Hinamori's Apprentice
Chapter 22
"Shiro-chan… Shiro-chan…" Momo sobbed as she sat at the side of Toushiro's hospital bed. Toushiro was covered in bandages and had a splint on his injured leg. His right hand was encased in a cast and a mask over his face provided purified oxygen.
"He's sustained severe injuries to the chest and has blunt trauma to the head," Captain Unohana said, "He's taken quite a beating, but things do look hopeful, and I expect him to recover in time."
"What could have done such a thing?" Momo asked tearfully, "Both Toushiro and Rangiku, and even Captain Soi Fon… What could possibly have done this?"
"I'm afraid I don't know," Unohana said, "When I arrived, whatever it was had nearly finished him off. I used Kido to attack it, and it ended up running away before I got a good look at it. I didn't pursue it because I had to administer treatment to the injured."
Momo gripped the edge of the bed tightly, tears running down her face.
"Is this what it feels like Toushiro?" she whispered, "Is this what it was like for you?"
"Momo, you're being unreasonable!" Toushiro said, "I just want to protect you!"
"I can protect myself Toushiro, you don't need to treat me like a helpless infant!" Momo retorted.
"I promised you long ago that I would protect you, remember?" Toushiro said.
"No! You didn't promise me, we both promised eachother! We said we would protect eachother, but you're the only one who ever does any protecting!" Momo said.
"And that's my fault?" Toushiro asked in exasperation.
"N-no, I didn't mean it like that! It's just…you don't take me seriously! You think I'm just some weak thing that's completely helpless," Momo said, "Can't you see how much you're hurting me by constantly being this way? We're supposed to be friends Toushiro, but you always make me feel worthless when you do this."
"I'm sorry Momo, I never meant to make you feel that way, but I'm not going to stop protecting you," Toushiro said.
"Why not?" Momo asked.
"Why not?!" Toushiro yelled, "You have to ask that? It's because I don't want to see you hurt again! Momo, you don't understand what it was like to see you back then, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. I…I thought you were dead. That was the most horrible moment in my life. Even when you were brought back from the brink, I had to watch you lying in bed unconscious with a machine attached just to help you breathe! You have no idea what that was like! I…I never want to see you get hurt like that again. You may not understand, but I can't let you be hurt that way again."
"Toushiro…I understand…" Momo cried, "I understand why you were protecting me so much. I was just being stupid and jealous of you when I rejected it. I understand what it feels like Toushiro, I understand why you were so desperate to protect me. This…this is hell. Oh Toushiro… Oh Toushiro, please wake up!"
In the next room, Karin listened to Momo's crying as she sat by the side of Rangiku's hospital bed. Rangiku's face was heavily bandaged. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed. She was unconscious, but the nurses Karin talked to had insisted that she would be alright. This did little to comfort her however.
To Karin, Rangiku had served as something of a big sister. The idea of losing her was terrifying. Equally terrifying was the idea that something strong enough to so brutally injure Toushiro and Rangiku existed. They both seemed so strong to Karin; prior to today, she could not even have imagined them being defeated. She was greatly unnerved by what was happening. Was this new enemy something the Shinigami could handle? Would it hurt more people Karin cared about? What would happen if Momo or Ichigo encountered this thing? What if whatever it was wasn't alone, and there were a whole army of them. What would happen then?
She shivered at the thought, but tried not to dwell on it. Right now, she could only hope that Toushiro and Rangiku would get better, and that whatever had caused this would be caught.
Back in Toushiro's room, a hell butterfly fluttered in and landed on Unohana's finger.
"There is an emergency meeting for the Captains and Vice-Captains," she said.
"I'm not going," Momo said, staring at Toushiro.
"You have to; your presence is required," Unohana said gently but firmly.
"No! I…I can't leave Toushiro. What if he dies? We…we never made up for our fight! What if he dies and we never managed to work things out? I can't leave him here, I just can't!" Momo said stubbornly.
"He's a strong boy, I'm certain he'll live," Unohana said, "Besides, I'll be staying here to take care of him and the others. It's your duty as a Vice-Captain to attend this meeting. Do you understand?"
"I-I guess…" Momo said.
"Good. In that case you'd better get going; you wouldn't want to be late," Unohana said.
---
"We meet here under the gravest circumstances," Yamamoto said, "Two of our Captains and a Vice-Captain have fallen to the blades of an unknown enemy. Vice-Captain Kotetsu, please tell this assembly what you told me a few moments ago." Isane stepped forward, clearing her throat nervously as she spoke.
"Captain Hitsugaya has sustained blunt trauma, a fractured skull, broken ribs, a mutilated hand, and a broken leg. However, Captain Unohana sees signs of progress in his condition, and expects him to heal quickly. She has already reattached the portion of hand lost in his battle, though we don't know if he'll be able to use it normally or not after recovery. She expects him to be out of the Fourth Division's medical ward in a week and for him to be capable of resuming regular Captain duties in two weeks. Vice-Captain Matsumoto received a puncture wound with organ damage and blood loss, along with severe injuries to the face and head. Captain Unohana is confident however, that she'll be well enough to leave the Fourth Division in one to two weeks. Captain Soi Fon however is a much more serious case. A strike from a bladed weapon severed her spine. Captain Unohana can heal it, but given the nature of the injury, it will take much longer than usual. Captain Soi Fon won't be able to resume Captain's duties for several months. Her condition is so severe that Captain Unohana opted not to attend this Captain's meeting so as to work on healing her."
"Thank you Vice-Captain Kotetsu, you may stand down now," Yamamoto said, "As you all surely must understand, this is a most serious issue. There can now be no doubt that there is an enemy of Soul Society plotting against us."
"We were too careless," Hisagi said, "All of these unusual occurrences are clearly connected. The rogue Shinigami attack in Karakura town, the strange hollows, those warriors in Rukongai, and now this…something very big is going on."
"Something big is definitely going on, and if my intuition is correct, our enemies are highly organized," Byakuya Kuchiki said.
"We must maintain a heightened state of alert and increase patrols. I believe an investigation is in order. Whoever or whatever did this must not be allowed to escape," Komamura said.
"That is regrettably part of the problem. We've no idea who our enemy is, which puts us at a distinct disadvantage," Yamamoto said, "There is little we can do except wait for the enemy to make their next move. Given the circumstances however, we need as many active Shinigami as possible. Thus, I will be suspending Vice-Captain Hinamori's punishment. You are to resume your regular duties as Vice-Captain, is that clear?"
"Yes Captain-Commander, it is clear," Momo said with a bow.
"What about Karin?" Ichigo asked.
"We will discuss that at a later time Kurosaki, this is a matter of greater importance," Yamamoto said in annoyance.
"But sir, you said just now that you had suspended Vice-Captain Hinamori's punishment, does that mean that Karin's punishment is also suspended?" Ichigo asked.
"Given the circumstances, yes, that would be the case," Yamamoto said.
"And what of her living arrangements? She was living with Vice-Captain Matsumoto, but now that she's injured, Karin has no place to go," Ichigo said.
"Um, she could stay with me if she likes," Momo said, "Rangiku asked me to keep her at my place while she was gone, so I suppose this could be considered something of an 'extension' of that request."
"Will that be satisfactory for you, Kurosaki?" Yamamoto asked.
"Yes, I suppose it is," Ichigo said slightly hesitantly.
"Good, now if you have no more interruptions, we must get back to business," Yamamoto said sternly.
---
"So…you're not going to be training me anymore?" Karin asked sadly.
"I'm sorry, it was the order of the Captain-Commander that I resume my duties as Vice-Captain," Momo said, "I won't have time to train you anymore."
"But…but I'm not ready yet; I know that there's a lot more that you were planning on teaching me," Karin said.
"I'm really sorry Karin, but there's nothing I can do. I'm Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division, I have responsibilities that need to be upheld. However, you are going to be staying at my place for a while, and I have a lot of books that you can use to improve yourself while I'm busy. I might even be able to throw in a short lesson to you every once in a while! Does that make you feel any better?" Momo asked.
"Yeah, I suppose…" Karin said, her head lowered. She turned to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Momo asked.
"I'm going to bed. Today was just too much…" she said.
"You can use my room. I'll sleep on the couch," Momo said. Karin glanced at her for a moment and almost said 'thank you' before turning back and going to the bedroom.
When she arrived she immediately collapsed onto the bed, taking several deep breaths. Today had been highly stressful for her. Rangiku and Toushiro were both badly wounded, and now she had lost her teacher. She didn't know what to do now; she had been hoping that the more she trained, the more self-reliant she would become, and eventually gain Chico's acknowledgement that she was indeed able to take care of herself.
She sighed. When she first began training, she never imagined that she would have been this crushed by it being over. The time where Momo had seemed to Karin to be a harsh slave-driver of a master seemed distant and long ago, despite having only been about a month ago. Things had changed since then. Karin had grown to understand and appreciate Momo, and in turn Momo treated Karin with more respect. They had grown close in the time they spent together, practically becoming friends, even if their relationship wasn't as casual as the one between Karin and Rangiku.
At the thought of Rangiku, Karin became even more depressed. The thought of the woman who had acted as an older sister to her lying on a hospital bed with severe injuries was highly unpleasant. While Karin was in a comfortable bed, Rangiku was in a dark room recovering from her wounds. It was unpleasant to think about to say the least.
Karin looked over at her zanpakuto that she had set down near the doorway. She thought about what Momo said about meditating with a zanpakuto. She said that doing this made Shinigami and their zanpakuto grow closer and that it helped calm you down. She wondered if meditating would make her feel better. She got up and took the zanpakuto, sitting back down on the bed with the sheathed sword resting on her crossed legs.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Meditating… meditating… how did meditating work again? Momo had never really been specific, only saying that it was a great way for Shinigami to communicate with their zanpakutos and to calm down. She had no clue how to actually meditate properly. She supposed that it would consist of calming the mind and thinking. She supposed that she could only try different methods.
Karin tried to clear her mind of worry and put herself in a peaceful state. It was harder than it sounded, as in order to do this, you had to focus on being calm, which meant that you were thinking by proxy about the things you didn't want to think about. She recalled the time when her father told her that she could eat an entire cake if she didn't think about toucans for one hour. Needless to say, she thought of toucans immediately (though she ended up eating the cake anyways). It was nearly impossible to intentionally not think about something.
After several minutes of failed meditation, she tried a different tactic: calling out her zanpakuto directly. Denryu, she called in her head, Denryu, can you hear me? There was no response. Karin focused even harder, clearing her mind and focusing herself completely on calling out to her zanpakuto. Denryu, are you there? Again, there was no response. She hadn't really expected it to be this easy, but it was still a bit disheartening. In the past, she had only been able to visit her inner world accidentally while dreaming, not on conscious will. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, focusing…focusing…focusing…
Denryu, I need to talk to you, Karin said in her head. She wondered if maybe she was supposed to do some sort of hand gesture like she would sometimes see on TV…
"Don't even think about it," the voice of Denryu said in her head. Karin opened her eyes in excitement. Denryu! You're here!
"Of course I am, and FYI, Shinigami meditation is based on internal reiatsu manipulation, not the type of meditation in the human world. That might work for your personal issues, but not for growing stronger. Now come; since you called to me I assume that you require my assistance."
Karin felt a dropping sensation in the pit of her stomach, and the next thing she knew she was back at that familiar island that she had visited in the past.
"We're here," Denryu said, speaking loudly over the howl of the wind and the roaring of the sea.
"What?" Karin yelled.
"We're here!" Denryu called.
"Well duh, I can see that!" Karin yelled. They were on the deck of the ship. Unlike the past several times where the weather had been clear, it was once again storming furiously. Huge waves crashed against the boat, the sky was nearly black, rain was coming down in sheets, and the gusting wind nearly knocked Karin over.
"Come below deck if you wish to speak!" Denryu yelled, leading her across the wooden deck and down a set of stairs. He closed the door behind them as they went below deck, blocking out much of the noise from outside.
Karin shook herself off. She was soaking wet from her short time out in the rain. While she was wringing her clothes and hair out, Denryu was lighting several candles, illuminating the room.
"Tell me, do you like this weather?" he asked.
"In-in all honesty?" Karin said, blowing out a bit of water, "No, not really."
"Well this is the type of weather I live in when you are in conflict and emotional turmoil," Denryu said.
"I'm sorry, but it's not exactly a thrill ride to me either," Karin said.
"In all the time I've spent in your soul, it has been very rare for it to be this bad," he said quietly, almost as if he hadn't heard her.
"Well, I am kind of dealing with a lot of shit right now!" Karin said.
"Oh? Why don't you tell me about it?" Denryu said.
"You're my zanpakuto, shouldn't you already know?" Karin asked irritably.
"Humor me," Denryu said, "Tell me what it is that bothers you." Karin sighed in frustration.
"Let's see, Rangiku and Toushiro were both nearly killed, Momo can't teach me anymore, Ichigo is being an overprotective jerk, and your Shikai form is nearly useless!" Karin yelled.
"Do you know what my Shikai form does?" Denryu asked.
"No, but-"
"Then how can you say it's useless?" Denryu said. Karin sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry I said it's useless, I'm just really stressed out right now!" she said.
"Perhaps a bit of practice would put your mind at ease," Denryu said. He held out his hand and conjured a copy of Karin's Shikai. Without warning, he tossed it to her. Karin let out a yell of surprise and jumped out of the way as it landed on the wooden deck, sticking into the floor boards.
"Are you insane?! You nearly skewered me!" Karin said in a shrill voice.
"Not likely, I have faith in your abilities to dodge. Now fight me," Denryu said.
"What?"
"You want to get stronger, don't you?"
"Well yeah, but when I called out to you I was hoping for advice on Momo and Ichigo, not to mention Rangiku and Toushiro," Karin said.
"Too bad," Denryu said. He made a quick movement as if he were about to attack, and Karin reflexively grabbed the sword stuck in the ground next to her.
"That's better. Now take your stance."
Karin quickly took her stance, holding the rapier-like sword in front of her. She kept her right hand on the grip and her left on the pommel for control.
"Hmmm… Very interesting…" Denryu said. With that, he lunged at her, thrusting his sword forward. Karin tried to block it, but could only knock the tip against his sword, and ended up stepping back instead.
Denryu followed by flicking the sword to the side in a short cut, Karin tried to block this, but as with before her light-weight sword was not able to stop her opponent's, even though it was almost exactly the same. She ended up dodging and ducking the strikes rather than attempting to block them.
"Your dodging is good, but your swordsmanship form is all wrong," Denryu noted, thrusting his sword forward and narrowly missing Karin.
"I'm using my sword the way Momo taught me," Karin said.
"No, you're using your sword the way she taught you how to use a katana. If you use a rapier as a katana, you're destined to fail."
"She said something like that too, but I don't know how. A katana is all I've ever used," Karin said.
"Well then it's time to learn something different," Denryu said, "Listen to me closely: The key to using a rapier is point control. A katana uses the base section, the middle section, and the end for cutting and the tip for stabbing as well as cutting. With a rapier, the tip is the only part you'll be attacking with. You'll primarily use thrusts and stabs, with occasional cuts with the edges at the tip."
"So you're saying that a rapier has much more limited attack capabilities?" Karin asked.
"To some extent, yes, but also keep in mind that there are things you can do with a rapier that can't be done with a katana," Denryu explained, "Now, as for defense, a rapier does not block, it parries. Your objective will not be to block an opponent's blade, but to push it aside."
"So are you going to train me how to do that?" Karin asked.
"No," Denryu said, "Not today."
"But I can't just figure it out on my own, and Momo isn't able to help me anymore!" Karin protested.
"Is it you that needs her help or the other way around?"
"What? I don't understand."
"You will eventually," Denryu said, "Now I must bid you goodbye. I'm sure we will meet again soon."
The next thing Karin knew, she was back in Momo's bed. She sighed. So much for getting help from Denryu. She looked at the clock, and realized that it was after midnight. She had been in her inner world for much longer than she thought. She was about to go to bed when she heard a rustling sound outside the room. She then noticed a bit of light shining under the doorway.
Curious, she got out of bed and walked to the door. She opened it and walked down to hall to the kitchen, where the light was coming from. When she got there, she saw that Momo was standing over the counter.
"Vice-Captain Hinamori?" Karin asked. Momo jumped and turned around.
"Karin! What…what are you doing up?" she said in a shaky voice.
"I heard a noise and went to check," Karin said. She noticed that Momo was very pale, and that she seemed to be covered in sweat. She wore a pale blue nightgown and her hair was loose rather than in its usual bun. There were several bottles on the counter, as well as a cup of tea.
"What are those?" Karin asked.
"Oh…these… They're just some pills to help me sleep and calm down," she said awkwardly, looking away as if ashamed of relying on medications.
"Why are you up?" Karin asked.
"I…I had a nightmare," Momo admitted.
"What happened in it?" Karin asked. Momo did not speak for a minute, and Karin began to wonder if she was asking too personal questions, but then she answered.
"I…I dreamed that Toushiro died…" she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"Oh…I see…" Karin said.
"I…I dreamed that he died before we had the chance to make up…" Momo said, "Our…our friendship has collapsed, and we both said really stupid things to eachother. What if…what if one of us died before ever making up? We…we… Sorry Karin, I shouldn't be bothering you with all this."
"No, it's okay Momo- I mean Vice- Captain Hinamori," Karin said.
"You don't have to call me that here," Momo said.
"Very well then Momo," Karin said, "If you're so worried, why don't you two make up?"
"It's not that simple. Everything between us is awkward now. We were such good friends, but then we got jealous of eachother and began having arguments about how we treated eachother. Whenever we see eachother, we can't even say anything. It's too awkward," Momo said.
"That doesn't really make much sense," Karin noted.
"I know, but that's how it is," Momo sighed, "There are just so many issues, I wouldn't know where to start. Besides, I don't even know if he still cares about me."
"He definitely does," Karin said promptly.
"You really think so?" Momo asked.
"I know so," Karin said, "First, a friendship like the one you two had doesn't just go away. Second, back in the world of the living, Toushiro talked about you all the time."
"Really? He did? But…but Toushiro's not even a talkative person…" Momo said, her eyes wide.
"Well he talked about you. Not directly by name, but he was definitely talking about you. He would watch sunsets, saying they 'reminded him of old times with a friend' and whenever I asked him what he was thinking about, he'd always vaguely mention something about a friend of his. I remember one time…"
As Karin spoke, Momo's eyes filled with tears, and she had to quickly wipe them away.
"He…he said those things about me?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady, "He really thought of me that much?"
"Of course! He cares a lot about you, and I know you care a lot about him! So why not patch up your friendship with him? Sure it might be awkward, but it would be worth it wouldn't it?" Karin said.
"Yes…yes you're right!" Momo said, "As soon as Toushiro wakes up, I'm going to go talk to him!"
---
Toushiro twitched and shook in his hospital bed. His head thrashed from side to side as memories replayed over and over in his head.
"Come on and fight me you damn monster!" Toushiro growled, "I'm not dead yet, so come and fight me!"
The beast hissed and leapt into the air, its swords held up ready to strike. Toushiro raised his zanpakuto to meet the beast, using what little strength he had left to block the monstrous being's vicious blows. It was no use however. He was too wounded, and the creature too fast and strong. He was soon overwhelmed, and with a strike from the beast, his zanpakuto was knocked from his hand. He collapsed to the ground, knowing that this fight was as good as over.
As the beast raised its swords for the killing blow however, it suddenly turned its head in the other direction. Moments later, a giant energy blast engulfed the spot the creature had been standing. Toushiro blinked as he watched the energy blast fly by right in front of him, feeling dizzy from his wounds and exhaustion.
The world seemed to spin around him, and his vision blurred. He saw a figure standing over him, recognizing who it was only moments before passing out.
Toushiro's eyes opened. He glanced around, his murky mind taking in the place around him. He was quickly able to determine that he was in the Fourth Division, and the large amount of medical equipment around him reminded him that he had been badly injured. He formed his good hand into a fist, clenching it in anger and frustration. Were it not for the breath mask covering his face, he would have yelled.
He had lost. He had been completely overwhelmed and brutalized. Had it not been for Unohana's intervention, he would surely have been killed. He didn't even know who or what his opponent was, though it was obvious that it was connected to his earlier skirmish with the strange warriors. Something very odd was going on. Though his mind was still rather fuzzy, there was one thing he knew: he had to get to the bottom of this.
Thanks for reading! Thank you to nexuswarrior, Hinata-cutie, blackwitchkarma, war90, DXmaryoOD, Taeniaea, Chillis, Guibin, DigiPal, Revolation, The Great Pineapple MEKI, and Thunder Claw03 for reviewing! I made this chapter end a little sooner than I originally planned, both for pacing reasons and because several people in the past have said that my chapters were a bit too long. For future reference, I would appreciate your input on whether I should make my chapters shorter or longer. Please review!