Once Sora and the others made it down, Riku hurried over to his friend.
"Probably best to keep back with this one, looks like the big guy in yellow wants to arrest Toshiro." He briefed them.
"Arrest me?" Toshiro blinked, confused. Sure he had a bounty now, but why specifically him when there were plenty of other pirates with way bigger bounties around? When did the Marines even get here? He had been unconscious before the main force showed up and only knew Coby and Tebliel had been present before he had been collared.
"They showed up demanding to take you to the World Government to become their little guardian puppet before Xehanort made you summon Kingdom Hearts, apparently Maleficent had told them something to make them interested." Law explained quickly. "With Xehanort and Aizen gone, Kizaru must be trying to get back to that mission."
"As if I'd go back to being anyone's puppet." Toshiro scowled, glaring at the Admiral.
"There's no way I would ever let that happen." Rangiku looked ready to start a fight right then, reaching back for Haineko.
"Miss Yoruichi is already talking to them, and she sent Demyx off somewhere, I think we'll be okay." Riku reassured them.
"Then you don't know the Marines." Law grumbled, stepping forward towards the crowd with Dextra close behind him, joining his crew while watching Kizaru warily.
Cautious, the others all joined back up as well, Rangiku, Sora and Toshiro stepping up next to Yoruichi. The purple-haired woman took the opportunity to put a hand on the small figure's head and ruffle his snowy hair.
"This one is first and foremost a Soul Reaper, and a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." Yoruichi spoke, still a mischievous gleam in her eyes even as Toshiro glared up at her and shoved her hand off his head. "We can give you a formal apology for any piracy he's managed to do, which for this goody-two-shoes I doubt was much, but by no means can I allow you to take him."
"Not that I would go, I'm tired of people trying to control me." Toshiro put his word in. "Besides, I made sure your government had what it needed to fight back against the Heartless and the information to stay ahead of them. You even have a Keybearer now." He motioned to Coby, the pink-haired Captain tending to a sleepy looking Tebliel back to her normal self.
"So do they." Smoker glanced over at Shanks, the Emperor watching quietly from the back, calm yet alert.
"Neither one was by choice."
"Wait, they have Keyblades?" Sora turned to his friend. "How'd they get them?"
"I'll explain later…"
"Whatever world he's from, he's made himself a threat here, and we have a right to deal with that." Kizaru cut in, tone a little more forceful now as he kept his gaze on Yoruichi since she put herself in front as the spokesperson.
"He has some things to answer for with us first." The woman responded, not flinching at all. Toshiro tensed slightly, not sure if she said that to convince the Marine or if he would actually have to deal with a trial at the Soul Society.
"If he's a criminal for your world as well, why defend him?"
"Because he's OUR criminal."
Kizaru frowned, not expecting the snarky comeback. Besides melee fighting and speed, Yoruichi was best at word play, and she wasn't about to let someone intimidate her just because they were almost twice her height.
"It seems things are at a stalemate; perhaps we can break it." The voice came from the side, an aged voice that caught attention quickly.
Turning to look, they found the owner of the voice was an old man in blue robes, a very wizard-like appearance. Yen Sid, one of the Masters and definitely a powerful figure, even Kizaru could tell that much. Next to him was another aged male, this one bald but with a much longer beard, dressed in similar attire to Rangiku except with the white Captain's haori over his shoulders. The chill over the island warmed up several degrees with his arrival. They not only had a presence of importance, but of strength, holding a power to back up their rank. Just behind them were two other Captains of the Soul Society – a brunette man with a pink flowery robe over top of his own and a white haired man of somewhat sickly pallor – as well as Demyx returned along with a tall man of spiky red hair and green eyes, the black cloak similar to what Toshiro had worn on his arrival here.
"Hitsugaya Toshiro." Yamamoto spoke up next, disappointment in his tone as he focused his attention on his subordinate.
"Yes, Head Captain?" Toshiro's response was one of reflex and obedience, making the pirates look between the two Reapers oddly. Robin's eyes lit up in realization; so this was why Toshiro had such a hard time with the idea of betraying the Soul Society in any shape or form. No doubt this aged Reaper was the one in charge, or at least the commanding officer, similar to the Admirals or even the Fleet Admiral, and he made it very clear he was to be respected and obeyed. Not to mention the pressure in the air… the snow beneath their feet was a little wetter than before, an overbearing heat spreading over the island. It was Toshiro's opposite, and much stronger than him, it only made sense now why Toshiro couldn't fathom taking a stand against such a power.
"You have proven yourself good at running away and hiding when the need suits you, this has been twice now that you have done so. Do you enjoy wasting our time and resources?" Yamamoto continued.
"No sir, I just-"
"Come now, old man, he's been through quite a bit at this point I imagine, and he's even managed to come back from being a Nobody." The pink-coated Captain put a friendly hand on his boss's shoulder as if rank didn't exist, a calm smile on his face. With a discreet glance in Toshiro's direction, he winked.
Toshiro understood immediately. They were using their influence as his seniors to keep him away from the Marines. Demyx must have told them what was up. Glancing beside him he saw Yoruichi sneaking her phone back down into her pockets. She had kept the Nobody on call to make sure they stayed updated on events and knew what they were getting into.
Sneaky cat.
He still worried what may happen when he returned home, but for now, Yamamoto and the others were here to help him.
"It is indeed good news that you have returned to your normal self, Captain Hitsugaya, but the fact remains that you have avoided contact for over a month and brought about quite a bit of trouble for this world that it would otherwise not have needed to deal with. If you had perhaps just returned home, a less costly cure may have been eventually discovered." The Head Captain continued, standing firm. His aged face gave no indication of any hidden plans to his words, but considering he was usually quicker to punish such grave violations as Toshiro had made, it was easy for the Soul Reapers to notice.
"Hold on now, the powers he holds have caught the eyes of our world leaders, and since he used them to cause us trouble as you mentioned, shouldn't we get the right to deal with him as we see fit?" The portly Sentomaru spoke up on behalf of Kizaru, the light user keeping a wary eye on the two old powers.
"I would think the idea of him leaving this world alone would be appealing to you, soldier." Yamamoto's tone was harsh and actually made the Marine flinch back a step. "It seems to me you're pushing to kidnap one of my officers against his will."
"Nothing of the sort." Kizaru countered calmly, but any further comment was cut off by his more local enemies.
"You wanted to bring him to the World Government to work for you!" Penguin spoke up loudly. Normally standing up to an Admiral was a terrible idea, but some bravado had returned to even the weaker pirates with the presence of powerful souls on their side. Anything to keep their friend out of the hands of the Marines.
"Yeah, once you guys found out what he could do, and from a lying witch no less, you suddenly wanted to keep him when before you were happy to hang him with the rest of us!" Nami snapped as well, not about to let them sweet talk their way out. She frankly didn't like Yamamoto after speaking with Toshiro about how they ran things, but if he was helping, she'd put in her two cents, something she didn't do often.
"Who's to say you won't actually just kill him?" Thursday scowled, the twins at her side standing tall as well.
"Looks like you've got no business being here." Yoruichi said with a warning in her tone. "We'll take care of things now."
Kizaru was clearly not about to let it end there. Coming back empty handed and saying the reason was pirates and foreign powers teamed up on him to take the guardian away would be bad for him. What the Celestial Dragons wanted, they got.
Seeing this determination, Yen Sid took it upon himself to deal with things in the only non-violent way still available, since negotiations were out. He waved his hand through the air, a flickering of lights following his movements.
And then, in an almost comedic puff of smoke, the Marines were transported elsewhere.
"It is definitely convenient to have a wizard around." Kyoraku, the pink coated Captain, spoke up with a chuckle.
"I'm simply putting the young upstarts in time out." Yen Sid responded with a light smirk.
"That was cool!" Chopper cheered, many sighs of relief from the pirates following his exclamation.
"Hey can you teach any of us that?" Usopp questioned.
"Afraid not, young pirate, magic is not welcome here." Yen Sid responded with a sympathetic bow. "Though it seems the Keyblade has other ideas."
He looked over to Shanks, the red-head blinking in confusion for a moment at the sudden spotlight before remembering his new weapon. It flashed into his hands.
"You can take it back if you want." He offered.
"I can't take back something that has already chosen you." The wizard responded with a dismissing wave of his hand. "Someday, when this mess with Xehanort is over, I may seek you out once more to help you better understand its power. For now, though, you and the young man I saw with the soldiers that had one will have to be self-taught. I can only assume the Keyblades chose you two for a reason, and with the Heartless now aware of this place, it will be important to stay vigilant."
"Well, being self-taught isn't too hard for a pirate, so no worries here." The Pirate Emperor grinned, confident. "In that case, we best be off. I may be a pirate but I still have plenty of responsibilities to go handle."
"What I wish to know is how these two humans came to hold such a weapon." Yamamoto spoke up, turning his gaze on Toshiro while the red-haired man and his crew turned and took their leave. Luffy wanted to chase and ask some questions, but he had a feeling he should stick around in case Toshiro was in trouble. As they all spoke, Harribel gave a light sigh and moved off far to the side away from the Reapers, ignoring any stares in favor of reverting to her normal form. As her Hollow presence lessened, they all felt a little more at ease, if not sure why. Dextra still kept an eye on her, though not sure what she could do against someone who created water around her.
Tensing, the Toshiro didn't answer Yamamoto at first, thinking quickly about what he could say to avoid too harsh a punishment. It might have been too late, though, as he'd no doubt broken most if not all of Soul Society's laws of secrecy and human involvement.
"But if they have one, that means they were meant to, right?" Sora spoke up first in defense of his friend. The aged Soul Reaper had no reaction, simply listening.
"Considering the two who got one seem to be of opposite ideals and groups, it's safe to say the Keyblades have ensured their own form of balance here while extending aid to this world for future attempts by the Heartless to threaten it." Yen Sid spoke his agreement. This seemed to be enough for Yamamoto who just nodded. Toshiro let out a tiny sigh of relief.
"So, Toshiro's not in trouble?" Thursday dared ask of the powerful Soul Reapers.
"Oh normally he'd be in huge trouble." Kyoraku responded, though his expression was friendly and dismissive. "But considering the stakes, any punishment is being postponed until we figure out what would be outside the rules and what should be allowed."
"Personally, based on what little information we have, I believe he was well within his rights to act as he did, if a bit troubling that he ran." The other Captain, Ukitake, put in his word. "It seemed to be for the best, however, considering he is no longer a Nobody."
"One of the pirates here helped with that." Rangiku responded, motioning over to Law. The surgeon wasn't too happy about being singled out, especially at the curious, eager glances that came his way.
"Would you, perhaps, be capable of repeating such a miracle?" Yen Sid asked, putting a hand on Demyx's shoulder as the Water Nobody stepped forward excitedly.
"Possibly. Is his Heartless nearby?" Law replied, wondering if the stranger's other half could also hide in its master's shadow.
"Oh, uh… no." Demyx's hopeful expression immediately fell. "She was… destroyed a long time ago."
"Destroyed? By who?" Penguin questioned, wondering what happened to a Soul Reaper if they lost they're zanpaktou spirit. Well, he supposed in Demyx's case, they were stuck being a Nobody.
"Xehanort's Nobody, Xemnas. I was his guinea pig to try stuff on before he captured Captain Hitsugaya, and when he couldn't control my Mizukayou, he destroyed her."
"That's awful…" Brook put a hand to his mouth, tone sympathetic.
"Hey, that doesn't mean we should give up." The red-head finally spoke up, putting a friendly arm over the Nobody's shoulder as he tried to cheer the other up. "If she was a Heartless still, there might be a way to get her from Kingdom Hearts."
Toshiro looked up into the sky where the bright shining heart still bathed them in its glow.
"I'm not sure yet if I can do something like that. I don't think I have that kind of control over it." He turned back to the others with an apologetic look. "I don't even know how to make it go away. I wasn't exactly conscious when I was forced to summon it."
"BUT, there's still a chance." The red-head countered firmly.
"There might be, Axel, just not any time soon."
"Call me Lea." With a smirk on his face, the now human pyro watched for reactions.
Toshiro just blinked, confused.
"Oh yeah, I guess we need to catch you up on stuff too." Sora grinned sheepishly at his icy friend. "Lea is back to being human again. Since he's not a Soul Reaper like you and Demyx your research guys found a way to bring him back to normal a little easier."
"I will say it was NOT a pleasant experience." Lea grimaced. "But, it's pretty good to be back."
"In any case, there is much to be discussed, so it's about time we took our leave." Yamamoto interrupted, deciding there had been enough chatter and their continued presence would only bring more unwanted attention.
"We thank you brave pirates for taking care of our comrade." Kyoraku tipped his hat to the two crews with a grin.
"You're leaving now?" Chopper's tone was pouting and downcast, not eager to see their friend depart so soon.
"We can always come back." Sora knelt down to be more at level with the reindeer and patted him on the head. "I'd like to get to know you guys some time, you really helped Toshiro out."
"Sora just really likes pirates." Goofy ratted out his friend with a chuckle.
"So?" The spiky brunette grew defensive.
"These guys are definitely better than Sparrow who tried to sell us out to Davy Jones." Toshiro cut in.
"Well of course, we're the best pirates!" Luffy grinned, looking proud.
"You're not Pirate King yet, I can still easily take that title." Law argued, causing the rubber man to turn his way with cheeks puffed up in challenge.
"I wouldn't say easily." Robin added with a slight giggle. "Who knows, maybe our friend Toshiro would take the title."
"No thanks." Toshiro countered. He had no desire to take some legendary treasure and become king of the pirates.
"Why not, sounds like fun?" Riku teased the smaller figure.
As the Keybearers and friends interacted happily with the pirates, Rangiku watching from the side with a smile and pointedly ignoring a flirting Sanji, Yoruichi returned to the other Soul Reapers.
"He looks a little bit different, doesn't he?" She asked of the men.
"If you mean besides the outfit and armor pieces, yeah a little bit." Kyoraku replied with a small nod.
They peeked behind the purple-haired woman briefly to look at who they were speaking of. Normally, the Hitsugaya Toshiro they knew was distant, observing without fully participating, perhaps getting flustered or angry over something said but very careful not to get too roped in. He was a child that tried too hard to be professional and formal. Considering his station, it was a preferred mindset, those in charge glad he obeyed the rules and traditions.
But there was something about him now that brought on an odd feeling of pride in their old hearts. The pirates were a rowdy group, not quite seeming like murderous and vile pirates and more like rebellious children, but Toshiro seemed to enjoy their company. Where before he'd be angry and cold, he was… laughing. The long nosed one was telling some dramatic tale, and when promptly corrected or embarrassed, their icy Captain was laughing with the others, even joining in as he explained his adventures in the ocean world.
As much as the three Captains felt like fathers or grandfathers watching their lonely child finally grow up, they had to hold that feeling down. After all, even if Toshiro had finally found himself, he still had to face the consequences… as much as they didn't want him to. At the least they would make sure the Central Forty-Six did not punish him harshly. He would hopefully get off with just a slap on the wrist and could continue his work, avoid slinking back into his icy shell.
But when they called him over and once more stated that they were to leave immediately to face the council, they were unprepared for his response.
I know y'all didn't want to wait this long for just a bunch of talking, but such is what happens near the end. NExt few chapters are just moving things into place for the next, so not too much action. Got past my block as well, so hopefully the rest come out a little faster.