A/N: Thank you all for reading this! Review Reponses:
Bleach Hui: The cliffie is solved in this chapter. Enjoy! Actually, they did fight, but only for like a few seconds. That's when Ichigo first released his Bankai, remember? And don't worry, Toushirou will get his memories back, but I will not tell you when. Right now, I said he has "nostalgia". That means that certain things are familiar to him, but he can't tell/remember why.
Shiro Neko: I'm glad you liked it. This chapter is probably longer than the others. And the next chapter will be a quick yet long chapter too.
Syl the tWins: He will remember eventually, but right now, I'll leave some suspense.
azure blue espeon: Sorry about the line breaks. They just don't show up on this website. I can created new ones especially for this story.
Dragon Silhouette: There will be a big plot change in this chapter. Hopefully, you will like it a lot. And sorry about that. I'll just have to try harder.
Yin7: Here's the next update for you. :)
AMMO121: For a while there, I thought I did die. Well, I'm still alive! And here's more for you to read. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!
I am so sorry for nearly abandoning this story! I got sidetracked with something else. To make it up to you, I will give a little spoiler: something is changed from the original plot. Can you guess before you reach that point?
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Chapter 20: Betrayal and Retreat
If it was even possible, Renji's grip on Toushirou tightened protectively. Right now, Renji couldn't trust just anyone. The only one he could trust right now was Ichigo, but he wasn't here, probably to go reunite with his friends or something, presumably happy that his brother, adopted or not, was safe.
"Aizen-taichou..." he muttered.
When Renji said this man's name, Toushirou felt another wave of nostalgia wash over him. A feeling of suspicion washed over him, along with another one of...jealousy and anger? Why would he be jealous of something he didn't even know?
"Don't worry, Abarai-kun," Aizen said. When Toushirou heard his voice, he shuddered at how nice it sounded. It sounded unreal. "I'm not going to hurt him. I merely want you to hand him over."
"Like that'll ever happen," Renji gritted back. "Get lost!"
"My, my, so insubordinate," Aizen responded. "I'd hate to have to be the one to tell Kuchiki-taichou about that."
"I don't care what you tell him!" Renji shot back immediately, nearly cutting the other off. "I'm not letting you take Toushirou!"
"Please, Abarai-kun," he replied, gently. "I don't want to have to hurt you."
Renji gripped Zabimaru's hilt tight and turned his head back to Toushirou. "Stay here," he muttered, before charging at Aizen.
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Ichigo paused right where he was when he felt Renji's spiritual pressure. It would just take a moment to pinpoint to location.
Right above them.
What the hell did Renji do now? He just got halfway down the stairs.
Despite the fact that he was exhausted and injured still, Ichigo ran back up the steps anyway, unable to get rid of that familiar nagging feeling in his heart.
You know, the one that told him that Toushirou was in some sort of trouble.
~B~L~E~A~C~H~~T~H~E~~O~T~H~E~R~~S~I~D~E~~O~F~~M~E~
Renji's fight with Aizen was unfortunately short-lived. Toushirou watched as Renji fell, blood gushing from various wounds all over his body.
No, this is exactly why he didn't want Ichigo to come after him. Toushirou couldn't bear the thought of anyone getting hurt because of him. Toushirou disobeyed Renji's curt order from earlier and ran to see if the older Shinigami was okay.
"Renji," Toushirou asked, giving Renji a little nudge in the shoulder. "Talk to me."
"I tried to warn him," Aizen was standing above him now. "All that effort to protect you, our precious prisoner, was for nothing."
Toushirou's eyes widened in fear and he raised his hands against Aizen. A dim white light came from them and a fragmented kidou barrier appeared in front of his hands, but the pain in his neck from the red collar prevented him from keeping it up for too long.
He tried to make a kidou barrier, but he failed. He failed. If he couldn't make a kidou barrier to protect himself, then what could he do?
Aizen raised his sword. "Too bad," he said. "Guess you just weren't strong enough."
"Surprise!" Aizen was knocked backwards by a familiar carrot-top, who landed gracefully in front of Toushirou, still kneeling on the ground. The brown-haired Captain quickly regained his footing. He looked mildly surprised to see Ichigo, yet didn't even bat a single eyelid at him.
Ichigo turned to his little brother. "You okay, Toushirou? You look like you're running a fever..." Ichigo was concerned. He knew that Toushirou didn't like the heat, much less than what the choker did to him the time before last time he tried to save Toushirou. it had caused him to nearly collapse just because he tried to gather reaitsu for a kidou attack.
Toushirou was panting lightly. "I think I am." He definitely didn't feel comfortable. "And this damned thing around my neck certainly isn't helping!"
Ichigo knew that his brother spoke the truth. He knew what that collar was capable of. Now, he was genuinely worried. He must have tried a kidou spell earlier.
Renji stirred, catching the two brothers' attention.
"Renji, you still alive?" Ichigo asked.
"I'm not going down without a fight, Kurosaki," Renji muttered painfully. "You of all people should know that. Aizen-taichou is the one you should watch out for."
"In that case, let's finish him, Renji!"
"Right behind you!"
Hinamori Momo finally got all the way to the top of the stairs. When she saw the scene before her, she let out a soft gasp.
Renji and Ichigo were attacking her Captain, Aizen Sosuke, or trying to. She couldn't understand why they were fighting her Captain, but she let that slip her mind when she noticed Toushirou kneeling a way's off. She ran to him as Renji got struck hard in the shoulder.
Yet, he kept going. He knew what he was fighting for.
Momo kneeled down beside her best friend from childhood and noticed his slight trembling. "Shirou-chan? Shirou-chan...it's okay. You'll be fine." She midly screeched when Ichigo and Renji hit the ground in front of her, both very close to passing out.
"Hinamori-kun," Aizen said, his blade out and poised to attack. "what are you doing helping that prisoner? You belong on my side."
He sounded so sweet, so caring, so disappointed in her.
She looked at her Captain. She's known him for a very long time. Nearly eight years. She looked at Toushirou. But she's known him longer. Nearly their entire lives.
"No," she stated, firmly, her mind already made up. "He's my friend and always will be. I'm helping him because he doesn't deserve to die like this. Not by the likes of you." With this, she reached to unsheath Tobiume, but a strong hand held tightly on her sleeve, preventing her from doing so. She looked back at Toushirou. It seemed like he didn't want her to leave.
In front of Momo a little ways off, Ichigo had gotten back to his knees and held his sword out in front of him. "I won't ask you again, you dirty bastard. What do you want with Toushirou?!"
"It's really none of your business of what I want with my prisoner or do not want with him," Aizen stated, for once his kind and gentle demeanor gone and replaced with cold, stoic, uncaring eyes.
"Yes, it is!" Ichigo shot back, hotly. "He's my brother! And for your information, he doesn't belong to anybody!"
There was a whirlwind and there appeared Gin, holding Kusaka by the arm, his grip tight.
"Aizen-taichou~!" Gin said, enthusiastically. "I've got him!" His smile was wiped off of his face when Matsumoto Rangiku grabbed his arm and pointed Haineko at his neck.
"Release him," she muttered, angrily. "You traitor..."
Komamura Sajin had his zanpaktou raised against his good friend Tousen. "Kaname..."
Yoruichi and Soifon had contented themselves with personally captivating Aizen himself.
"Don't move, traitor," Soifon said. "Or I will cut off your head."
Ichigo and Renji looked back to see the Soutaichou approaching.
"Aizen Sosuke, Ichimaru Gin, and Tousen Kaname," came out the Soutaichou's booming voice. "All three of you are under arrest. Ukitake, list off the charges."
"Sabotage, false accusation, and murder."
Aizen didn't even bat an eye. "I don't know what you are going on about."
"Central 46," the Soutaichou shot back, calmly. "The entire council has been murdered. And thanks to Kurotsuchi's forensics equipment and knowledge, we were able to discover the culprits behind it."
"Second, Kusaka never had an ice-type zanpaktou. It was always a wind-type," Kurotsuchi continued. "I check this data myself. I know for a fact that this is true, as I retreived this information from the Daireisho Archives. And they never lie."
"And since you were the one who informed us about Hitsugaya's rebirth, that counts as false accusation," Kyouraku finished.
"What were your motives, Aizen?" Yoruichi asked. " Why'd you do it?" Yoruichi paused where there was a moment's silence. Then, the cat woman yelled, "Soifon, move back!"
They both jumped back just in time, as at the moment a negacion was initiated. Gin turned back to Rangiku with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Rangiku-chan." He turned back to Aizen. "It looks like we didn't get it after all."
"Get what?"
As Aizen smoothed his hair and back and crushed his glasses, the three Captains ascended into the air. "You wanted a motive, right?" He pointed an accusing finger at Toushirou, who being helped to a standing position by Rukia and Momo. "That boy's body is currently housing the Hogyouku, the most powerful weapon ever created, by Urahara Kisuke himself. You don't believe me? Well, why do you think he can't remember things from his past?" Silence was the only thing your could hear over Aizen's booming voice. "I will get it from you boy, mark my words."
The path to Heuco Mundo eventually disappeared. As it did, Toushirou could feel himself swaying on his feet. His stomach turned from ice cold to charcoal hot in just one to two seconds.
The pain in his neck was nearly unbearable, like someone had set it on fire. His face and everywhere else on his body felt the exact same way.
As he went down, he felt himself tug on someone's pant leg. The last thing he saw before he blaced out completely was the Garganta closing and feared the worst.
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A/N: Review, please! Tell me how I did! X( Motivation block is killing me! T^T