Sunlight danced across the hard wooden floors, setting them aflame in a bright glow of orange-red. Yamamoto-so-taichou stood with his back arched and his wrinkled hands clasping the head of his walking stick firmly, and in the back of his mind he heard his zunpaku-to rumble like thunder, a deep brass-like sound in the bass of the fiery beast's throat.
Ichimaru Gin glanced out the window, his pale blue eyes catching the light and glowing like beckons. Harribel had appeared; he could feel her watery reiatsu at the very edge of his perception field. He would have to leave soon, lest be discovered.
"What do you want, Ichimaru?" The elderly shinigami repeated in his gruff voice that rebounded off the walls. It was the kind of voice that frightened little children into their beds, but also soothed them in their time of despair.
"No need to speak so loudly!" Ichimaru insisted and despite his sing-song tune he was deadly seriously about his request. "I'm right here. Let's talk with our inside voices, So-taichou."
Yamamoto grunted. "I won't ask again." His voice was still hard and rough but was considerably quieter. Traitor or not, Yamamoto still valued Ichimaru to a certain extent.
"No need, no need." Ichimaru assured him. "I'll get to it...And you don't need to worry about fighting. I didn't come here to fight the strongest shinigami in existence, as silly as I may be!"
"Get to the point."
Ichimaru sighed. The so-taichou had always been an impatient fellow when irritated. "Hai, hai. I want you to pass on a message for me...to Hitsugaya-taichou."
Yamamoto's fluffy white eye brows raised in puzzlement. "And why would you want that?"
"It'll help him with something." The fox-like man promised.
Yamamoto's eyes narrowed suspiciously but he didn't question Ichimaru's reasoning and just nodded to say he could proceed with his message.
"Tell him it's room 12-2-7." Ichimaru said and the confusion suddenly became very clear on the elderly man's wrinkled features.
"What kind of message is that? What could it possibly help him with?"
"He'll understand when the time comes-if it comes," Ichimaru stated with a dismissive shrug. He knew Toshiro pretty well and was almost a hundred percent certain that the information he was passing onto the white-haired genius would save him alot of trouble; and save his foot from the ache of kicking open a billion doors. Yamamoto, of course, didn't have a clue as to what Ichimaru was getting at, but Ichimaru was in no mood to explain; well, really, he couldn't explain, other wise Yamamoto would stop Toshiro in his tracks. And Aizen would pound Gin into oblivion for so much as being there.
Yamamoto stared at Gin. His gaze unwavering and cold as ice. But it slipped straight through Gin without leaving so much as goose bumps.
"What did you do with Sasakibe?" Yamamoto asked and his voice was deadly serious. Low and echoing through the room, bouncing around Gin's skull. His grin grew wider and his hand brushed lightly against the hilt of his zunpaku-to; and Yamamoto's grip on his walking stick tightened.
"Nothing mean." Gin teased. "He'll be perfectly fine; he just might be a little scared of the dark for a while. Nothing major." Sasakibe was a steady-paced and firm and loyal vice-captain, after all, Gin reflected; he was perfect for the old man that stood before him with the threat of murder glinting coolly in his eyes. A bit British-obsessed, perhaps, what with his love of western cuisine and British fashion-sense, but a good vice-captain.
"Now..." Ichimaru made a move to skip towards the door. "I'll be leaving-"
"Ichimaru..." Yamamoto boomed and Captain-General straightened to his full height; and he no longer looked like a helpless old man, but a tall and imposing enemy with a body toned and muscled by the gentle passing of time. Ichimaru's outward appearance didn't change but on the inside, he was squirming. His body stiffened. He didn't want to get into a fight with the so-taichou; he would undoubtedly lose, both the battle and his life, if he wasn't handled over to the Court 46 first and sentenced spend a trillions in a dank and dusty dungeon. "...I cannot allow you to leave."
"So-taichou-"
"You are a traitor. You betrayed the Soul Society and your division by allying yourself with Aizen Souske. I cannot allow you to leave!" He repeated and his voice seemed to slap at Ichimaru's ear drums. He frowned. Really frowned, and closed his eyes.
"I was afraid of this." Ichimaru admitted with a sigh. "But I'd hoped you'd be reasonable and let me go." And in a flash his hand whipped in and out of his sleeve and he hurled several marble-sized ball onto the ground; and they exploded instantly into multi-coloured puffs of smoke, blinding the so-taichou.
And when the so-taichou finally forced the smoke up and out of the window with his reiatsu, Ichimaru was long gone, leaving nothing but his message ringing in Yamamoto's ears.
0-0-0
Master.
Toshiro was floating. Or was he? He wasn't sure. But he definitely wasn't standing; he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet. In fact...he couldn't feel anything. He was just...there, hovering in empty space with his eyes closed. He wasn't even sure if he had his body with him, though he wasn't sure how a spirit was able to leave its body...
Master!
Who was that? Toshiro wished they'd go away. He just...just wanted to sleep. Thinking about waking up, facing the world; it made his chest hurt. A sharp and dreadful pain that made him want to cry. He didn't want to wake up and face whatever caused that terrible pang in his chest, in his heart; no, it was much easier to run away. Always much easier...
Master! Wake up! You cannot stay here-you'll die!
Die? How could a spirit die? It wasn't really fair that spirits had to die. They'd already died once, after all; crushed and burned and drowned and...poisoned.
Master! I'm giving you some of my reiatsu; use that to fuel your body. You must AWAKEN!
And Toshiro felt a great roaring in the back of his mind like a ferocious storm and suddenly he was lying on a heated floor and the air was thick with ash. He coughed and forced his watery eyes widened. He gasped and quickly rolled to the side as a metal beam supporting the ceiling came crashing down, right where he'd been lying. A razor-sharp pain shot through his stomach and he cried out in mostly surprise, momentarily curling up and clutching his stomach. There was bitter taste in his mouth, he realized. And he felt sick. Very, very sick.
With his muscles screeching in protest, Toshiro scrambled to his hands and looked around and though his vision was blurred, he was able to make out most of what was going on.
The hospital ward was on fire. Fire licked at the walls and danced across the floor and seemed to be concentrated in one specific area. Across the room there was a huge creator and Toshiro guessed it was the origin of the explosion. Toshiro reached out for the wall closest to him and hulled himself up; and his legs shook dangerously beneath him. His breathing came in short and shallow gasps that left a painful sting in his throat that only worsened if he swallowed.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply; and Hyourinmaru's reiatsu filled him. His own reiatsu was being cut off by the poison which...Hinamori...had given him. Without Hyourinmaru snapping him out of his day dreaming and giving him strength, Toshiro would've been crushed back there.
"Matsumoto!" He yelled and his voice was hoarse and clawed at his throat like the talons of a bird clawed the flesh of its prey. Tears swelled in his eyes; everything hurt so much. "M-Matsumoto!"
"Taichou!" Relief flooded through him as he heard the strawberry blonde's reply from somewhere beyond the flames."Oh, taichou! Is that you? Hitsugaya-taichou!"
"I-It's me!" Toshiro yelled back back and then he let out a strangled cry. His stomach began to churn and his entire frame trembled in response.
"Taichou? Taichou, what's wrong?"
"M-Matsumoto! Please hurry! I-I can't..." He could feel his strength draining away. Hyourinmaru growled in the back of his mind and flapped his winds loudly, pouring more and more of his reiatsu into his master; Toshiro drew in a deep and shuddering breath and managed to pull himself up right, though his face was considerably paler.
"Taichou! Hold on! I'm coming-"
And suddenly the ground lurched and the heat in the room doubled. Toshiro was knocked off his feet by the very sudden and abrupt shock wave and hit the ground hard on his back. His stomach throbbed and he groaned; and he could do no more then roll on his side and hold it tight, praying for the pain to reside. He gritted his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut and sweat formed on his brow.
I'm dying, aren't I? He asked Hyourinmaru, who was hissing in frustration.
...Yes. The dragon answered sourly. But I'm not going to let you go just yet! I'm going to try and keep the poison at bay until Matsumoto and Unohana-taichou can get this situation sorted out.
Zunpaku-to can do that?
Yes, we can. And many other things. Now, brace yourself. You're going to feel a little cold.
Hyourinmaru's definition of 'a little cold' was certainly a lot different to Toshiro's, because a heart beat later all the heat in his body vanished and he was left trembling violently on the heating floor. Even the insane warmth of the surrounding fire seemed unable to penetrate his skin. His face turned white and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
And then the heat returned and he let out a sigh of relief. Never had he been more grateful for heat. Grunting, Toshiro forced himself to crawl onto his hands and knees, then his feet; and unlike last time, his legs didn't rock and sway under his small weight, but rather stayed firm and solid. Toshiro could almost feel Hyourinmaru standing beside him, his icy fingers curled around Toshiro's shoulders as he offered his silent support.
Thanks, Hyourinmaru.
When there was no response, Toshiro guessed the ice-dragon was busy keeping him alive and accepted the silence as a smug 'You're welcome'.
Toshiro hobbled forward and he raised a hand to his mouth to protect them from the thick blanket of smoke that hovered just above his head, black and forbidding and, above all, deadly. Toshiro had no idea how long Hyourinmaru would be able to fend off the poison tearing at his organs, but he was pretty sure breathing a bucket load of smoke wasn't going to help any.
Toshiro spotted the door and saw only smoking beams from the ceiling stood in his way and he quickened his pace. The fire was on the other side of the room and creeping slowly across the ceilings, nipping at the metal and slashing at the wooden medicine cases. Toshiro blanched when he saw the man source of fire was the bed Hanatarou had been sleeping in and he hoped to hell that Hanatarou was not in the middle of it, his skin melting and turning black as it peeled.
He pushed his way through the smoky mess and collapsed into the hallway, only to find it too was in turmoil. There were several craters and she each one was burning like a bone fire, bright and true, filling the hall with smouldering heat that took Toshiro's breath away. He searched for Matsumoto, even called out her name, but saw no sign of her anywhere.
"Dammit!" He cursed.
"H-Hitsugaya-taichou!" Toshiro looked up and saw Kotetsu Isane running towards him, her face panic stricken and her eyes wide, but her steps were firm and her movements steady. She took hold of the young boy's shoulder's before he could protest and put a hand to his sweaty forward; she gasped.
"Y-your fever is so high! What's-"
"I've been poisoned." Toshiro said bluntly.
"By who?" The vice-captain was asking the obvious question to ask in a situation like this, but Toshiro didn't want to say it. To answer would be admitting that Hinamori had indeed become a monster, a creature no better then a hollow; that the old Hinamori Momo had died and been replaced by a cruel and twisted and evil woman who enjoyed watching others scream and cry.
His mouth opened and closed. But eventually he mentally slapped himself and told himself sternly to stop being such a baby.
"It was...It was Hinamori!" Toshiro blurted and his eyes clouded with pain. "H-Hinamori..."
Isane's face softened as she realized his pain. She didn't understand of course, but she guessed it would be similar if her little sister turned into a raging lunatic. "Come on, we need get that poison out of you. Is your zunpaku-to holding it off?" Toshiro nodded quickly and they took off down the hall, the opposite direction to where he believed Matsumoto was. "Good. We need to hurry; they can't do stuff like that for long, even the strongest ones. Unohana-taichou is down there with Rangiku-san, fighting Hinamori-san. They'll have her soon-Hitsugaya-taichou!"
Toshiro had suddenly keeled over and was gripping his stomach so tightly in knuckles shone white; his face was twisted in pain. Tears rolled down his face as the pain became too much to bare.
Then he felt himself dropping back into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was Isane frantic face as she realized what was happening and called out for some spare healers, who came running over immediately, their eyes widened in shock when they noticed the captain's predicament. And then sleep took him and the pain was gone.
0-0-0
"Hajike! Tobiume!"
A raging ball of fire soared through the air and smashed against the ground; and exploded in a red-hot shower of fire and flaming rocks. Matsumoto rolled out of the fiery tornado and jumped to her feet; sweat sparkled on her brow and her eyes were narrowed in concentration.
"Haineko!" She called and the cloud of ash sped past her and surrounded Hinamori as the brunette touched against the ground. Another fire ball began to build on Tobiume's blade and Hinamori's eyes blazed wildly as she glared at Matsumoto through the misty wall of ash. Matsumoto swung her bladeless hilt and Hinamori cried out as three thick gashes appeared in her right leg. Said leg gave way and she partly collapsed to the floor, blood pooling sleek and crimson around her knee, and Matsumoto advanced and she called Haineko back with her mind.
And then she was standing over the bloody brunette and she stared down at her, her icy eyes filled with past compassion and pity. Hinamori met her unnerving gaze with a wicked grin and an insane cackle, her eyes wide and pupils dilated. Matsumoto winced.
"Kill me!" Hinamori giggled. "Kill me! I don't care! Aizen-taichou will always be with me! He'll find me in the next life and love me like he always has! So kill me, Rangiku-san! Kill me! Hahahahahah!"
"Hinamori..." Matsumoto whispered and she could barely believe what she was seeing, what she was hearing. How could Hinamori become so...so disturbed without anyone noticing, not even Toshiro, with whom she spent a great deal of time with. How could she had fallen so far off the deep end and not acted any differently, speaking normally, happily, merrily even, going about her business with the air of someone feeling on top of the world. Matsumoto couldn't understand. Hinamori had never been a deceitful person, but then again, this wasn't Hinamori, was it? This was a crazy lady that Matsumoto didn't know.
It was only then did Matsumoto notice the ball of fire growling on Tobiume and she gasped as Hinamori slapped the blade against the ground; the fire ball exploded on impact and the two women were consumed by the fire.
Matsumoto stumbled out of the fiery mass with her arm and leg smoking slightly and bare; her sleeve and legging lay somewhere in the flames being torn apart by the hungry coils of Hinamori's fire. Her entire arm and leg ached with the pain of almost being burned to cinders, and just standing on her own two feet was becoming an effort.
"Matsumoto-san," An angelic voice said from behind her and Matsumoto glanced over her shoulder to see Unohana Retsu moving calmly towards her with a needle clasped firmly in her creamy-skinned hands. The woman's face was strangely vacant and her eyes were overflowing with sadness.
"Unohana-taichou!" Matsumoto exclaimed.
"Are you alright?" She asked and Matsumoto nodded.
"I can manage. Are you?"
"I am unharmed. Here, take this," She handed the needle to Matsumoto and the vice-captain held it up to her eyes for closer inspection; the liquid inside was a slimy green colour with a slight silver tinge. "It's tranquillizer. Stab it anywhere on Hinamori-san, and she should fall asleep in a matter of seconds."
"Thank you." Matsumoto said and she slid the needle down her sleeve and out of sight from Hinamori's fiery eyes. "Unohana-taichou, please go to Yamada Hanatarou's room! My taichou is there, and he is extremely weak because Hinamori poisoned him-"
"Unohana-taichou!" Suddenly a male fourth divisioner appeared behind the captain and with a hasty bow he launched into his message. "Kotetsu-fuku-taichou has Hitsugaya-taichou in the emergency room. He's in a critical state, taichou, and she desperately needs your help!"
"I understand." Unohana said quietly and she looked Matsumoto straight in the eye. "I trust you'll be fine?" Matsumoto nodded quickly and gestured for them to hurry; and then Unohana and the messenger were gone, leaving Matsumoto to deal with the threat of Hinamori.
And then Hinamori was there. She broke through the flames with the enraged cry of a wild animal and she sprang forward, her flaming blade flashing through the air towards Matsumoto's head. She fell back to dodge Hinamori's sword and it whistled over her head, the tip just narrowly missing Matsumoto's forehead.
"Haineko!" The form-less cloud of ash swooped in and circled around Hinamori; and she screamed out in rage and attacked the ash, swinging her sword wildly, randomly, hoping to hit anything, anything at all, and relish in its pain. But instead Matsumoto cut through the air with her hilt and the gashes in Hinamori's leg drew horribly deeper and her face was dreadful as she staggered to the side and collapsed against the wall, blood gushing freely out of the wounds and pain coursing through her body.
"Damn you..." She hissed. "Damn you...!"
And in one swift motion Matsumoto stabbed the needle into Hinamori's arm and she shrieked in pain and surprise. She whirled and jabbed at Matsumoto but the woman jumped out of the way with a simple flick of her heels. Teeth barred in a rebellious snarl, Hinamori dragged herself across the floor on one leg and the other one trailed behind her in a bloody mess. She reached out for Matsumoto with her fingers hooked like claws and her eyes sizzling with hatred. A furious and heated hatred Matsumoto had not known Hinamori was capable of.
And then Hinamori's strength deserted her and her body grew limp. Her cheek pressed against the cool ground of the hospital ward and Hinamori suddenly began to sob. Her tears were fat and silver and ran down her cheeks in rivers; her wailing choked the air.
"A-Aizen-taichou!" She wailed. "Aizen-taichou! AIZEN-TAICHOU!" Hic hic hic hic hic...
And then Hinamori fainted with the tears still fresh on her cheeks and Matsumoto standing over her; and her face was completely void of emotion.
0-0-0
"You can stop, you know." Kyoraku said wearily as the mangled mound of bloody flesh at his feet tried to claw its way up the slop to where Kyoraku stood, clad in his black shihakusho and white haori and flowery over-coat thing, with his twin zunpaku-to firmly clasped in his hairy hands.
Yammy had never been given the chance to draw his own zunpaku-to, which now lay several feet away, buried beneath a hundred layers of rubble. Both of his legs had been lopped off by Kyoraku's flying swords and there were a good number of bloody gashes on his torso and back and shoulders and face. He still hand his arm, though.
"If you keep trying to fight me..." Kyoraku said slowly, cautiously. "I'll have to kill you."
"I...won't...be...killed...by...you!..." Yammy gasped and his voice was barely more then a rough whisper. Kyoraku's eyes were agleam with pity and sorrow as the brutally battle-scarred arrancar continued to make his way up the slop, his arm trembling with the effort to move his massive body, despite the fact his legs were gone.
"Very well." Kyoraku said quietly and he raised his sword and brought it down in one swift, blindingly-fast movement that aimed to crush Yammy's head-
And suddenly a gloved hand closed around the blade of his zunpaku-to and he came to a dead stop.
Slowly, Kyoraku raised his gaze and saw another arrancar standing beside him, a man with a lazy expression on his face that strangely reminded Kyoraku of his own expressions when he avoided work and instead lounged around for hours on end, wolfing down cakes and chugging down tankards upon tankards of sake. The man's face was framed by thick brown hair and his eyes were narrow and stone grey. There were a few hairy whiskers on his face, the beginnings of a beard, but they didn't look in the mood to grow any further. Clad in white and a zunpaku-to clinging to his waist, Kyoraku felt it safe to assume he was working for Aizen.
"Hello there," Kyoraku said pleasantly.
Coyote Stark dipped his head and then loosened his grip as Kyoraku wrenched his sword from the man's hand and jumped back several paces and ground his feet into the earth, his muscles stiff and ready for a battle.
"Stark!" A little green haired girl with one visible bright purple eye what looked like a helmet hiding the over from view appeared by his side with Yammy's zunpaku-to held tightly in her little fingers, and she gave Yammy a hard kick in the shoulder, to which he replied with a furious yowl. She snorted.
"You're hopeless, Yammy! I can't believe you lost to him! Only a wimp would lose to a guy who wears flowers-"
"Enough." Stark said and she immediately fell silent. Then he grudgingly heaved Yammy's gigantic form onto his shoulder and limped towards the graganta that suddenly appeared near the battle field, huge and black and menacing. The portal to Hecto Mundo.
"Where are you going?" Kyoraku asked innocently as Stark threw Yammy's bloody mass into the portal with a pained groan and the green-haired girl danced in after it.
"I can't be bothered to fight someone strong like you." Stark confessed lazily as he stepped into the portal. Then the door slapped shut and they were gone, leaving Kyoraku staring at where they'd been with a slightly cheated expression on his face.
"You could've at least told me why you were going!" He yelled at the empty space and behind him, Ukitake chuckled.
"Let it be, Shunsui." He laughed and Kyoraku stomped over to his friend's side and he sheathed his zunpaku-to. "We need to get Kuchiki to Unohana-taichou. She'd about to faint."
"Alright then." Kyoraku huffed and Renji bent down and whisked Rukia into his arms, holding her tight against his chest, and she rested soundly against him and didn't complain about the closeness of which he held her. Kyoraku raised his eye brow suggestively and Renji blushed and quickly looked away, earning a slightly dazed but clearly confused glance from the semi-conscious Rukia.
"L-let's go!" Renji huffed and he disappeared, leaving the two captains and wounded vice-captains looking after him with amusement sparkling in their eyes.
"Well...that wasn't particularly pleasant." Kyoraku admitted as the four headed off towards the Relief Station, following Renji's reiatsu signature. "Why do you think they attacked?"
"Is Aizen trying to pick us off?" Kira asked and Ukitake shook his head, his long snowy hair flapping in the wind.
"I doubt it. He must've been looking for something."
"Which means he'd got whenever he was looking for," Hisagi said bitterly. "Since he called them back."
"Yes," Ukitake agreed. "That would be it."
"But what would he have taken?" Kyoraku wondered aloud. "A shinigami, for information? But he was a taichou, so that doesn't make sense, and he probably looked up everything he could in the Archives whilst faking his death..."
"The Academy was the first building to be attacked." Kira reported and all three pairs off eyes locked with his somewhat depression-darken complexion. "Do you think they were looking for a student?"
"But why?" Ukitake urged. "A student has no information or power. They would be no help to Aizen."
"Hmm...this is truly a puzzle." Kyoraku said with a heavy sigh. "Whatever game Aizen is playing, he's playing it well."
0-0-0
Hinata was dreaming. She had to be. But the cold grey walls felt too solid to be the mind's concoctions, the air to crisp and the sliver of moon to bright and 3D. Slowly, painfully, it sunk in that Hinata wasn't dreaming, that she was indeed trapped in a large room with moonlight dancing off the titles, setting the room aglow in a silvery light. That the huge metal door was locked shut and that no amount of wishing would open it. That the pale blue thing fastened around her waist was really there, pressing against her flesh and vibrating every so faintly and cutting off her reiatsu.
And slowly, horribly, Hinata realized that she was not trapped in some tormenting nightmare, and the she was truly and definitely a prisoner of the traitor Aizen Souske.
!I own neither Bleach nor Naruto!
Another chapter finished! Gin's message will be made clear pretty soon, and it's actually pretty important. It's the plot message! x3 I loved witting this chapter, it was so much fun for some reason. And sorry to anyone who wanted a big fight between Yammy and Kyoraku, or a fight between Gin and Yamamoto; I couldn't be bothered with the first and Gin wasn't supposed to fight the old man, so...
And so Hinata is Aizen's prisoner! I've been waiting SO long for this bit! XDDDDD
Thanks for reading! Please, please, please review! I love your reviews!
Also, thank you to finaldragonquest for the 'freeze the world over' Japanese ^^ I didn't thank you the last chap, sorry~