Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for all your feedback MoonLightView, Superanimelover1234, AznInvasionGirl, KnowledgeandImagination, cool!!!!!!!!!!!!, Neko-cheung, samantha, Pieps XD. Your reviews are greatly appreciated. Enough with me yapping; here is chapter two. Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking."
The Greatest Treasure
Chapter Two: The Stolen Maiden
"As of last night, Aisu no Ryu has successfully stolen over three hundred valuable items from more than two hundred different noble families," Royal Guard, Hisagi Shuhei explained. "After all this time, we still have not been able to identify the thief."
During this early morning hour of the day, the princess of Seireitei would ask one of her friends and fellow Royal Guards a report on the latest news on the thief's actions in the throne room. "I see," she replied. "Thank you for telling me Hisagi-san."
The tall man gave her a short bow. "It's no problem Hinamori."
With a short nod of agreement and a gentle smile, Momo looked up to see the large doors open. Entering the throne room are the humble General Aizen and the always smiling Ichimaru Gin of the Royal Guards. Hisagi moved to the princess' side so that she can see them clearly at the bottom of the steps. "General Aizen, Captain Ichimaru," Hinamori said.
"Good afternoon princess," Ichimaru greeted.
"Please do excuse us for barging into your quiet time, but we have some bad news to report," Aizen said.
Momo blinked. "Bad news?"
"Yes, I'm afraid that our clever thief, Aisu no Ryu has decided to steal one of your family treasures tonight at nine."
The raven haired girls gasped and placed a hand over her lips. "Oh no, which one he's planning to steal?"
"The young maiden."
"The young maiden?" Hisagi asked.
"That's right Hisagi," Ichimaru replied. "The young maiden is the late Queen's most sacred treasure."
"He notified us ahead of time, didn't he?" Momo asked. He then revealed to her a single card that has the thief's personal signature written on it which includes a silhouette picture of a light blue dragon. "What do you plan to do General Aizen?" Hinamori asked.
"For the sake of the Queen and yourself, we intend to capture him without failure," Aizen answered. "He may be able to easily pass our subordinates, but he will soon learn that dealing with the higher elite guards will be a difficult task to complete."
Momo smiled. "Thank you. In that case, can I co--"
"You may not help us capture the thief princess," he quickly answered in a humble manner. "For your safety, we advise you not to be present in such dangerous situations like this. Who knows what can happen to you if you suddenly got hurt. Besides, you are the only heir to the family throne."
The raven haired girl then tilted her head forward, looking down on her hands. "I see."
"Please do understand princess," Gin said. "We want to make sure you're safe. If something were to happen to you, our late parents would haunt us to death, isn't that right General Aizen?"
Aizen chuckled. "My sediments exactly; now will you excuse us? We have to go and make preparations for the big night."
With a short nod, Momo watched the two elite members from the Royal Guard leave her and Hisagi alone. The tall man turned to the princess and said, "Please don't do anything reckless Hinamori. We know how much your family's treasures mean to you. This is why General Aizen and Captain Ichimaru are going to do their best to help protect them."
"I understand Hisagi-san," Momo replied.
Even though she said that, the young princess has already decided what to do about the situation. There is only less than six hours left until Aisu no Ryu's arrival.
Ichimaru opened the door to find his superior standing at the tall window with a glass of fine red wine at hand, looking out into the scenery outside. He closed the door behind him and smiled. "Hn, you look like you just won the lottery or something."
"Now what makes you say that Gin?" Aizen replied, smiling humbly without him seeing.
The gray haired captain held out his hands and shrugged. "I'm not sure to be honest. However, if I have to describe it in words, I suppose it's... an intuition."
"Really? How interesting..." Placing the glass up to his lips, Aizen took a small wine sip. "Regardless, you're right. The fun and games have already started."
"Is that so? Then that means I should be able to have some fun too!"
"Of course Gin, it's no doubt that you always have fun when it comes to trivial matters like this." He took another sip from his wine. "There is only about three hours left until his arrival."
"By the way General, where have you decided which room to place the young maiden?" Gin asked.
Aizen finally turned around to face his subordinate. He then sat on his seat and placed his glass of wine on the table at the side. Placing his fingertips together, he replied with a smiling grin on his face, "The late Queen and King's room."
Long after the sun has set and the moon high up in the sky, people knew it is only a matter of time before Aisu no Ryu would make his appearance at the promised place, inside the late King and Queen's bedroom at the Hinamori Palace.
While security inside is heavily guarded by members of the Royal Guard to protect the family treasure, Hinamori Momo is in her bedroom not awaiting for the events to pass. Dressed in a dark gray robe over her pink nagajuban, Momo put on her hood over her head and nodded with agreement. "Preparations are complete."
She walked up to the tall window and opened it, allowing the gentle breeze to come inside. Momo looked back to the door to check if anyone heard her. She let out a sigh of relief. "I can't use the normal way to get to my parents' room. I just have to be a little creative and enter from the balcony instead," the princess thought as she is tying a string of already tied up bedsheets onto the bedpost.
Giving it a tight pull, Momo threw the other end out the window. Using it as a rope, the princess slowly climbed out. She felt her heart beating so fast. Never in her life would she ever think of doing something as dangerous as this. "Mou, maybe this isn't a good idea after all."
Suddenly, a gust of wind started blowing from the northern direction. Instinctively hanging onto the bed sheet rope, she held on tight. Once the wind subsided, Momo let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, the trick to this is to never look down. No matter what the circumstances, do not look down Momo. You can do this."
Another wind gust blew causing the princess to squeak, close her eyes tightly, and pulled herself close to the rope. The next thing she knew, Momo opened her eyes to find that she's looking down on the ground below. She gulped. "Too late."
Using this moment to take a deep breath, the raven haired girl look over to the side where her late parents' balcony is located. "To protect Oto-san's and Okaa-san's treasures..."
She slowly let one hand go from the rope and reached for the ledge. Once she has a firm grip, Momo slowly made her transition to the balcony. She sighed with relief. "I'm safe and sound."
Taking a peek through the window to see the young maiden statue on the bed vulnerable being stolen. "Huh, where are the guards?" she wondered. "They should be inside watching over it."
All of a sudden, a door slowly opened. Alarmed by it, Momo quickly hid her presence to the side so that the person or people would not notice. She closed her eyes. "Please don't come here. Please don't come here."
She repeated the phrase over and over in her mind. Scared that it might be one of the Royal Guards, Hinamori did not bother to move a single inch. She waited, waited, and waited. After about a few minutes of long silence, Momo decided now is a good time to check what is going on in there. However, before that could happen, she heard the sound of broken glass coming from the window beside her. Turning her head to the left, the princess gasped. "He's here!"
It is only a matter of seconds before security has arrived at the scene. Peeking through the window, Momo noticed that her family treasure has suddenly disappeared. "He was here! Aisu no Ryu has stolen the young maiden!" one of the guards cried out.
"He can't be too far away," Captain Ichimaru said. "We won't let him get away."
"I better get back to my room," Momo whispered. "If Hisagi-san, Kira-kun, and Abarai-kun finds out about my disappearance, they might think something bad has happened to me."
She quietly sneaked her way back to her chambers by starting to untie the rope on the ledge. Momo sat on the edge of the balcony and jumped off, bracing herself as she swung from side to side. Once the momentum has been put to a stop, Momo started climbing up. "I have to hurry up."
It is when she heard a tearing noise. Momo looked up and gasped. Her bed sheet is ripping apart. "Oh no no no no! This can't be happening!"
Because of her weight and the Earth's gravity, the sheets continued to rip, making her close and closer to the ground below. Eventually, it tore apart. Momo screamed, falling seven feet down. Luckily, she had a soft landing; she fell into a large pile of hay. Slowly, Hinamori got out of her landing spot, taking excess straws of hay out of her hair. She let out a sigh. "I thought I was a goner."
Suddenly, Momo heard approaching footsteps. She had no time to waste. Looking back and forth, the princess spotted a good place to hide. Without any hesitation, she jumped into a cart and got a large tarp to drape over her head. Taking a small peek, she noticed a group of guards running by. "They must be pursuing the thief," she thought.
Without any warning, she felt like the Earth started to shake. The peach princess got startled, lost her balance, and accidentally hit her head against something hard. Hinamori blacked out.
By the time she came around, Momo soon found herself in the middle of unknown territory. Judging from the style and classiness in the room, she concluded she is in some sort of shelter. "Where am I?" she wondered.
"So you're finally awake," replied a voice.
Momo turned her head to see a young teenager, standing at the door sill with his arms crossed. He has snowy white hair and glowing emerald-teal eyes. Dressed in a standard dark blue yukata tied together by a dark maroon sash, he appears to be relatively around the same height and age as her.
"Who are you?"
References
Aisu no Ryu - Ice Dragon, the notorious thief's codename, Nagajuban - the under layer type of robe under the kimono, Oto-san - Father, Okaa-san - Mother, Yukata - A casual type of kimono worn by both males and females during the summer months
Author's Note: Hn, who is that kid she meets at the end of the chapter? xD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Stay tuned for next week's update! In the meantime, please leave a review. Thanks!