X. Through the Fire and Flames
Hitsugaya opened his eyes. As far as he could remember, he succumbed to sleep in his little 'dream' where he was engulfed in the flames of Gogyou Enjin. Gogyou-Enjin, yes, that is his name. Rise from the depths of hell, Gogyou Enjin.
He sat up and looked around him, and just remembered that he fell asleep near a window-like frame somewhere in Las Noches. He ruffled his hair a bit before trying to stand up. He looked down when he felt something against his leg, and noticed the two zanpakuto in their respective sheaths. He eyed his newly-acquainted zanpakuto in a different light; that somehow, he uncovered one of the mysteries surrounding his newly-found ally. He slung Hyourinmaru on his back as always, and paused for a while, eyeing the other zanpakuto once more. After trying on different positions in carrying the blade, he found it most comfortable to place it on his sash like the regular way of carrying a katana. He tried pulling the two blades in this position, and found it very efficient as such. He noted that he wore nothing to cover his chest, though he did not find it quite disturbing either. After trying his two blades a few more times, he quickly ran over to the room where he left Hinamori.
But she was nowhere to be found.
He quickly looked for some clothes that could cover his bare chest, but found none. He went outside and bumped into a man that looked like he was wearing glasses, and had shoulder-length pink hair to match. He wore a short-sleeved white hakama, and underneath it was some kind of a shirt that had long sleeves, covering up to a certain extent of his hands. He stared down on Hitsugaya with his reddish-orange pupils, with one of the brows raised, but quickly assumed a more indifferent expression after a few moments. Hitsugaya clearly identified the person as an arrancar. He cleared his throat and spoke to the boy.
"I believe you are Aizen-sama's guinea pig, Hitsugaya Toushiro. He requests your presence at his hall immediately for a meeting…" he turned his back on Hitsugaya, and was about to walk away, when he faced the boy again. "… and I almost forgot to give you this…" he handed him a box, which Hitsugaya immediately took and opened. The box revealed garments similar to that of the arrancar: a regular white hakama, shortened to fit his size, and a sleeveless white shirt. The arrancar quickly left. Though he did not wish to put them on as he viewed them as a sign of treachery, he wore the two pieces of clothing to cover his torso and as well as to obey Aizen's orders. The white garments contrasted with his other shinigami outfit, the lower part of his shihakusho which covered his lower limbs. After putting on the outfit, he proceeded to the 'meeting hall' of Las Noches, where the arrancar usually met with Aizen. He walked up along the path that seemed like the walkway, and came toward the man seated at the throne in the center of the hall.
"Welcome to the Espada's Meeting Hall, Hitsugaya-kun."
"You called for me, Aizen-sama?" he felt like he wanted to choke himself with that last word he uttered.
"I would like you to train yourself with the use of your new zanpakuto, Hitsugaya-kun. I already asked Szayel Aporro Grantz to construct a special training space for you. By the way, Hinamori has already been transferred to her room just one more room from this hall. We gave her some special treatment, of course. She's a very special guest, so don't worry about her."
He simply bowed and left the hall. He quickly proceeded to the room located a room apart from where he was. He found nothing more but a long corridor with small, dank cells lined up next to each other. He scanned the area, and found her in one of the cells at the end of the long line. He quickly came over to her, and was able to pass through the barrier set there with ease, though he did not know why. He just came over to her figure which was lying down on a thin-cushioned large mat placed on the floor. He sat down next to her sleeping figure, and upon doing so, she stirred and slowly opened her eyes. He looked at her with eyes gleaming passionately, mixed with a feeling of sadness and guilt. She looked at him with her usual plain, jolly look, as if nothing happened. She just yawned and stroked her disheveled hair, and did what she could to fix her torn clothing. She smiled at him brilliantly like she always did back at Soul Society.
"Hitsugaya-kun! It's good to see you!" she stretched her arms upward, and yawned again afterwards. She wiped off a small tear that formed on her eye upon yawning, and looked at him again with a smile on her face. "I have to admit the cushions here are quite thin, so the place you'll be sleeping at is quite hard and cold, but still I had quite a good sleep."
Hitsugaya bowed his head and grit his teeth. His brows furrowed in much sadness and guilt. He felt as if impunity was upon him. She looked at him passionately, and placed her hand on his clenched fist. He looked up to meet her black-brown orbs filled with gleaming brightness.
"It's alright, Hitsugaya-kun. It's really hard, but we'll have to endure this one. I could last under these conditions as far as I could tell, so by the time being, just do what you think you have to do to get us out of here. You can do that, right, Shiro-chan?"
Hitsugaya's face darkened. Without much of a word, he locked Hinamori in an embrace, his mood darker than usual. He spoke to her in a soft tone.
"I'm sorry, Hinamori. I'm sorry that you have to endure this much pain because of me…"
She kept as silent as a mouse. Without a word, she just lay there in Hitsugaya's lock, and stroked his back while returning the gesture. They just remained in that position, succumbed by the silence of the cell and the knowing gesture to each other. After a few moments of being in this situation, a voice broke the silence between them, aired in a cocky tone.
"Mind if I cut in?"
They quickly shifted their gaze on a man wearing a white hakama with a white jacket, the edges jagged and the sleeves rolled up, the collar upturned revealing a black inner lining of the cloth. A zanpakuto with a crossguard shaped like a crooked S jutted at his black sash. He had eye linings similar to that of Madarame Ikkaku, save that his are blue, and a jaw-like remain of a hollow's mask was on his right cheek. Hitsugaya eyed him catiously.
"Grimmjow Jaggerjack… sixth Espada in Aizen's army… what are you doing here? Kurosaki killed you already…"
Memories of the Espada's previous encounter with the orange-haired shinigami crossed Hitsugaya's mind. It was the last time that the two fought. Grimmjow grinned at the statement.
"It is kinda like that… but Aizen-sama was quite a genius and found a way to bring me back to life. Even evolved me into a vasto lorde. That's quite a relief, isn't it?"
"Brought you back? How – "
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you what I know. He said he brought me back by copying a certain property of your konpaku, and with a little trace of your reiatsu, he gave me the capability of evolving my powers to the level of a vasto lorde. I guess I owe you one, after all."
Using my konpaku… evolved using my reiatsu… what more could Aizen do?
"But don't go worrying too much about it. After all, you're such a gifted brat anyway. Just dropped by to tell you that by the time Szayel finishes the construction of your training ground, your drill sessions will start. I'll be seeing you there, shinigami boy. Spend this time with your girlfriend for the time being."
He turned around and walked away, leaving a very serious Hitsugaya and a furiously red Hinamori. Without facing Hinamori, he spoke once more.
"I'll have to leave you here for now, Hinamori. But I promise you I will get us out of here even if it's the last thing I do."
He walked out of the room quietly, his twin zanpakuto secure in their respective places. Her gaze was still fixed on him, her hand clutching the cloth on her leg. Her eyes gleamed with concern for the young lad.
"Hitsugaya-kun…"
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