V. Twisting One's Fate

Hitsugaya looked at himself before the mirror. A snug fit, he thought. He looked just perfect in his best uniform. His well-pressed haori showed off against his shihakusho. His captain's cloak hasn't been used much, which is why its color has not faded. After running his hand on his hair, he picked up his zanpakuto and slung it on his back as always. He was ready to go.

Using shunpo, he quickly made his way to the brown-haired lieutenant's doorstep. He carefully knocked at the door a few times before a jolly voice answered.

"Coming!"

The door opened, revealing a differently-arranged Hinamori before him; her hair was not confined in its usual bun but rather in some sort of a clip that bunched her hair into a kind of ponytail which was slung over her shoulder. She wore her shihakusho slightly a little loose than usual, revealing part of her shoulders to some extent. Her lips were a little glossed, making them glitter lightly. Hitsugaya was dumbfounded, not being able to utter a word, and his gaze was fixed wholly on her. Hinamori was quite confused as to what was happening with her friend, and looked at him with scrutiny. She waved her hand at Hitsugaya's face, trying to see if he still was there. He blinked, and was brought back to the real world from dreamland. Hinamori drew in a serious and concerned look.

"Are you alright, Shiro-chan?"

It took Hitsugaya a little while before he was able to answer. "Yeah, I'm fine, and it's Hitsugaya-taichou to you, baka bed-wetter Momo."

She pouted. "Mou, that's mean, Shiro-chan…"She smiled brightly once more. "Well, let's get going."

She locked herself onto Hitsugaya's arm and both started walking towards the gate of Seiretei. Neither of them knew of the other presence that was watching them from a safe distance on the rooftops. The busty vice-captain from hell looked at the two with her special reiatsu-tracking binoculars she 'borrowed' from the 12th division. With another quick look through the small spying device, she mustered a wide grin.

"Looks like taichou's gonna have a special time…" was all she managed to say before breaking into a fit of sinister laughter, her shadow made into some sort of a demon-like shape. She immediately hid herself and covered her mouth when Hitsugaya looked into her direction.

"Hitsugaya-kun, what's wrong?" his companion asked him when he looked somewhere towards the rooftops.

"Nothing. I just thought I heard something."

"Whew… that was a close one…" Matsumoto whispered to herself while wiping the sweat that formed on her forehead from the close encounter with the frightening gaze of her captain.

The two walked over a vast plain field. Very few trees were left standing in the grassland, and no animals were in sight, except a few birds flying over them. The wind blew a very light gust, blowing away and making Hinamori's hair dance to its tune.

"The view here's nice, neh, Shiro-chan?" she said in a sweet jolly voice. Hitsugaya remained indifferent with the situation.

"Yeah."

She pouted. "Mou, you don't sound too happy. Aren't you enjoying yourself?" Her eyes glittered in a different light.

He shuddered lightly and became all fidgety. "No, no, in fact, I'm having a good time, Hinamori. The view here is really beautiful."

She smiled at his remark, and then looked over to a collection of trees at some point away from them. "Let's go there, Shiro-chan! Maybe there are some beautiful flowers there, and I'd like to see some for myself."

"Sure."

Rangiku continued to watch from behind a tall grass patch, making a small space for her binoculars to pass through. She still wore a wide menacing grin over her face. "Oh, now it's over to the woods, uh? I wonder what move taichou's gonna do…" and thoughts of a certain Hitsugaya pinning Hinamori against a tree entered her mind, the two getting a little too close to each other. With that she grinned even wider. She suddenly grew serious when she saw a little light blinking at the side of her binoculars, as if pointing to something.

"Wait… this reiatsu's not supposed to be here… it doesn't belong to either of them…" She quickly placed a hand on her trusted Haineko, her brows furrowed, as if sensing some impending danger at hand. She immediately made a move to follow but stopped dead in her tracks when someone blocked her way to the two.

"Hiya there, Rangiku. It's been a long time now, ain't it?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Gin! What are you doing here?"

The mysterious smile of the former captain drew into her, and slowly drew his zanpakuto out of its sheath. "Now, now, that's not what ya tell yer ol' friend when ya meet, isn't it?"

She pulled out her own as well. "What are you planning to do? Are you going to ambush taichou and Hinamori?"

Gin's smile widened even more. "Ambush? Ain't that a little too bad fer us? Yeah, we're supposed to be the bad guys, but that's a bit overboard, eh? Don't worry, the prodigy taichou's in good hands. We certainly wouldn't harm 'em in any way."

She rushed towards the silver-haired enemy, and swung her zanpakuto at him with brute might. With the wakizashi-like blade Gin blocked her strike with one hand holding the blade. After several striking-blocking series, she moved back and started raising her reiatsu.

……

Hitsugaya stopped in his tracks. He recognized the familiar reiatsu that was nearby.

Matsumoto? What on earth is going on?

"Oi, Hinamori… didn't you just feel that reiatsu? There may be something going on – " he stopped when he looked back at his companion, who was now disintegrating into specks of dust. Still puzzled, his face was contorted into a sort of serious expression. Before he knew it, he felt a strong force hit him in his right shoulder, pushing him back, and when he looked down at it, crimson liquid was rushing out of a large gaping wound gashed from the right shoulder extending to his chest. His vision suddenly turned dark and the whole world seemed to swirl. And there was nothing more but darkness. A hand took him by the sleeve of his uniform and started pulling him with it.

Matsumoto was panting. She was already bruised in some parts and her shihakusho was torn too. Even with the release of her zanpakuto, she stood no match against the wielder of Shinso. Gin just stood there with nothing, not even a scratch on him. He held his zanpakuto effortlessly, as if what was happening was nothing more but a game.

"My, my, look at yourself, Rangiku. Ya should just take a beak, ya know. I told ya we didn't mean any harm in comin' here."

He turned his head when a rustle of leaves disturbed them. Out of the deep woods appeared the slim figure of Ulquiorra dragging behind him a white-haired person by the sleeve, leaving behind them a trail of crimson as they walked. Drops of water suddenly congregated into one spot, revealing the image of the former captain and now arrancar leader, Aizen. Matsumoto's eyes widened at the sight of her captain. Gin turned to her again.

"Well, seems that our job here's done…" he sheathed his zanpakuto and waved at the woman. "Byebye, Rangiku."

A Garganta opened behind them and they drew themselves in it. Matsumoto quickly stood up in an attempt to stop them but fell on her knees as Aizen released a gigantic amount of reiatsu. Aizen entered, leaving Gin the only one who has not entered.

"Now, don't push yerself, Rangiku. It's bad fer ya, ya know. Well, see ya." With that he entered the opening as well, and after a few moments it closed behind him. She found herself trying to recover from the frightening blast of reiatsu she just took, leaning on Haineko for support.

Taichou…we'll get you back…