Chapter 8: Hollow Pursuits
As the light of the moon crept further overhead, Hitsugaya felt himself begin to stir from sleep. The sounds of distant screams were pouring into his ears like a cool smoke, swirling around in his head as he tried to drift back into what must have been a good dream. As the yelling slowly died down, his mind began to focus. Opening his eyes slowly, he surveyed his surroundings, squinting to clear his blurry vision. This is..the office? Lifting his upper body onto the balls of his hands, he felt the fabric of his kosode slide off of his chest, leaving his upper body exposed to the chill of the breeze.
Wait. If I fell asleep here...and if I'm naked...then...
Hitsugaya slowly turned, his eyes widening as he noticed Matsumoto's body lying next to his, completely disrobed other than the small portion covered by his haori. He sighed happily, watching Matsumoto's chest rise and fall, still fast asleep.
Then...it wasn't a dream after all.
A small smile crept across Toshiro's face as he lay back down next to Matsumoto. Staring up at the darkened ceiling, memories of the evening began to fill his mind, causing an intoxicating warmth to cover his body. Looking out towards the window and the distant moonlight, Hitsugaya heaved a refreshingly huge breath, waiting for sleep to wash over him once more...
... But without warning, frantic shouting once again filled the night air. Toshiro's eyes shot open, feeling a strong spiritual pressure seep into the room. His body rocketed up off of the floor in a flash, surprisingly not rousing Matsumoto awake. Donning his hakama as quickly as he could, Hitsugaya ran to the open window, gasping as he looked out into the nearby courtyard, the chilling night air pouring over him.
This is...impossible!
Only a few meters away, black smoke billowed off the gigantic silhouette of a dark beast. Hitsugaya tried to make out the shape and try to identify the creature, but there was a thick haze swirling around it, making it difficult to see. Scattered at it's feet were the bodies of many Soul Reapers that had been injured or slaughtered. Hitsugaya growled softly as he grabbed his Zampaku-to from the nearby corner, leaping out of the window towards the chaos.
As he got closer, the demonic red eyes of the beast looked out into his direction, squinting as it watched his every movement. Letting out a loud shriek, a vast torrent of wind blew out from around the swirling black it's body was concealed in, blowing away the haze and leaving it completely unveiled. Toshiro stopped dead in his tracks, recognizing the beast almost instantly. "It can't be," he whispered under his breath, watching the hollow snorting as it stretched it's foul wings. A small crack had formed in the corner of it's mask, but there could be no mistake; the Hollow that stood before Hitsugaya was the same that Matsumoto had fought earlier that day and the day before.
"How are you still alive?" Hitsugaya thought out loud, watching the gigantic bird slowly crunch the ground beneath it's talons. As he grew more and more angry at the persistence of the Hollow's hunt, Toshiro finally shouted, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead as her drew his Zampaku-to.
"You can't have her! Not Matsumoto!"
The bird lifted it's body as it flapped the length of it's wings again crying out into the night sky. The sound sent an intense chill down the entire length Hitsugaya's exposed chest and back. With a quick dive, the beastly hollow flew off into the distance, an injured Soul Reaper still in the clutches of it's strong grip. As it passed overhead, Hitsugaya noticed the small outline of the stab wound Matsumoto had inflicted earlier, now glowing in a deep blue, as if it was being healed by the reishi particles around it. Hitsugaya bowed his head slightly as he watched the silhouette of the bird grow more distant. "You're not getting away from me this time." He raised his Zampaku-to to the sky, dark clouds beginning to form over the Seireitei's once clear, starlit night. "You attack my lieutenant...insist on destroying her. I will never forgive you. And I will not rest until she is safe."
"Sit upon the frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"
Matsumoto had been tossing and turning for some time, unable to regain the comfort of her previous deep sleep. Finally giving into her instincts, she awoke slowly, placing a hand on her head to calm the headache that had begun to form. She looked out onto the floor of the office, still laying on her side beneath the warm haori.
I fell asleep here? That means...
She rolled over abruptly, hoping to verify her suspicions, only to find a cold kosode discarded next to her. Sighing, she lifted her body up and rest herself against the face of the couch. She grabbed the captain's haori as it slipped off of her breasts, realizing she had been sleeping completely naked.
I'm not wearing any clothing. And the captain has various other clothes laying around. This means that everything did happen. But...
...Matsumoto's smiled slowly drooped into a pout. Why did he leave? More importantly why did he leave without getting fully dressed? She began pondering the evidence in order to answer the various questions birthing in her mind.
If he had to leave in a hurry...Maybe he was summoned to a captain's meeting? No. No way would he go to a captain's meeting halfway undressed. Maybe he went to his own room wanting to give me some privacy? But then wouldn't he have also gotten dressed in that situation? Matsumoto looked over towards the corner of the office, a startled look creeping across her wide eyed face.
His Zampaku-to! It's gone!
Jumping to her feet, Matsumoto quickly grabbed her discarded clothing off of the floor, hurriedly throwing them on in an unkempt fashion. She moved towards the window, looking out into the night to locate any sign of her captain. Instead, Matsumoto felt her breath catch painfully in her throat. Beneath her, she could see various squad members rushing about, some of them caring for the bodies of other injured Soul Reapers. Others were patrolling the area. Clearly, some form of disturbance had occurred just beneath where she and her beloved captain had been sleeping only moments ago. Her mild headache began to throb as worry increased the severity of the pain. As she moved to jump out of the window, hoping to find someone who might know what had happened, she turned and looked back on the couch; the captain's white Haori still laying there. Briskly walking over to the couch, she grabbed the robe, clenching her fingers and tightening her grip on the fabric before leaping out of the window gracefully, headed towards a small group of Soul Reapers that were tending to some of the wounded.
Matsumoto landed softly next to a huddle of comrades from squad four, now discussing the strategy for locating and healing other victims. "Please!", she exclaimed, grabbing onto one of the men's shoulders, forcing him to unexpectedly swivel around. "What has happened here!?" Matsumoto's breathing was uneven as she looked around at the destruction, an unusual hint of a sweet scent swirling around in the night.
"I'm sorry Matsumoto. Most of the injured haven't recovered enough to talk yet. Four are dead, many more have been injured or are now missing. Where is your captain?"
Matsumoto cringed at the question, searching for her captain's spiritual pressure in the gentle breeze. Unable to feel any smidgen of such a familiar pressure, she gazed down at the ground momentarily, defeated. "I don't know." The huddle looked back at each other with worried expressions. Matsumoto's anxiety was so tangible that they could almost see the small lump forming in her throat as she tried to make sense of what was going on around her. As the sound of her own heartbeat and slow breathing began to absorb and overpower the ambient noise around her, Matsumoto heard a small voice chime over the chaos.
"Lieutenant...!"
Turning to the direction of the sound, she noticed an injured Soul Reaper, a small young woman, her hand lifted up as a summons. Matsumoto insensitively shoved her way past the huddle and knelt down next to the crumpled up girl. She was being treated by one of the squad four members, a bad slice across her mid section, bleeding out all over her uniform. She also had a massive gash on her temple just beneath her long, auburn hair, blood to trickling into her right eye. The young woman struggled to lift her body as Matsumoto looked upon her, but she slouched back down on the ground when the immense pain of her wounds struck against her.
"Please lie still!" The healer sternly warned, continuing to perform kido on her wounds.
"Captain...Hitsugaya..." she coughed, watching Matsumoto's eyes widen at the prospect of important information.
"I know it hurts, but please, you have to tell me." Matsumoto urgently apologized, putting a hand on the young woman's cheek and feeling her pulse weaken slightly.
"A huge...h-h-hollow..." the young woman desperately tried to collect her thoughts, knowing that fatigue was beginning to consume her. She scowled as she began to cough once more, blood slipping out from between her pursed lips. "He went after it...a massive bi...bir..." Barely able to speak, the young woman's eyes began to roll back a little as she started to lose consciousness.
"This is not like any wound I've ever seen come from a hollow," the healer sighed angrily. "Seeing this, I'm surprised any of them are alive and not consumed."He concentrated harder, the waves of kido thickening from a hazy olive to a deep blue green.
Matsumoto knew it was dangerous for the woman, but she reached out and grabbed the young woman by the shoulders, shaking the Soul Reaper slightly, watching her begin to reel back into a conscious state.
"You said it was a massive hollow! Tell me...was it...a massive bird?!" Matsumoto commanded, putting the pieces of the picture together in her mind. The young woman sternly looked up at her, nodding slightly as she winced from the pain. Groaning, she slowly lifted her hand up once again, pointing out to the east. As her whole body shook, she whimpered, "That way...go!" With that, the young woman again lost consciousness, causing the healer to stare darts at Matsumoto.
"You're not helping any! This woman could die! Now please!..."
Before the healer could finish scolding Matsumoto, she had already leaped up onto her feet, chasing after the traces of her captain's spiritual pressure.
As she flew from roof top to roof top, the moon still eerily shining high up in the sky, she could feel the entirety of the Seireitei awakening. The news of the disturbance was traveling fast. Lights in other squadron barracks began to flicker on accompanied by the scuffling of troops being sent out. There was no sign of Hitsugaya within the walls. Only minute traces of his crisp pressure hung on the air, accompanied by a slight sweet scent. She glanced through her peripherals, looking out to see if any reinforcements had joined her; none so far.
How on earth did that...thing get so far into our defenses?! It was only a few meters from myself and the captain. How could we not have felt it coming? *sigh* Be careful Taichou, there's more to this hollow than we could have imagined.
Heading further out beyond the east wall, Matsumoto flash stepped past the Seireitei towards an immense forest. She could sense her captain's spiritual pressure, as well as that of the enormous hollow just ahead. She knew they could not have gone much further than there.
Good. He's alive, and whether it was by his design or by mere coincidence, this area seems relatively deserted. Maybe no one else will have to get hurt. In any case, this is getting settled. Tonight.
Determination now woven into the fibers of her being, Matsumoto burst forward with a new energy surging through her. She navigated the lush trees using only the pressure of her captain as her guide, darting back and forth as she pursued.
"There! That must be Hyorinmaru!"
A bright flash of light shot out through the clouds that had gathered, churning over a distant opening in the thickness of the woods. Matsumoto leaped out of the dark greenery and into the earthy opening, down on one knee, skidding to a halt. One hand clasped onto her Zampaku-to, and the other touching the earth, she stopped, then stood looking out onto the scene which was brightly lit by the somewhat menacing and lonely moon. "Taichou!" Matsumoto shouted, matching gaze with her Captain. She could see Hitsugaya, standing on the defensive, the sturdy form of Hyorinmaru pointed directly across at the giant bird Hollow. Shards of ice and loose black feathers were strewn around, but neither opponent appeared to be injured. She began to rush towards him, intent on assisting in the defeat of this cursed enemy, once and for all.
"Don't Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya shouted out in earnest from the distance. But it was too late.
With a brilliant flash of red, Matsumoto screamed in agony as she was flung backwards against a nearby tree with such force she felt herself cough up blood. A sharp tingle coursed through her body, as if she had touched a live wire. Hitsugaya immediately broke from his stance and rushed towards his lieutenant, stopping just short of where she had been hurled backwards; a massive barrier standing between him and Matsumoto, still unable to move. She looked up to see the outlines of the glowing red barrier flicker away into nothing, hiding it's outlines once again.
"Damn you Hitto!" Hitsugaya screamed out into the night, a intense rage building inside the core of his being.
Matsumoto thrust herself against the tree to help her stand, grabbing her arm as she stabilized. Gasping in confusion, she stared at her Captain, his spiritual pressure pouring out of his body in the form of a grainy white glow. He again had turned to face the giant bird hollow pecking at the ground, with Hitto standing just to it's side, his Zampaku-to drawn and pointed back at Hitsugaya.
Hitto!?