Disclaimer: I wouldn't be here if I did
A.C.: Meh, it was originally longer but now I thought the end was fine as it is right now.
Enjoy x3
Warnings: possible spoilers, oocness, breach of grammar security rule number something, something, something, mature themes, implied rape, noncon and general BL-ness that you can ignore by skipping the italicized parts in the beginning.
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Altersuperego- quality violence xD your questions will be more or less answered in later chapters but... the thing that Yamamoto and Mayuri did to him? It's supposed to kill you sooner or later.
Artemyl- exactly
SilverWhiteDragon- Ichimaru will show up sooner or later -sighs- probably to warp everything out of proportions I bet
Lil' Miss B- Well I can't answer... -counts- err majority of the questions because that would give lot of the stuff away (and gets answered in later chapters) but the Zanpakuto thing was a theory on well... since Hyourinmaru is titled to be the strongest of water and ice families so there has to be a reason for that right? You can't just have a kid running around with a sword and say that that sword is the strongest so I figure some of them get handed down... and know each other and stuff.
And no, you're not... not smart? Unintelligent? It could be that I have a really vague style and that... I'm probably the only one who knows what's going on right?
Thanks GintaxAlvissForever, Meggie, Enhlee, and all the unnamed people who reviewed a few chapters back. You guys rock xD
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"You're still short."
It was the first thing that tumbled out of Ichigo's mouth when they exited the shop with Urahara Kisuke's cheery wave aimed at their backs. The substitute shinigami knew that he had gone too far when the air surrounding them plummeted in temperature. Still Hitsugaya did little more to acknowledge him save a customary grunt to let the strawberry-blonde know that yes, he did hear and no, he wasn't happy about it.
"So you're going to turn into an old man overnight?"
The tenth division captain nearly slammed his skull repeatedly against the power pole when Ichigo failed to take the hint --now if he could only figure out who the 'he' was. It became colder with Hitsugaya's reiatsu raising its head to join in on the effort. Ichigo didn't even seem to notice. In fact, he leaned in closer towards the short captain.
In hindsight Hitsugaya realized that this was what Kurosaki had been aiming for. It was summer and therefore extremely hot out. All associates of Seireitei had found a portable air conditioning in Hitsugaya as they never failed to invite him over one thing or another during the long sunny months of summer. It didn't look like the fact would change in Karakura either.
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Hyourinmaru breathed uneasily, all the ice in his lungs seemed to rattle inconsistently as he took in a breath and breathed out. The silver pools all around him rippled in coordinance with the dragon's respiration.
'Oy.'
When the dragon did little more than to bat an eye the man knelt down by a pool of silver, his hand a hairbreadth away from the surface. The man's hand turned gray and into liquid. Like the stagnant pool of not-water he too melted until there was no trace of the shinigami having been there.
Hyourinmaru twitched the end of his tail. Ice began to rise from the earth forming a barrier around the dead pools of glowing silver. He closed his eyes surrounded by a sea of memories knowing that it was only a matter of time before he would be summoned.
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Politely declining that he wasn't hungry, Hitsugaya made himself home on the apartment roof. Finally alone, he held his head between his knees as the two women below began to celebrate their newfound sisterhood. Uncurling from his position, he knew that he couldn't pin his migraine on Matsumoto this time.
Hitsugaya hacked, choking on his own saliva before rolling to his head to the side. It wouldn't have surprised him if Yamamoto had planned this all out before hand. He gingerly felt his stomach and felt it strangely hot to the touch. Scowling, he pulled his shirt back down over his discolored front and leaned against the wall. His head against the cool concrete, his mind drifted as it always did when unoccupied by the loads of paperwork perched on his desk everyday like hungry vultures. He thought it would be funny, death by paperwork. He wondered if there wasn't a paperwork based Hollow out there, something that even Zaraki Kenpachi would be hard-pressed to face.
Hollows?
::Yes...::
They were faint but...
"Matsumoto, we have a problem."
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"You called captain?
"Shut up and look."
And look she did. Her senses stretched to the limits as the map of Karakura town became alive with globes of light in her mind. Some were extraordinarily bright like those of her colleagues. Others were subdued, denizens that have yet to awaken their spiritual powers. Still many others went about their way like ghostly fog and she saw it. The steady beat of a hollow's heart like the pounding of war drums in her ears. The colorless will-o-wisps overlaid the original layer of soft-amber glow. Matsumoto stiffened and breathed out sharply.
Hollows, stationed all over Karakura town in a strategic position. They already knew that they were there.
"Captain..."
"I know!" Hitsugaya snapped, his fingers twisted in his school shirt. The pain in his gut was wearing his patience thin with each second but he knew that this was important. After this, he promised himself, after taking care of the Hollows he could crawl up into a corner somewhere and sleep.
"Should I alert the others?" Hitsugaya hesitated, unable to decide that which would be worse. Letting the shinigami under his command be ambushed by the approaching Hollows or tip the Hollows off with unnecessary movement?
"Do it, but tell them to hold their positions." He jerked his head towards the bright streetlights of the town. "The last thing we need is to set this thing off." Matsumoto nodded and after a terse conversation, she felt some of the stronger lights dim.
In the starry skies, a patch of black unmarked by a spot of light crumpled open as if someone's unseen hands had pried apart the very heavens. It was like comparing a dying candlelight to a comet, a divergence in power too extraordinary to relate to. perhaps half a dozen points of flames scattered across the town.
"Greetings."
Hitsugaya popped a soul candy into his mouth.
"Get Inoue out of here!"
If Hitsugaya thought that the pain would go away with the dissimilation of his body, he was wrong. The initial pain had been purged from his stomach but nothing would have prepared for the agony of having in course through his body. He choked and in a stroke of incredible luck, dodged the obese-looking arrancar's blow.
"Bankai... Daiguren Hyourinmaru."
Twelve petals floated behind him in a group of threes. Hitsugaya saw that already, the petals farthest to the left was eroding, freckles of snow melting away into the air.
"Captain!"
He jerked his head back, catching a glimpse of his physical double curled up into a fetal position on the ground.
A palm stroke to his chest nearly made him black out.
He slammed against the concrete wall before sliding down onto the ground. He shook his head disoriented when a muffled shout came through the metal door of the rooftop entrance.
"Matsumoto-san, Hitsugaya...!!" Orihime threw open the door. Immediately, the arrancar locked on to her. Moving quickly for someone his size, the arrancar made its way over to the strawberry-blonde and made a motion to grab at her hair. Hitsugaya shoved the girl back bodily as the fat arrancar gripped him by the neck. He fervently hoped that she didn't fall down the stairs. It wouldn't have been fun explaining how the girl was saved from strangulation by an arrancar only to break her neck from falling down the stairs.
As if sensing his opponent's distraction, the thick fingers tightened.
"I am Nakim, who are you?"
In an instant, a sword was at his throat digging into the bulky flesh.
"Lieutenant of the tenth division, Matsumoto Rangiku, your opponent is me arrancar."
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Hitsugaya's body crawled over to him aided by Rangiku's gigai. Hitsugaya hissed loudly when his body latched on to his arm.
"Take Inoue and go hide somewhere safe." His body shook its head in a silent negative. The only physical exit –provided that they didn't jump down half a dozen story- had been thoroughly demolished. He saw the telltale flash of Orihime's tangerine hair sticking out from the ruined doorway. The two bodies moved over to where Orihime was hiding when Matsumoto landed at their feet with a pained grunt.
They froze.
Nakim stood over them with a look of quiet satisfaction on his face. The phone in Matsumoto's hand sputtered out a few 'Lieutenant?'s before dying away into a static fizzle.
Hitsugaya pried himself off the wall and swung his sword into an arc. An icy form of Hyourinmaru burst forth from the vacuum created by the slash, its maw agape launched directly at the surprised looking Arrancar's face. Hitsugaya didn't wait for the ice dragon to hit. He moved his katana alongside the tapering body and struck it across the Arrancar's hollow mask.
The second arrancar intervened, standing in front of the first. His hand was frozen and shackled in chain of silver ice but otherwise unharmed from blocking Hyourinmaru with his bare hand. The arrancar's hold tightened around the zanpakuto as he pulled it nearer, almost forcing Hitsugaya to his knees.
"Eleventh arrancar, Shawlong Qufang."
"Tenth division captain, Hitsugaya Toushiro."
Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes and jumped back, dragging Matsumoto with him. She landed halfway on his legs before rising unsteadily to his knees. She was immediately tended to by Orihime and the two soulless bodies, though she tried in vain to wave them away.
"Can you hold?" he asked in concern as the familiar bubble of Orihime's healing powers encased the injured lieutenant. Matsumoto bit her lips as the cuts and bruises closed and faded. When she thought it was enough, she stopped the human girl, asking her to save it for when their fight was over. Turning to her captain, she quickly dialed the twelfth division and replied
"Yes."
Hitsugaya took to the air as Matsumoto took on the larger arrancar. The only escape route off of the roof had been sealed. They would have to do their best to protect their bodies and Orihime. Alarmed shouts below as Matsumoto dodged and wove around Nakim's fist. Tearing his attention away from the fight the green-eyed prodigy gritted his teeth as he faced off with the strange oriental looking arrancar.
And all around him, storms of reiatsu appeared as the first battle in the war against Aizen started.
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"Hard isn't it?" Shawlong commented breezily as he brushed the ice off of his shoulders. "You are but a child; it must be difficult to maintain that primitive bankai of yours when you have no reiatsu to speak of." The arrancar's only reply was a series harsh breathing from Hitsugaya's throat. Rolling his shoulders in a slight shrugging motion the thin arrancar pointed his blade up into the sky. "What a shame... but it looks like you've finally reached your limit." The almost-human form struck, Hitsugaya blocked with Hyourinmaru just barely standing his ground as he was pushed backwards and into the air. Sparks flew as steel ground upon steel; they broke apart, silently regarding each other as they probed for weaknesses they could exploit. "They're disappearing," Shawlong continued, pointing a lazy hand at the lone flower behind Hitsugaya's wings.
Hitsugaya looked back; one of the four petals was already disintegrating. He swallowed,
"And what if they are?"
Shawlong smiled as if he found the brave front the boy put up amusing.
"I was thinking, the flowers behind you served an important purpose. A 'countdown' until your bankai is finished." The arrancar appeared behind Hitsugaya, his katana halfway through one of the young captain's wings. "Am I wrong?"
'Behindyouhesatthebackgetawayquickbeforehegetsyouhurry...'
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"Byakuya-kun," greeted the black cat as a dark-haired noble came gliding out of the shadows. She sat by his feet letting out an amused purr at the slight look of confusion that passed through his eyes. Rubbing her body briefly against his heels she asked, "I'm afraid I have no spare clothes at the moment so this will have to do. Spill it, why did you call me?"
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"You're right," answered the green-eyed prodigy as the arrancar pulled back in alarm. There was something there, something that had not been there before. Shawlong felt apprehension, something that he had not felt the whole time he was toying with the young captain. "This is a countdown." Hitsugaya licked the blood off his lips. "Would you like to know what it's for?"
A shrill scream alerted him to the situation below. Orihime, Matsumoto lay still beneath the first arrancar's foot.
All thoughts of the long-haired arrancar fled his mind as he suddenly dropped down from the sky. Ignoring the slashes aimed at his spine that found their mark; he sent the first arrancar off of the rooftop with a flying tackle. Breathing heavily, he landed beside the huddled three where Matsumoto's gigai was starting to bawl from seeing its master hurt. He flipped his lieutenant on to her back.
Matsumoto was injured but not dead though her bare shoulders suggested a dislocated shoulder and perhaps a broken collarbone. Her blue-gray eyes sharpened as they focused on Hitsugaya's own and before she could cry out his name –before any of the rest could cry out his name- he pivoted on his clawed feet and brought his wings forward.
By all rights he should have died as the two cero blasts completely shattered his wings.