Hello all! I am back with the latest chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, but the holiday season does tend to keep a person busy! I had family over at my house quite often. Now, here's the chapter! I will keep this short and sweet because I posted it before leaving for something important. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
I hadn't spoken with Momo in a long time, just like I hadn't with Granny. Since I felt guilty with one, I didn't want to with the other. Before Imayru, Momo had been my only friend. She had watched over me like an older sister, making sure that the other children didn't bully me too much. If they did, she would bandage my injuries the best she could. It was all I could ask for when it seemed like the world was completely against me and my existence. Momo had her own set of problems, ones that gave her nightmares in the middle of the night and other issues. The moment Imayru stepped into our lives, everything changed for the better for both of us. The kids that bullied me avoided me like the plague for fear that the Lost Girl would sneak into their rooms and kill them in their sleep. Whenever Momo had a nightmare, Imayru was there before it could get bad and before long Momo never had that nightmare again.
"That girl is a force of nature," I said under my breath, barely noticing the smirk forming on my face as I walked down the street towards Squad 5.
It wasn't long before I reached Squad 5, nodding to all those in the Squad that gave me short respectful bows. I headed towards Momo's quarters after asking the 3rd Seat where she was last seen and hesitated for a split second outside her door. I was about to open it when I noticed that it was already open just a crack, which wasn't something Momo would allow. I threw open the door and walked inside to see what looked like a war had taken place. The bookshelf at the far end of the wall had been knocked over onto her desk, scattering all the papers that had been there all over the room with the pens. The couch that had been against the wall opposite the desk had been flipped over and the table in front of it had been broken. There looked to be a few marks on the floor, as if fingernails had scratched the wood and droplets of blood were spread on the floor in front of the doorway. I walked back outside, my emotions swirling within me like a cyclone, and I noticed the 3rd Seat standing a few feet away still, as if he thought my behavior was slightly suspicious.
I quickly waved him over and stated, "Lieutenant Hinamori is missing. A struggle seems to have taken place in her quarters and there was a little blood found near the door. I'll inform my wife straightaway."
"Do you know who would want to do this?" the man asked, looking very worried. Both girls in charge were very important to everyone in this Squad and they would rush into action if given the order.
"I have a hunch as to who is behind this," I said. "I'm sure your captain will say the same thing I will. Gather a group together and search for the lieutenant. Hopefully she will be found before she is used for a trade."
The 3rd Seat had a strange look on his face at my last words but nodded in agreement. "Yes, Captain Hitsugaya. We will find Lieutenant Hinamori as soon as possible."
As the 3rd Seat hurried off to gather some Soul Reapers for the search, I began to head back to Squad 4. I all of a sudden had a feeling that something was about to happen there and I wanted to make sure that Imayru remained safe.
"Lady Imayru!" I heard an excited voice call to me, dragging me from my nap. When I opened my eyes, I saw Hanataro standing there, bouncing up and down on his toes. "Good, now you're awake!"
"What is it, Hanataro?" I asked sleepily, rubbing my eyes a little before focusing my attention on him.
"The girl is conscious! She's completely healed now, but refused to speak a word to us. Perhaps you will have better luck with her than we did."
With a yawn and a quick stretch, I stood up and followed him back to the room with the girl. Hanataro told me he would lock the door behind me so that the girl couldn't escape and he opened it for me with a quick bow. I gave him a gentle smile before walking inside, hearing the door click shut behind me and another click as it was locked. I looked over at the bed to see that the girl was watching me with mistrust in her eyes, almost as if she suspected I might attack her at any second. Her bangs covered one eye and those dark eyes were blazing with anger. I grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the front of her bed, sitting down and crossing one leg over the other.
"I already know your opinions on Soul Reapers," I said after a few seconds' pause. "You probably think that you are here as a hostage of some sort. Well, I can assure you that you are not being held here against your will. The only reason you are here at all is because you were badly injured and those Hollows didn't seem to want to leave you alone. We brought you here to give you a brief respite."
"Then just let me go," she said quietly, her voice as light as a feather.
"I will soon," I told her reassuringly. "There are just a couple things I would like to know first. If you don't want to tell me, then so be it. I just want to understand."
She seemed a bit wary, as if she couldn't decide if I was being sincere about my request. Finally, she said, "You're not like the stories say. None of you are."
"What do you mean?"
"We hate Soul Reapers for what they did to us over a millennia ago. Yet the ones I have met so far have been nothing but kind to me. I just don't understand."
"Why don't you tell me more about your group," I started off. "I've never even heard of anything like this. It could help me find this person that is being searched for. Then we can all go our separate ways without a care in the world."
"Why would you want to help us?" she asked suspiciously.
"I don't want any more conflict," I explained. "What's happened so far is enough, especially since I don't know the whole story and that is no way for anyone to be involved."
"You sound sincere," she said softly. "I don't understand that either. However, I think it is fair for me to let you in on a little of our groups' background."
"Tell me as much or as little as you'd like," I told her. "I'll take what I can get."
The girl nodded. "First I should tell you about our groups' history. Our ancestors were clans of exiled Soul Reapers, banished from the Seireitei when they were experimenting with a different way to develop their powers."
"I'm guessing you don't mean like the Visored," I said.
"Not at all," she said with a wan smile. "They are a mix of Hollow and Soul Reaper. We are as close to Soul Reapers as one could get, but we are a subtype if anything. The ancestors were developing a way to gain more power with their own souls than with their partner Zanpakuto. Instead of the Zanpakuto changing in Shikai or Bankai, increasing in strength with each change, the Soul Reaper would be the one to change. It wasn't thought to be such a big deal until the Central 46 drove them away, killing those who refused to do so. Most of the people who were exiled were peaceful and formed a village outside of the Rukon Districts. The Soul Reapers were once again ordered by the Central 46 to kill those that weren't driven away. It was a massacre that led to many unnecessary deaths. That is why we hate the Soul Reapers so much."
"So if you aren't Soul Reapers, what do you call yourselves?"
"To remember the horrors of those days, we just called ourselves the Exiles," she said with a shrug. "Sometimes it's the Lost Warriors, but we usually just stick with the first title. It's the younger generations that like the second one."
"Tell me more about the Exiles," I said, moving the chair closer to the bed as my interest piqued.
"Well, a hundred years after the massacre, the heads of each clan decided that there should be a definite leader. A tournament was held among the top warriors to choose which clan would become the royalty of the Exiles. My ancestor came out on top, which shocked everyone but it was within the realm of possibility. My ancestor was a woman by the name of Caino and she wielded two Zanpakuto. She was the best of our clan and so became the queen of the Exiles. After that, our combined groups became a matriarchy, depending on if each queen's eldest child was female."
"If you are a descendant of Caino, wouldn't that make you a princess of the Exiles?"
"That's right," she said with a smile. "However, I'm not the eldest, so I'm not queen-to-be. Don't get any ideas about trying to use me for blackmail."
"I wouldn't," I laughed before turning serious. "Ryzen is a member of the Exiles. Which clan does he belong to?"
"Actually, he is my older brother," the girl said, her expressions turning troubled. "In fact, he is one of the eldest."
"Did you just say 'one of the eldest'?" I asked, a little confused.
"Yes, you heard me correctly," she confirmed. "Ryzen has a twin. She is a minute or two older; I'm not sure about the details. It's been so long that no one can remember."
I watched her and every one of her expressions as they shifted fluidly. "Something happened to his twin, I'm guessing?"
"H-how did you know?" she stammered a little, looking a little anxious at my question.
"You're one of those people who show every one of their emotions on their faces," I explained. "Will you tell me about his twin?"
She shifted uncomfortably in the bed before quietly saying, "A long time ago, when they were both very young, they both disappeared out into the forest. They could only have been seven or eight and I remember because I am only a year younger than them. They wanted to go pick a few herbs out in a secret clearing only they knew about for our mother, who had been ill for a long time. When they had been gone for half of the day, a scout eventually found Ryzen huddling in the branches of a large tree. He said that a group of Hollows had found them and they had been separated in the confusion. He said that he remembered her throwing rocks at them and leading all of them into the darkest part of the forest. After that, we never saw her again and we've been searching for her ever since, even more so since the queen is even more ill and we fear that she might die soon. Ryzen feels responsible and hasn't given up hope that he can one day find her. He wants nothing to do with the throne but our mother has made him king-to-be if he can't find his twin within a set time limit."
"Your older sister sounded very brave," I told her kindly, giving her a gentle smile.
"Oh, she was," the girl said with a sad smile. "Whenever I had a nightmare, she would hum this song she made up for me. She always used to say 'Taliya, just remember that you can do anything that others say is impossible so long as you believe in yourself.'"
Tally! I heard a tiny voice scream in my mind, a sharp pain making its presence known for a few seconds before disappearing without a trace.
"Tally?" I muttered under my breath, feeling even more confused than I was before. I heard a gasp and I looked at her to see that her eyes were wide in shock, her eyes turning red and watery.
"W-what did you just say?" she whispered shakily.
"Tally," I said a little louder, watching as she gasped again and a few tears leaked from her eyes.
"Only one person knew that nickname and would ever use it so casually," she said tearfully. With a pause that lasted only a few seconds, almost as if she was afraid to ask, she whispered, "Imi, is that you?"
I could see the hope blazing in her eyes and I knew that there was no way I could lie to her. I wasn't this Imi person and I was about to tell her so when there was a loud bang on the door, almost like a foot slamming into it. I was out of my chair in a second, my Zanpakuto in my hand as another kick hit the door. The whole thing shuddered a third time before the fourth attempt sent the door flying across the room, the hinges dangling pathetically as I saw the culprit standing in the doorway. I was shocked when I saw that it was Seigo, one of my trainees. When he saw the girl, Taliya, his expressions went from surprised that she was there to enraged when he noticed me. Next thing I knew, his Zanpakuto was practically ripped from the sheath at his hip and he charged at me. I blocked his attack easily but I noticed the strength behind it that hadn't been there before.
"You've been holding back on me," I said with a laugh, watching him become even angrier at my nonchalant attitude. "I'm guessing that you are an Exile that managed to infiltrate the Seireitei looking for Ryzen's twin."
"That's Prince Ryzen to you, Soul Reaper," Seigo said. "Your kind should learn manners when it comes to royalty. Now, why do you have Princess Taliya in custody?"
"Seigo, please!" Taliya called out to him pleadingly. "Don't hurt her! She's the one we've been looking for! She's the Lost Princess!"
"Her?" Seigo scoffed, glaring at me. "There's no way that she can be the princess! This has to be a different Imayru! I think you are confused, Princess Taliya!"
I barely had any time to think or be shocked at this latest development when Taliya, in a commanding tone of voice that I hadn't heard her use, screamed, "I command you as a princess of the Exiles to stand down!"
"If you don't listen to her, you leave me with no choice but to fight you," I told him, baring my fangs a little in a grin. "Like you, I had been holding back that last time we fought as well."
"You bitch, I'll make you pay for your insolence!" he growled before he raised his blade in an attempt to strike me down, failing to remember that I could block him with ease.
"Seigo, no!" Taliya screamed.
"Don't you dare harm my wife," a calm voice said from behind Seigo before a Zanpakuto could be seen raised into the air, the end of the hilt slamming down onto Seigo's skull. Seigo crumpled to the floor and was unconscious, revealing Toshiro there with his eyes blazing angrily. He tapped the man with his foot to see if he would move but he was still. "You're lucky I didn't kill you for your disrespect towards her."
"That was awfully fast, Shiro," I said, sliding Tatsuya back into its sheath. "How did your talk with Momo go?"
"She wasn't there," he explained before muttering a few words under his breath, forming a kido spell that would keep Seigo's arms trapped to his sides. "In fact, it looks as if there was a struggle in her quarters. She's been taken."
"I bet it was my brother," Taliya said gently. "He most likely thinks that you have taken me as prisoner. He probably gathered a bargaining chip to get me back."
"So he took my sister like I apparently took his," I said with a sigh. "An eye for an eye, I suppose." I looked over to Taliya and was about to ask her a question when I noticed the hurt look in her eyes.
"But… Imi, I'm your sister…" she whispered. "I don't understand what's happening with you. You hated the Soul Reapers as much as anyone I knew and yet here you are, a captain in their ranks. Not only that, but you married a Soul Reaper, too! What happened to you that day?!"
"Imayru," Toshiro said hesitantly, looking as confused as I felt, "what is going on here?"
"I'm not entirely sure," I told him. "She seems to think that I am the person they've been searching for, but I don't remember them. I think she's got it wrong."
"Come on, we don't have time for this," Toshiro said, taking me by the hand so he could lead me out of the room. "We need to get Momo back."
As we were leaving, Taliya yelled, "You there! The man with the white hair that is her husband! Wait a minute!" He instantly stopped walking and looked back at her without saying a word, both of us watching as she seemed to flinch a little at his intense gaze. "I'm going to help you both get this Momo girl back from my brother but there are a few things I would like to know first."
"No deal," Toshiro stated with a shake of his head. "I don't want you to somehow ruin our chances. You'll be released from this place in a few hours."
We were both about to walk out of the room when I could hear the lilting sound of a lullaby being hummed. I would have walked away if I hadn't realized so quickly that this lullaby was the one I would hum for Toshiro when we were younger. Only the two of us knew that song and I slowly looked back at Taliya in astonishment, seeing out of the corner of my eye that Toshiro was just as amazed as I was. This girl knew the entirety of my lullaby and I felt tremors of shock passing through my body. When she was done, I felt Toshiro's grip on my hand tighten to give me a little comfort.
"How do you know that song?" I demanded, still feeling shaky.
Taliya leaned forward, looking me in the eyes the entire time, and said, "Because you would sing it to me whenever I had a nightmare so I would go back to sleep. I am not some crazy person that you can dismiss. I know the truth, even if you don't remember it. Even Ryzen was suspecting that you were the one we were looking for when you beat him. That was why I went looking for you earlier to see if he was right and that's also why the Hollows ambushed me. I forgot to hide my spiritual pressure from them and they wanted to kill me again. Now I am going to help you deal with our brother and that is final."
"Just because you are a princess doesn't meant that you are allowed to form an order like that," I growled at her, startling her a little. "You can either ask nicely to help or I lock you in here again and leave you."
"C-can I be allowed to help you with my brother?" she finally asked, although rather hesitantly.
"I'll grant it," Toshiro said before I could answer. "Get dressed, grab your weapon, and let's go."
"Toshiro, what are you doing?" I asked him as we walked out of the room to wait for Taliya.
"She knows more about Ryzen than anyone else," he explained. "We do, in fact, need her assistance. Not only that, but she thinks she knows you. She could be telling the truth. I want to know more about all of this and I'm sure that deep down you do as well. You're just in shock right now."
It didn't take very long before she stepped back outside, adjusting her dark clothing and the thin short sword to her belt. I walked back into the room and dragged the unconscious Seigo along behind me, not being mindful of any obstacles that might cause bruises. I cracked his head against walls occasionally as we turned corners and Toshiro only shook his head. After a while, Taliya noticed what I was doing and asked me to stop.
"I may not have liked the guy, but he's one of the best Trackers we have in the Exiles," she explained.
"Not good enough if he couldn't find one princess," I grumbled under my breath, running his head into a post as we approached the front doors.
"He was good!" she protested. "He once found a huge deer for us all to eat, the biggest one found in history!"
"Animals and people are two entirely different things," I told her. "Your problem is that you hold entirely too much faith on those who don't deserve it. He is a coward and ruthless beyond belief, definitely not one to send on such a delicate matter. Your queen was tricked."
Taliya turned pensive after that and remained silent, looking a little happier when Toshiro took the unconscious man from me. We walked a little further when Taliya softly said, "The queen hasn't been herself in a long time. We think it is because her illness is progressing further. That is why she wants her eldest heir to take her place. She wants Ryzen to take over, but he refuses. He said that he is better suited as a Queen's Guardian than the ruler himself. Something about how he doesn't have the right temperament to lead the people properly. That's another reason why he's been looking for twin. She was perfect in every way when it came to being the proper queenling."
"Did you just say… queenling?" Toshiro asked curiously.
"That's sometimes what we refer to as our queen-to-be."
We made our way outside and over to a shady area so that Taliya could explain a few things to us about her brother. "I guess the first thing you should know about him is that he is very serious," she said. "If he isn't used to you, you can use that to your advantage. He gets flustered if you tease him or refuse to take things seriously like he does."
"I knew this already," I said with a grin. "He didn't seem to approve of my attitude when we first fought."
"Imayru can take care of that," Toshiro said listlessly. "She's childish enough that it would drive anyone crazy."
"Hey, I am not childish!" I yelled before pushing him a little, hearing his almost silent chuckle.
"Also," she started back up again, giving us hesitant looks as if she was afraid a fight would break out between us, "he has this nasty habit of being quite predicable, so long as you catch on to his specific pattern."
"He's like the polar opposite of you, Imayru," Toshiro pointed out. "So long as we do the opposite of whatever you would do in that situation, we should be able to fix the situation so that we have the upper hand."
"Do you think that this is something we can pull off?" I asked him.
"Without a doubt," he told me. "Let's start from the beginning. If you discovered that your sister had been taken, what would you do?"
"Well, I would go with the direct approach," I pondered aloud. "I would sneak into the place she was being held and break her out without a single person finding out before it was too late. He would rather make certain that his plan worked and so would come up with a trade. However, I'm even more convinced that he has a secret hostage in the wings so he can take me, too. He wants to be assured in his suspicions that I might be his lost twin." Anything else I was about to say was cut off as I could immediately sense the presence of Ryzen in the Seireitei.
"My big brother is finally here," Taliya said softly. "Do we engage him?"
"I say we get this over with," I said, about to grab Seigo when I heard him begin to regain consciousness. "Hey, look who's coming back to us!"
"Go to hell," Seigo grumbled, only to let out a hissed breath when Toshiro rapped his knuckles against the bump on his head where he had been struck by the hilt of Hyorinmaru.
"Unless you want for me to knock you out again, I suggest you stop disrespecting her."
"Defending my honor again, I see," I said with mock disinterest.
"You knew it would happen if we got married," Toshiro informed me. "As your husband, I have the right to do so. Be thankful I don't fight your battles for you."
"This is true," I admitted before looking back at Seigo. "Listen up, traitor. I'm going to be using you as a bargaining chip. You're not going to fight back and you're just going to obey my commands like the good little trainee that you should be. Now, get up and let's go."
After Toshiro hauled him to his feet and pushed him to the front, we all began walking in the direction that Ryzen's presence was coming from. It soon became clear that he was hiding in a strange garden of sorts that I didn't remember even existing. When we walked inside, I could see Ryzen standing beside a huge leafy tree, his back to us as he watched the wind playing with the plants in the garden. I thought for sure that he didn't know we were there but he turned around and immediately locked eyes with me.
"There's the Soul Reaper captain I was about to search for," he said quietly. "Your reiatsu is enormous here in comparison to how it was when we first met in the Human World. It's almost as if you are everywhere and nowhere in this dimension."
"Soul Reapers that have reached the captain or lieutenant levels are required to have a limiter placed on them so they don't influence the humans with their reiatsu," I explained. "Mine has to be adjusted a little more than most."
"I think it's time to discuss why I'm here," Ryzen said before moving closer to the tree. "We both have something the other wants."
"That's right," I said. "I've got your sister and this Exile."
"I don't want him," Ryzen said scornfully. "You could keep him for all I care. I, however, have two people you want."
He walked over to the tree and grabbed something before dragging it out for us to see. I felt myself stiffen before I could stop it and I could see out of the corner of the eye that Toshiro was going through the same issue. Standing before us and completely tied up so they couldn't move much were Momo and Ichigo, Momo being the only one who didn't have tape over her mouth. What confused me was the fact that she had a pleasant, happy smile on her face. When she caught sight of me, she gave me a joyous grin.
She then proceeded to mouth to me, "He's hot," which had me rolling my eyes in exasperation.
"What is going on here?" Ryzen asked, looking puzzled by my behavior.
"It's nothing," I told him with a brief smile. "Here's my question to you. Why did you grab Ichigo?"
"Because there is something I need that required two hostages instead of just one," he stated straightforwardly. "They may be a little bloodied in the struggle to get them here today, but it wasn't my intention to hurt them."
The look in his eyes was earnest, so I could at least believe him there. "We didn't show the same courtesy to Seigo here. To find out that there was an Exile in my ranks and that he wanted to kill me didn't bode well for him."
"Like I said before, I don't care about him," Ryzen sighed. "He's a Seeker assigned by my mother and I never liked him because of his arrogance. It clouds his judgment. What I do care about is the fact that you abducted Taliya."
"That's not at all what happened, big brother!" Taliya called out, taking a few steps forward to go to him but I pulled her back by the shoulder. "I decided to sneak out to go find the girl you fought earlier that night but I forgot in my haste to place a shielding spell on my reiatsu. The Hollows attacked me and were about to kill me if it weren't for these two Soul Reapers! They took me to the hospital here so I could be healed. They're nothing like past stories talked about!"
"Enough, Taliya," Ryzen growled, startling the girl enough that she stumbled backwards so I had to catch her. "Talk like that could be misconstrued as dissent with the queen." As I helped her back on her feet, her big brother said, "Back to our earlier topic. We'll trade one hostage, my sister for yours. Once that is complete, we'll discuss the conditions for the release of the second hostage."
I nodded and lightly pushed Taliya forward, but not hard enough so she could possibly fall. She gave me a longing look before walking towards her brother. Ryzen pulled a dagger from his belt, the sight of it making my body tense up, before cutting the binds on Momo and pushing her in my direction. Just as bubbly as ever, she bounded over to me and looked extremely giddy. Before she could say anything to me, Ryzen cleared his throat to catch my attention.
"Now, for the second hostage," he said calmly, "the only way we will have a trade is if you come with me. The Substitute Soul Reaper comes with us to guarantee your cooperation. After two days, you will both be brought back to this exact location without a scratch on either of you, this I can promise."
"She won't be going anywhere with you, not unless I go with her," Toshiro said, finally speaking up. I turned my head in his direction and I could see his turquoise eyes practically glowing with anger.
"That's not going to happen," said Ryzen with a shake of his head. "Our people can only handle two Soul Reapers at a time and things will be tense with one of them being a captain. Adding a second Soul Reaper to the mixture might end with bloodshed."
"Then take me instead of Ichigo."
"Another captain would only add fuel to the fire. With Ichigo's reiatsu, they'll mistake him for someone weak and won't pay him much attention. That's what I need if I'm going to get us into the castle."
"Then she's not going," Toshiro said. "She isn't going anywhere unless I'm there to protect her."
"Then the Substitute Soul Reaper comes with me to the domain of the Exiles, where he will be torn to shreds by our people," Ryzen said with a shrug, turning his hostage around and forming a portal so he could walk him and his sister to their home land.
"Wait!" I called to him. When Ryzen stopped moving, I said, "I'll go with you."
"Imayru, no," Toshiro said, grabbing me by the bicep to stop me when I stepped in their direction. "I don't trust him and neither should you. This could be a trap."
"Do you trust me, Shiro?" I asked softly.
"Of course."
"Then trust that I will come back safe and sound," I told him with a confident smile. "I'm a captain and I think I can handle a little adversity if it happens to arise."
Toshiro glared over at Ryzen, who looked taken aback for a second, and said, "If any harm comes to my wife, I swear to you that I will track you down and kill you myself. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," Ryzen said, seeming a bit shaken. "You have my word that she will remain safe. I'll protect her with my life."
Toshiro nodded and let go of my arm so I could quickly hug him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He embraced me back tightly, pressing his lips to the top of my head before kissing me on the lips. "Stay safe," he said quietly so that only I could hear him, his turquoise eyes staring into my dark ones. "Give them hell if they try anything. You're resourceful and clever enough to get out of any situation."
With a happy smile, I kissed him this time and said, "Thanks for the ego booster. I'll be back in forty-eight hours with Ichigo in tow."
I could tell that he didn't want to let me go but I pulled away and forced him to. I ruffled his snowy hair affectionately before walking towards Ryzen as he called out to Toshiro, "You can lock him up for traitorous behavior. He was told before coming here that he shouldn't integrate himself into the Seireitei by becoming a Soul Reaper. That's punishable by death where we're from so you would be doing him a favor." When I finally stood in between Ryzen and Taliya, he turned his gaze to me. "We have many things to discuss with you. Be warned that it might get violent when we first arrive. Whatever you do, do not draw your Zanpakuto."
"I have different ways to defend myself if need be," I explained to him. "If someone gets too close and tries to attack, they'll feel my wrath."
"Just as expected from the girl that's thought to be the Lost Princess," he said under his breath before he pushed both Ichigo and me into the portal and followed after me with his sister.