A/N: Chapter 15 is here! Review Responses:
lucidatray7: I'll try to find room for it somewhere. I can't make any promises though. Sorry. T^T
skylark dragonstar: Sorry, I'll try to be slower. Hopefully, this chapter helps you.
Dragon Silhouette: Thank you so much for the various kinds of motivation! I appreciate it!
550: For those who like a little spoiler: Momo and Rukia will most likely appear in the next chapter.
DragonsFlame117: Lol. Keep reading and find out!
ShiroNeko: I'll try to update faster. But school has started and I'm working on homework on top of my stories. So…pray for me. T.T
toshirolovehim: Yay! A reader from early on! I'm glad you found it again.
ttcrazedman: Don't worry. Here's an update.
AMMO121: Cool. Mind sending me a link or something to that particular story?
Thank you for all the reviews, alerts, and what not! It means a lot!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.
~15~15~15~15~
Chapter 15: A Brotherly Reunion
Kusaka threw his hands up in defeat. "I don't care about this damned time limit! I'm guarding you until your brother comes to get you."
Toushirou's head snapped up. "You...are helping me?"
Kusaka turned his head around to look at his young friend. "Of course. That's what friends are for."
Toushirou smiled softly, believing that this man was truly his friend. He reminiscenced the past few days, stroking the red choker collar around his neck.
So much had happened. It was only fair to start from the beginning.
Ichigo finally reached the top of the steps of the Shi-Shinro. He was dead tired. He looked back at Hanatarou, who had taken a Military Rations pill and was not tired, and Ganju, who was tired too, but more so than Ichigo.
Ichigo kept going up the stairs, not caring if Hanatarou and Ganju were following him. All he kept his head around was Toushirou. He would succeed at last. This time, he would save his brother and get him back home again.
He wakes up in a blazing snowstorm and is found by the Kurosaki Family, most specifically Ichigo.
He can't remember what happened to him or who his parents are. Nothing. Just his name.
Later that year, Masaki dies from what he fears is a terrifying monster.
Again, even later that same year, he finally has a surname to call his own: Kurosaki.
He spends so much time with his new family, he is happy that he is not alone anymore.
But that changes when Kuchiki Rukia and Hinamori Momo, both Shinigami from the Soul Society, arrive in Karakura Town, changing his and Ichigo's entire lives around.
He finds out that he can use kidou and eventually that he too is a Shinigami, one with a pink spirit ribbon.
Then he is taken by more Shinigami and, after about a week or two, is sentenced to death.
He is here now, listening to every word that his old Academy friend says, stroking this weird red choker.
It was reasonable and explainable so far. The only thing that made no sense was this:
What the hell was the red choker for?
Kusaka had managed to snap him out of the stage that his friend was in. Toushirou's eyes were glossy and unemotional. He was absentmindedly stroking the choker he had around his neck, as if wondering what his life was worth now.
"Toushirou...we should probably go now. If we want to get to your brother on time, we should go now..."
Toushirou absentmindedly nodded and stood up, but wobbled a bit, having been sitting all day. His legs needed some time to get used to walking again.
After gaining his balance once more, he followed his friend out of the door to the prison tower, but the two got a surprise that really got them good.
Ichigo was standing in front of them, blades clashing with Kuchiki Byakuya.
Once he saw Toushirou, he gathered to strength to push Byakuya off of him and leaped up and then landed in front Toushirou, checking him over for any injuries.
"Toushirou! I'm so glad you're here!"
Toushirou stared at Ichigo, still unable to get the fact that Ichigo was finally here through his head.
"Toushirou!" Ichigo snapped his fingers a couple times, until Toushirou finally got a grip on reality.
"Ichigo! What are you doing here?"
Ichigo stood there, disbelieving that he had just said that. It should be so obvious.
"Dammit! It's so obvious! I'm here to save your sorry butt! You know what?! From now on, all of your opinions are rejected!"
That seemed to make Toushirou snap.
"What the hell?! As the captive and prisoner, I feel like I should have the right to voice my opinion on anything!"
Ichigo said nothing, but he put his sword back on his back and held up both hands to his face and wiggled his fingers while sticking his tongue out at his little brother.
Toushirou shuddered in severe anger, but said nothing.
All in all, no matter what Toushirou said or did would change his mind. He truly was glad that Ichigo here. The fight the two were currently having was reminding him of the happier times that the two had. Now that Ichigo was here, every thing would be alright now.
But that idea snapped out of his head when he heard a sword being unsheathed.
Kusaka had drawn his zanpaktou and stepped in front of the two brothers, protecting them. Ichio quickly noticed that few more Shinigami, Captain-class, had arrived. Apparently, he had wasted too much time on arguing with Toushirou that he had missed his opportunity to get Toushirou away from here.
"Meh, what are you doing here, Kusaka?" A spiky-haired man asked.
"Stopping you from spilling my friend's blood. Remember? If anyone spilled a single drop of his blood, I said I would make sure that they faced me. That goes for you too, Kenpachi. Just because you're the Eleventh Division Captain doesn't mean you get to ignore it."
The two women Captains were silently standing, the shorter one carefully watching Toushirou, as if she were afraid of him successfully escaping. The taller woman gently held Hanatarou back, who had just arrived. Ichigo noticed this, but said nothing.
"What the hell is all this?" Ichigo finally asked, finding his voice after searching for it for a couple minutes while observing the scene.
"We're terribly sorry, but we are not permitted to let you go with or without the prisoner," Soifon stated.
Ichigo scowled. "Work, that's all you Shinigami ever think about. Think about some fun or something else!"
"Not likely, kid," Kyouraku kindly retorted, as Kenpachi readied himself to make the first attack.
"Calm yourself, Zaraki," Ukitake calmly commanded, but his voice was firm. "We'll give you a choice, kid. You may willingly surrender or you can try to get out of this the hard way. Your choice."
"I'm not going to try, I'm going to succeed! So back off before I hurt you!" Ichigo firmly stated.
As Ichigo spoke, Toushirou gathered his reaitsu, but a sharp pain in his neck ruined his concentration and Toushirou fell to his knees, absentmindedly stroking red choker again.
"Toushirou!" Ichigo was worried.
"Such a fool," Soifon said. "That choker prevents you from performing any kidou or gathering any energy for a reaitsu-related attack."
That answered Toushirou's question from before.
"Too bad, kid," Kenpachi said, and charged for an attack.
The spiky haired Captain's attack was so strong that Ichigo was knocked over onto his back. He wasn't expecting that...
Seeing the carrot top on the ground, Kenpachi lunged from another attack. A was a large flash and the sound of a sword cutting through flesh and a couple drops of blood splashing on the wooden floor.
Ichigo adjusted his position to get a better of what had happened.
Toushirou and attempted to punch Zaraki's zanpaktou away from Ichigo, and he had succeeded, but had a cut a deep cut on his hands near his knuckles because of it. Toushirou's hand was trembling and he was wincing pain. He had never done that before.
Zaraki was standing there, wondering the hell just happened and Toushirou saw this as the cue to continue what he was trying to do. So Toushirou flipped over Zaraki and grabbed his sword arm and pulled it behind the man with all his might.
"Go, Ichigo! Run! Get out of here!"
"Not without you, you idiot!" ichigo seemed surprised that his brother would say such a thing.
Toushirou was begging. "No, you're the idiot here! THEY'LL KILL YOU!"
"NOT AS BAD AS THEM KILLING YOU!"
With a huge burst of adrenaline, Ichigo leaped forward and grabbed Toushirou around his waist and drug him to the side of the bridge. He had gotten to him at last, now to fight all these people off.
Soifon lunged at Ichigo, stinging him a first time, a second time, he would be a goner. Ichigo didn't know that, but for some reason, Toushirou did. So when Soifon lunged at Ichigo a second time, Toushirou pushed him out of the way and had gotten stung instead, gaining a black butterfly stamp on his back.
Soifon stood down immediately and shouted at the other Captains who were also at the scene as well. "Stand down! All of you! Even you, Zaraki! We have strict orders not to harm the prisoner! If he keeps standing in the way of our attacks on this carrot top kid, then he'll be a goner before his execution date! Stand down!"
Ichigo was fading in and out of consciousness. His wounds had reopened. He was no longer safe from bleeding out. He face was about to hit the ground, but a catlike woman had appeared. She spoke only once.
"Treat your prisoner and I will treat my comrade." the woman used shunpo to get away. The amazing thing was...
No one went after her to stop her.
The last thing Toushirou saw Ichigo shrinking in the distance, feeling tears gently fall down his face...
Afterwards, Soifon had gone to get the Soutaichou, but she didn't have to go that far, because he was already arriving on the scene. He silently ordered all the Captains except Unohana and Ukitake to return to their barracks.
"After Unohana treats the prisoner here on the spot, Ukitake, I want you to take him to your prison barracks in Division Thirteen. This matter is to be discussed between us three only. Understood?"
The two Captains nodded, understanding the Soutaichou's reasons.
Hanatarou, who was holding an unconscious Toushirou in his arms, was greeted by his Captain.
"Taichou, I am deeply sorry. I betrayed you and the Soul Society. I only wanted to help him."
"It's alright, Hanatarou, but I'll deal with you later. Right now, let us treat him."
Hanatarou wordlessly nodded.
It didn't take much time. Toushirou wasn't hurt that badly. He received a bandage on his right hand, the one that was cut up, and he had been given the antidote for Soifon's poison.
But he was still out cold.
As Ukitake listened to Sentarou and Kiyone fight over who got to carry the boy to their barracks, he couldn't help but notice that Toushirou seemed a lot different than when he had last seen him.
Fed up with their arguing, Ukitake was the one to pick Toushirou up, but as they were walking, Ukitake couldn't stop thinking about what he saw between Toushirou and the carrot top, Ichigo.
That was a true brotherly bond for you.
But he also couldn't help but notice a strange silver bracelet on Toushirou's wrist.
~15~15~15~15~
A/N: This motivation block is KILLING ME! X Again, sorry for yelling. T.T
Hey! If any of you can spot some difference in the story, tell me! You may be right! And it's so obvious. And who can tell me what that bracelet on Toushirou's wrist was?