Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: Before I start saying my thanks to all my readers and reviewers, I have to clear up a few things. At the end of the last chapter, Renji stated that he, Kira, and Hisagi has been told by the people of Rukongai of Toshiro's whereabouts. However, I didn't explain how they were able figure that out. So...I'll say it here. They forced a few witnesses to spill the beans, but don't worry, his identity as Aisu no Ryu hasn't been exposed. I hope that answers your questions. Sorry about that!

Anyway, thank you everyone for reading chapter five and special thanks goes to my reviewers: Mariliisa, AznInvasionGirl, Pieps XD, ScienceAngel, Neko-cheung, MoonLightView, KnowledgeandImagination, icyangel27, WhitePrincessOfHope, cool!!!!!!!!!!!!, Amiru-chan, and samantha for leaving your comments. Without any further delay, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking."

The Greatest Treasure

Chapter Six: Found at Last

Abarai Renji of the Royal Guard made the first move and charged at the white haired Rukongai boy. Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed, predicting the upcoming move. He bent his knees and lowered into a stance. By the time Renji's blade tried to cut him, the younger boy has already leaped into the air. He did an air twist and landed on top of the reverse side of his blade. The two teenagers looked at one another. Renji kissed between his teeth. "So you think this is all fun and games, huh?"

"Hn, not really," Hitsugaya replied. "Your opening move is obvious to read."

Renji used all his strength to lift his sword up high into the air, in an attempt to throw him off balance. However, Hitsugaya saw through that move as well and landed on the ground safely behind him. His emerald-teal eyes have its attention towards the other two knights.

"You two are not helping him?" he asked.

"We would help, but knowing Abarai, he's not going to let us interfere," Hisagi replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"I see." The white haired boy grinned. "So, it's safe to assume that he's the leader of the group?"

An eye twitched. "No, he's not the leader."

"Really?"

Renji tried to attack him from behind, but Hitsugaya did a feint to the side and dodged his move. "You little runt; stand still!" the red headed knight exclaimed.

Just as Hitsugaya is about to retaliate, he felt someone coming up from behind. Thinking fast, Hitsugaya placed a hand on the ground and pushed himself to the side, avoiding Renji's and the additional comrade's assaults. He managed to get away with that. If only he could say that same for the sleeve of his yukata. It has become half torn.

"Oi Kira! Don't butt in!" Renji exclaimed.

"Sorry Abarai-kun, but it seems I have to," he replied, holding up his sword in front of Hitsugaya. "You obviously don't stand a chance against him once he attacks."

"What did you say?!"

"What I mean is he's too fast for you."

"Tch, and you can do better than me?" Renji asked.

"I'm not saying that; we need to work together to capture him."

Hitsugaya carefully kept his guard up, watching the two knights verbally clashed with one another until his instincts instructed him block the surprise attack with both his arms. He just defended against Hisagi's dropkick. The two immediately parried one another and put some distance between themselves. "Let's see how you fair against the three of us," Hisagi said.

"Hitsugaya-kun sure is taking his time," Momo commented. The Princess of Seireitei and the elderly grandmother has been waiting in the living room for over an hour. He still hasn't returned from grocery shopping.

Obaa-san took a sip from her cup of green tea. "Toshiro is fine," she replied. "I'm sure he's coming back right now."

Hinamori let out a sigh. "Obaa-san, do you care about him?"

"Of course I do; he's my grandson after all."

"I see. Then, why do you not worry about him whenever he goes out on his own?"

"Momo, don't get the wrong idea," the elder explained. "I worry about him all the time. Toshiro knows very well how much I feel, but he's stubborn like that. He only wants to repay this elderly woman for all the things she has done for him."

"Obaa-san..."

She smiled. "It's his way to show how much he loves his grandmother."

All of a sudden, Hinamori stood up and headed towards the slide door. She stopped for a moment and said, "I'm going to find him."

Without another word, the princess already left the Hitsugaya residence. The elderly woman took another sip from her tea. After putting it down on the low table, she smiled. She is happy to know there is one more person who is looking after her descendant. Of course, it's the same vise versa in a similar sense. "Their friendship is going to go a long way..."

Hitsugaya got down to his knees, panting with exhaustion. The four fighters have caught the attention of the spectators around them; drawing quite a decent crowd. They are worried of their companion's health. He's fighting one his own against all three people from the Royal Guard. "Fighting three of them at the same time is difficult," Hitsugaya thought, raising his head to look up the Trio Knights. "Tch, if only I had my sword in my possession."

Renji frowned and rested his sword on the back of his shoulder. "He's one stubborn kid," he commented. "When is he going to give up? He doesn't stand a chance against some of the elite members of the Royal Guard."

"If only he were to hand himself over nicely, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place," Kira added.

"We would like to commend you for lasting this long," Hisagi said. "However, it's time for the fun and games to end here."

"Really now?" Hitsugaya said as he got back up on his feet. He used his half ripped sleeve to brush the blood away from the corner of his lips and grinned. "We'll see about that."

Renji kissed between his teeth. "You cocky brat; you're going to be sorry for showing that face!"

Noticing that the red head is making the opening move, Hitsugaya decided to switch to offense tactics. He ran towards the knight and slid on the ground, sticking a leg out. He made Renji lose his balance. Just as he is about to fall to the ground, Hitsugaya quickly got back on his feet (knees bent) and prepared his next move. He grabbed a part of his shirt and did an overhead throw, sending the knight away to stare at the blue sky above.

As Hitsugaya stood up again and began brushing the dirt off his clothes, he noticed his opponents' surprise attack from the corner of his eye. He half turned and faced them. They tried to slash him, but Hitsugaya kept evading their moves until he suddenly disappeared from their sights. "Huh, where did he go?" Kira asked.

"H-He just disappeared," Hisagi said.

"I'm right here." They looked back to see the white haired teenager suddenly behind them. He did a side feint in addition with a spin and got behind their backs. Before they could react, Hitsugaya lowered himself close to the ground, did a spin kick, and hit against their ankles. Eventually, they were thrown off balance. Using this opportunity, the boy snatched their swords and pointed them at their faces. "Now do you believe me that I'm not just some cocky brat?" he asked.

Hisagi and Kira stared at Hitsugaya: eye to eye until they noticed that Renji is about to do a sneak attack on him. The spectators noticed and gasped. One of them cried out, "Watch out!"

Just as Hitsugaya heard that, he looked back. "S-Shit!"

Unfortunately, it was when the red head used the hilt of his sword to hit against the back of his neck, knocking the boy down on the ground. "He's finally down," Renji said.

The other two knights slowly got back on their feet and retrieved their swords from the ground. "Gosh, he was a handful," Hisagi said.

"I know," Kira agreed. As Renji scared and threatened all the spectators away, Hisagi and Kira surrounded and looked down on the unconscious body. They looked at one another. "Well, let's head back to Seireitei with him," Kira said.

Hisagi nodded with agreement. He bent down on one knee and picked up the unconscious boy over his shoulder before standing up again. "Okay, let's get going," he replied. "Abarai, stop dawdling there and catch up with us."

Hearing the older man say that, Renji half turned placed a hand on the back of his head. He walked up to them saying, "Tch, fine then."

At the same time, Hinamori arrived at the scene, panting. She ran as fast as she could, hoping to find where Toshiro is. "Mou, where could he be?" she wondered, looking around.

Eventually, her eyes met with his all too familiar snowy white hair. Just as she is about to follow him, Momo soon realize he's being taken away by three familiar faces. Moments later, the young princess of Seireitei started to run after the three knights. "Wait, you can't take him Abarai-kun, Kira-kun, Hisagi-san!"

The three stopped and turned to one another. "Oi, did you hear someone call our names?" Hisagi asked.

"Yeah, I heard it too," Kira agreed.

"Where is it coming from?" Renji asked.

"Oi!"

The Royal Guards turned around to see a young girl dressed in a deep purple coloured yukata kept together with a burgundy obi sash, running up to them. They took a moment to take a closer look at her until they have come to the same conclusion. "Hinamori, is that you?!"

"It is quite the surprise," Kira said. "We thought you were kidnapped by Aisu no Ryu, but it turns out that you were in West Rukongai this whole time."

Hinamori escorted the knights back to Hitsugaya's house not only to treat the boy's injuries, but also catch up on what she missed. During this time around, Obaa-san went out and completed the task that her grandson wasn't able to. Momo nodded with agreement. "Yeah, at first I thought I was kidnapped too, but it turns out that he dropped me here. After that, Hitsugaya-kun came by, saved, and took care of me."

The three knights looked to the side where the unconscious Hitsugaya is resting his head on the princess' lap. "Really, that kid helped you?" Renji asked.

Momo again nodded. "Hai."

"Even though he has done a good deed, why was he causing trouble for the tax collector?" Hisagi asked.

"About that," Hinamori said. "He only did that to defend me from being taken away. That person wanted to do bad things to me."

"That bastard," Renji cursed, putting up a fist in front of him. "He deserved to get his ass kicked by Hitsugaya."

"Come to think of it, why are you still here anyway?" Hisagi questioned. "You could have asked him to to take you back."

"I could have, but...I decided to stay here for a bit," Momo replied.

"Why did you decide to do that Hinamori-kun?" Kira asked.

"I want to know what it feels like to live as a Rukongai citizen and I want to meet Aisu no Ryu."

"WHAT?!" the three knights exclaimed.

They yelled so loud that it caused the white haired boy to stir in his sleep. Momo looked down and noticed. "Ah, he's finally coming around!" By the time his eyes opened, he soon meets with Momo's face. "Hey sleepyhead, wake up!"

Hitsugaya frowned.

"Get out of my face." Momo lifted her head up so that he could sit up. Remembering the bump on the back of his head and the events prior to it, he turned to the raven haired girl. "What happened?"

"It's a long story, but don't worry; I explained the whole story. You're not going to get arrested, right you guys?" She turned to the Trio Knights.

"Ah yeah," Kira replied.

"I see," Hitsugaya said. "Well, at least you get to go home now."

"But Shiro-chan, didn't I tell you before? I want to meet Aisu no Ryu first," Momo pouted.

"For the last time Bed-Wetter, stop calling me Shiro-chan already!"

All of a sudden, Renji threw a fist on Hitsugaya's head. Momo placed her hand over her mouth and gasped.

"Itte!" he exclaimed. The Rukongai resident placed both hands on the bump and eyed at the red headed knight who folded his arms over his chest. "What was that about?"

"Don't you dare call the princess by such title!"

"A-Abarai-kun, don't worry about it!" Momo replied. "I don't mind Hitsugaya-kun to call me that. Besides, I told him not to address or treat me like a princess."

The princess then turned to Hitsugaya. "Are you alright?"

Hitsugaya turned his head to the side, grumbling as he sooth the pain on his head. "I'll live; the injury is not life-threatening anyway."

"I see."

"Hinamori-kun, it's too dangerous to stay here!" Kira warned. "If you meet Aisu no Ryu, he might really kidnap you and do bad things to you like rape."

"I would not do such inappropriate actions," Hitsugaya thought, frowning at the comment.

"It's alright," Momo said. "Everyone from around here told me about his actions. He only wanted to help his people from going into poverty. That's why he keeps stealing valuables from us in Seireitei."

"Are you sure they're not lying?" Hisagi asked.

"That's why I'm going to find him. I want to ask him for myself."

"Hinamori-kun," Kira said.

She smiled. "As long as Hitsugaya-kun is able to look after me, I'll be alright."

"Then, we shall stay too and protect you," Renji commented.

Momo shook her head. "I need you to look after matters at the palace," Hinamori replied. "So...don't tell General Aizen about my whereabouts."

"Y-You're serious?" Hisagi asked. "You don't him to know about this?"

"If he does, I'm sure he'll do whatever it takes to drag me back to the palace."

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. Hearing about Aizen Sosuke reminded him that he is suspicious of the man. His gut feeling keeps telling him that he is someone not to be trusted at all. But then again, it's probably his sense of protecting the princess that made him a bit delusional.

Momo placed both hands together and pleaded, "Please?"

Kira, Hisagi, and Renji looked at one another. Two of the three sighed with defeat while the last one just placed a hand on his forehead. Renji growled with frustration and then said, "Okay fine! We'll keep your secret."

The princess smiled and placed her hands on her lap. "Oh thank you so much!"

"Just promise us that you won't do anything reckless out here," Kira said.

The raven haired girl nodded with agreement. "Hai!"

Hisagi let out a sigh and turned to Hitsugaya. "Please watch over her."

"Hn, I suppose..." he replied, folding his arms over his chest, "but I'm not doing it only for your sake."

Momo smiled and hugged the boy with open arms. "Arigato!"

"Ack, Hinamori get off me!" Hitsugaya yelped, struggling to break free of her embrace.

The Trio Knights smiled with amusement as they watched the two friends interact with one another in an interesting fashion. They wouldn't be surprised if they mistaken them for siblings or cousins from the same family tree. Hisagi is the first to leave his seat and stand up. "Well, it's time for us to get going."

"Really, so soon?" Momo asked as she watched her other two childhood friends stand up as well.

Kira nodded with agreement. "We have to get back and notify Ichimaru-taicho and General Aizen about the story."

"I see. I'll guide you ba--"

"Iie, it's alright," Renji said. "You can stay here. We can let ourselves out."

The three knights headed towards the door. Just as they were leaving, the looked back and said their farewells. "Bye Hinamori-kun," Kira said.

"We'll see you some other time," Hisagi added, "and it's nice meeting you Hitsugaya."

The white haired boy just nodded with agreement, saying his silent farewell. "Take care of yourself Hinamori," Renji said.

Momo waved good bye to them all before they left the house. She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness they allowed me to stay here a little longer," she said.

"They're pretty trustworthy friends," Hitsugaya commented.

"You think so too? I'm glad you agree," Hinamori said. "Abarai-kun, Kira-kun, and Hisagi-san are very nice people once you get to know them."

"Well anyway, let's head to the kitchen and prepare everything so that we don't have to waste time when Obaa-san comes back," he said as he left his seat and headed towards the kitchen.

"Hai Shiro-chan!" Momo happily replied as she followed behind him.

"And stop with the Shiro-chan already!"

"So, did you find the troublemaker?" Aizen asked.

Standing in a straight line in his office, the Trio Knights bowed down as Hisagi apologized, "I'm sorry General Aizen, but it seems like the perpetrator has not been caught."

"I see. I suppose that's fine if we let him go."

"Really?" Kira asked.

The brown haired man smiled. "Of course, it is alright. Besides, they have a very good reason to rebel against us."

"I see."

"You are all dismissed."

"Hai!" the three of them said in unison before leaving the room together.

Ichimaru, who has been at his superior's side for the whole time, turned to Aizen and asked, "Now that's unusual; it's not like you to let people getaway with their actions."

"Don't get the wrong idea Gin," Aizen replied. "Let's just say that I'm letting it run around a little longer. Sooner or later, it's going to fall into my inescapable trap."

"Aw, you're so generous."

He smiled. "I know. Besides, he only has so many days left to live. I might as well let him enjoy it while it lasts."

References

Yukata - A summer kimono worn by both males and females, Obaa-san - Grandmother, Aisu no Ryu - Ice Dragon, Hitsugaya's codename as the notorious thief, Hai - Yes, Itte - Ouch, Arigato - Thank You, Iie - No, Taicho - Captain

Author's Note: Phew, Hitsugaya managed to get out of that trouble safe and sound. Renji, Hisagi, and Kira are helping Momo to hide her whereabouts. As for Aizen and Ichimaru, gah...who knows what they're planning to do. Stay tuned for next the update. In the meantime, please press the pretty green button below. Thanks!