Author's Note: Poor Hitsugaya...I feel bad now. Poor Renji, too. I bet his eyes are bleeding. XD
Sorry about my little mess-up last chapter, for those of you who noticed...I fixed it, though, so if you didn't notice, then...oh well, I guess. By the way, this chapter is a little shorter than the last ones.
At the sound of the cell door being open, Kusaka and Ichigo both looked up, an Arrancar standing there, keys in hand.
"Get up, you two," it ordered lazily. "Aizen-sama wants to talk to you guys."
The two of them exchanged glances before they both stood. It was time to take action.
"Shame you guys missed last night's fun," the Arrancar snorted as Ichigo stood up. "You shoulda been there to hear the little whore scream and beg for mercy."
"You-" Ichigo caught himself just before he was about to throw out an insult. He couldn't do that now, otherwise the plan he and Kusaka had devised would be tossed down the drain. Instead, he settled to relax a little, giving the Arrancar a friendly smile. "Oh, really? I guess you enjoyed yourself?"
"Why do you care?"
"I don't really care that much. I'm just trying to be friendly," the strawberry shrugged.
"What the hell are you saying, shinigami? Cut the crap and come with me already."
"Oh, come on. Let's just be buddies."
"Quiet, you miserable little cockroach! Just wait until I tell Aizen-"
There was an explosion of spiritual energy, and the Arrancar froze, unable to move, before it pitched forward in a stiff-legged fashion onto the floor. From behind Ichigo, Kusaka had directed and placed a paralyzing kido spell on it.
"Thanks, buddy," Ichigo laughed, "But we'll go see Aizen ourselves. C'mon, Sojiro, let's get out of here."
As they passed the motionless Arrancar on the floor, Kusaka kicked him, hard - where it hurts most.
The Arrancar howled in agony, attempting to get up, but could not.
"That was for calling Toshiro a 'whore,' you bastard," Kusaka muttered before hurrying after Ichigo, who was already running towards the exit.
"Hm, Hitsugaya-kun, did you enjoy yourself last night?"
Hitsugaya said nothing.
He didn't remember much about the previous night. All he recalled was a mess of Arrancar faces, excruciating pain, multiple pairs of hands grabbing at his body and his hair. Somewhere down the line, he had blacked out, and when he had came to, he had found himself back on the floor inside his room. Then, he had been escorted back to Aizen's throne room; the traitor obviously had wanted to speak to him again.
"Nothing to say?"
"No."
"Well, in that case," Aizen shrugged, "Let's get started then. I'm rather bored, and I want a little entertainment...Similar to last night's."
"I refuse."
"Refusal isn't an option, pet."
"I refuse anyway."
Hitsugaya blinked as Aizen's image disappeared from his throne. Before he could even react, he felt a pair of hands on his waist, hot breath flickering across his neck, and Aizen's voice directly in his ear.
"Don't be so uptight, Hitsugaya-kun...Maybe if we remove your clothes, you'll lighten up a bit, hmm?"
Horrified, Hitsugaya tried to push the man away from himself, but Aizen reached out with one hand, seizing both of his wrists and curling his fingers tightly around the flesh, his other hand going for his obi belt, tugging the material loose.
"S-Stop it!" Wrenching away from him, Hitsugaya tried desperately to pull the folds of his shihakusho back together to hide his body from Aizen. He was having some difficulty with this; the garments had slipped down below his shoulders. There was no way he was going to let him do as he pleased again, it had already been humiliating enough.
"Don't be a naughty boy, Hitsugaya-kun," Aizen chided, approaching the boy, taking hold of his wrists again. "There's no need to be shy."
"Let go of me, you bastard!" he screamed, struggling against Aizen's grip in a desperate attempt to save a shred of his pride.
Suddenly, Aizen drew back, releasing the boy and hissing in pain. The next moment later, Hitsugaya found himself wrapped in a pair of strong arms against the chest of his rescuer, a good distance away from Aizen.
"Ichigo...?"
"Sorry it took us so long, Toshiro," the strawberry responded.
"Where's Kusaka?"
"Don't worry. He's fine."
Turning his head to look around him, Hitsugaya spotted Kusaka a few feet away, sheathing his katana. Somehow, the two of them had gotten their zanpaku-to back, and they had attacked Aizen, though at this point the Arrancar in the room were in an uproar, enraged that the two had dared attack their leader.
"You two have some nerve, Ichigo-kun...Sojiro-kun," Aizen chuckled. "Very well, then, if you insist on causing trouble..."
Kusaka turned, throwing something to Ichigo, who caught it, setting Hitsugaya down on the floor as he did so.
"Here," he said, placing the object in Hitsugaya's hands. It was Hyorinmaru. "You'll be needing this."
His chocolate-colored eyes darted to the exit. Already, some of the Arrancar were running to block any means of escape. "Shit," he muttered, turning to Kusaka as if to ask what the hell they were supposed to do next.
In return, Kusaka glanced from
Aizen, to Ichigo, to the Arrancar, and then to Hitsugaya, biting his lip.
"Ichigo," he finally said, "Take Toshiro and get out of here. I'll buy you some time."
"What...?"
"You heard me! Hurry up and run! There's not much time left!"
"Sojiro's right," Ichigo murmured, grabbing Hitsugaya's hand. "Toshiro, we've got to go."
"No!" Hitsugaya snapped, pulling his hand away. "I...I'm not leaving without Kusaka."
"Toshiro, let's go," Ichigo urged.
"Ichigo, please, we have to give Kusaka a chance, we can't just leave him here..."
"Yes, you can!" Kusaka shouted back. "Get out of here, both of you. Don't worry, I'll catch up later."
"Kusaka..."
"And one more thing, Ichigo," the raven-haired youth added.
"Yeah?" the strawberry inquired. The Arrancar were closing in fast, and they couldn't afford to stall any longer.
"Promise me you'll protect Toshiro with your life. Drag him out of here if you have to."
"I promise."
"Thanks," he smiled, turning back to face the Arrancar.
"Kusaka, no!" Hitsugaya screamed, despite Ichigo attempting to pull him away. "You can't do this to me! Please, you can't leave me again..."
"It's alright, Toshiro. I love you, okay? I...I'll see you later, I guess."
"Toshiro, leave him! He's made up his mind. Don't waste his efforts, okay? He'll be fine. I promise."
"But, Ichigo-"
"Trust him. He's your...your fiancée, isn't he? So don't worry. It'll be okay. Let's go."
Turning to look at Kusaka one last time, Hitsugaya finally reluctantly allowed Ichigo to take his hand again and start off towards the exit, unsheathing Hyorinmaru, cutting down the Arrancar in their path with Ichigo and Zangetsu's help.