, as she was nearing the end of the rather short crowd of newcomers, a metallic sound rang out as her blade was deflected to the side. Hinagiku grinned.

Boy, could she pick them.

Nakajima Shin was standing there, a frown on his face, eyebrows terribly furrowed, as he recoiled from the strength of her slash. Hinagiku dug her heels in, stopping her relentless Shunpo for the first time since she'd reached level three. She turned to the boy, her smirk never leaving her face.

"Take care of him." Hideki's voice whispered into her ear. "Take care of my brother." He told her, hand gripping hers over her Asauchi.

"Oh, I will." She replied in her Kansai accent, the smile widening. It wasn't a welcoming smile that one would see when entering any other Division. It wasn't the kind greeting that people were used to. It was the signature smirk which you could see on any member of the 11th Division at some point in their career. It was a smile which told you that they were out for blood and that they would enjoy it greatly.

"Hello, Shin-bo."

That's all folks! I promise that I won't leave you in the dark for too long about the things which happen next xD

Anyways, I've been obsessing over the Grisha trilogy and the Six of Crows which follows it, so, if anyone wants to chat about it, I welcome them with open arms on the PM! :D This is one of the reasons why I've been such a slowpoke about writing this chapter and publishing it :P

Regardless, onto the reviews!

TMMGYF-M-CH-I-R: I'm glad that you're enjoying my cliffhangers and I hope that you liked this one, as well xD

Just Sandy: Well, I must say that I do have most of those cliffhangers on purpose… but, they just kinda feel right at the end of the chapter :P
Zanpakutō? Coming soon!
Tōshirō's feelings? To be continued!
As for the rest, I promise to write quickly xD

Rinnala: Hope that I answered your radio question? :D

TheEccentric1: I'm glad that you enjoyed my shot at Tōshirō! He feels so hard to write, but I think that I'm doing a fair job… I'm sorry for the lack of fighting in the chapter, but I promise that there will be more in the next one!
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, regardless :D

Cooliceprincess: I'm glad that you thought so! I figured that I should keep you guys on your toes :D

Blacktiger93: Thank you very much for the constructive review! I'm sorry that the OCs are hard to keep track of, I'll do my best to differentiate as much as possible :D It's just, there are so many people in a Division! xD I'm trying to keep it as realistic as possible xD
I hope that you'll keep enjoying the story and the relationship between Hina and our Captain :P

Girl-luvs-manga: Riiiiight? All the Lady training and pampering is showing xD

Marie: Thank you very much for your kind review! I'm happy that you're enjoying the story :D

blob80: I was so happy to receive your review and I'm so glad that you're still following the story :D Hopefully, you enjoyed the bits of action in this chapter :)

Booom BaBy: Hope that you enjoyed what happened next :P

Irissiell: I'm so happy that you've been enjoying my story and I was so excited to receive your review!
I'm glad that you like the OCs so far, I try really hard to differentiate between them :)
As for Hinagiku's Shikai, I promise a 'Coming soon' for it :P Regarding the 4th Seat, it's open in the original franchise – as Ikkaku is the 3rd Seat and Yumichika is the 5th Seat because he thinks that the number 4 isn't pretty xD So, I doubt that Hina will be going anywhere near that seat anytime soon hahahhaha
As for the fighting style which Hinagiku uses, it is actually inspired by the actual Iaido from Japanese culture. I'm not sure how strong I'm going to make her, because I don't want to go all Mary Sue, but, I'll do my best to explore her iaijutsu further :D
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!

Sekai Kun: I'm sorry about the long wait to the cliffhanger! I hope that you enjoyed this one :D
Btw, your comment about grinning the whole time while you were reading about Tōshirō's 'state' had be laughing like an idiot xD
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!

GryffindorMagicianDemigodGirl: I'm so glad that you found my story and that you're enjoying it, and I'm soooo happy that Hinagiku annoys you! That's the best compliment an author can get (I hope that it's not because she's Mary Sue-ish). I'm also happy that you can relate to Hina on some level :D
I'm so glad that you liked my shot at Tōshirō POV! I wanted to give a bit of a shock and break the monotony of the story :) I'm glad that it was well-received, because I was quite anxious about writing such a complex character xD
Regarding Tōshirō's feelings…. To be continued xD
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! :D

LD-2015: Welcome back and I'm so happy to see your name in the reviews!
I know what you mean about the last chapter, but I felt like a break was needed from all the Tournament action, and our favorite Captain seemed like the perfect excuse for a small breather :P
Hopefully, I'll do right by their friendship, as well as their relationship :D I promise that more development on that front will be coming in the next few chapters, just after we finish the whole Tournament mess xD
I'm looking forward to hearing what you thought of the chapter :D

Thank you everyone for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter!

P.S.: The frequency poll is still open!