Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.
Author's Note: Holy flip cakes! There is so much feedback for me to read and reply back! Anyways, I'll make things brief and quick; special thanks goes to my awesome reviewers: tlg, AznInvasionGirl, MoonLightView, HeavensPheonix561, Maya-chan2007, Supreme cookieeater NANCY, i-is-animefreak, Pieps XD, Onineko Hikari-chan, Ziya Hitsugaya, BLEACHISAWESOMEANDIMAWESOME XP, Samantha, REDROSES13, Amiru-chan, Kaye. Shirogane, KnowledgeandImagination, The Sweet Peach, Mirasu, icyangel27 (x2), Tamashi Aisuto, Neko-cheung, chococat450, WhitePrincessOfHope, Anonymous for your comments. They're greatly appreciated to the bottom of my heart. Well, it's the moment of truth; has Aisu no Ryu finally met his end in the previous chapter? You just have to read and find out what happens in chapter eighteen. Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking."
The Greatest Treasure
Chapter Eighteen: Getaway
Princess Hinamori Momo let out a sigh of defeat as she watched from the tall window the many guests that have come to the Hinamori Palace. Many of them came from very far away lands while others are only a mere few homes away. But they all have one thing in common; they are from the noble or royal families. She turned around and sat on a stool to rest. She then stared at the mirror to see her reflection. She is wearing a long wedding kimono with her hair tied up in a bun. She is all white and beautiful just like an angel who came from the heavens. Wearing this colour only reminded her of the one person she wished was here. "Shiro-chan..." she thought.
She also wished that her friends, the Trio Knights could be present as well. However, as General Aizen said, they have an important mission to carry out elsewhere outside the borders of Seireitei and Rukongai. There is also her friend, Matsumoto. The peach girl couldn't help, but worry something might have happened to her after being separated for quite some time. Besides, the people back in Rukongai have turned against her. She let out another sigh. Everything feels so frustrating. What's even more difficult is that within a few hours, she is going to be married.
In other circumstances, she would love to marry Toshiro, but that dream won't come true now. He's long gone and dead. Now, she has to marry Aizen. It's not like she had a problem with him. Aizen is a nice and caring person who always has been looking after her since she lost her parents. However, a life with him is just not the same. The princess knew in her heart that she will ever love the General of the Royal Guard as much as the notorious thief who stole her heart away. She placed a hand on her heirloom and closed her eyes. "If only things were different..."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Momo opened her eyes and glanced back. "Who is it?"
The door slowly creaked open, allowing a guard to enter the room. He bowed down to the princess and said, "Princess Hinamori, I would like to inform you that you have about an hour and a half before you must come downstairs to the throne room."
Hinamori nodded with agreement. "I understand; thank you for telling me."
With that said he quietly left the room and closed the door behind him. Momo stared at the mirror once more. "There's only two hours left until I'm married and have become the Queen of Seireitei..."
"Oi Rangiku-san, are you sure this plan is going to work?" Renji asked.
"You have to be patient Renji and yes, it's guaranteed to work," Matsumoto replied to the red head. Suddenly, they heard the sound of doors opening. "Okay, this is it. Our chance to escape has finally arrived."
Entering the room are three guards: two tall ones and one short one. They have arrived to check up on their prisoners in case something has happened. However, something did happen. For some reason, all four of them are on the cold floor with their bodies facing down. All three of the guards ran up to the cell and began knocking on it in an attempt to catch their attention. "Oi, daijobou?" one of them asked.
There is no response.
"Shit, they must be dead," another suggested.
The short one turned to them. "What should we do? General Aizen said that they have to stay alive for the time being."
The tallest one took out a key and unlocked the cage. Opening it, the three guards hastily entered the cell together. Just as one is about to confirm their deaths, Kira suddenly moved his leg over to the side, causing two of them to trip. At the same time, Matsumoto sat on the guard closest to her. He yelped out in pain and suffocation while Hisagi beats the other downed guard with his kicks. Renji tried to beat up the last and shortest guard, however, the little one quickly countered by grabbing the front of his clothes and doing an overhead throw. The red head is sent crashing down on the ground on his back. Once finished with her first opponent, Rangiku used this opportunity to creep from behind. At the right moment, she rammed into him all the way against the wall and tried to make him suffocate in her bosoms until he started yelping out, "Oi Matsumoto, cut that out!"
The strawberry orange haired woman stopped and blinked a few times. To her, that voice sounds oddly familiar. Looking down at the short guard, she asked, "Hitsugaya, is that you?"
"Of course it's me!" the young teenager in disguise exclaimed, struggling to break free from her large assets. "Now, let go of me before I suffocate!"
By the time she finally lets go, the thief turned to the side and bent over so that he could breathe properly. During that time, he already took off his hood and rested it on his shoulders, revealing the recognizable snowy white hair and emerald-teal eyes. "Oh my gosh, it really is you! You're alive!" Matsumoto exclaimed cheerfully. "Wait a minute, how did you managed to get away?"
Once he is done, Hitsugaya immediately began unlocking the shackles on the tall woman's wrists. "I was about to get hanged when I got lucky," he explained. "The rope snapped just as the platform below dropped causing me to fall through. After finding a loose nail, I freed myself from the shackles on my wrists."
"Sugoi, you must have extremely good luck."
He set her free, allowing Matsumoto to twist her wrists a bit. He let out a small smirk. "...Or it's just that the heavens haven't called for me yet."
"What happened then?" Kira asked as Toshiro is working on his shackles.
He soon unlocked them and dropped the metal objects on the cold floor. "I had to beat them all up."
"Oi, that's not good." Hisagi said as he is being freed. "If Aizen finds out about your getaway, he's bound to go after you again."
"That's why I decided to free you guys first," Hitsugaya replied after releasing the shackles on the tall man's wrists. "I need your help to stop Momo's marriage."
"Marriage?" Matsumoto asked, watching the thief walked over to the groaning red head and begin to unlock Renji's handcuff locks. "Who is she getting married to?"
After freeing the red head, Aisu no Ryu turned to his companion and replied his name, "Aizen."
"What?!" the Trio Knights exclaimed in unison.
"I object to that!" Matsumoto exclaimed. "There is NO way I'm going to let Hinamori get married to that freak. She's going to get married to her one and only boyfriend, Hitsugaya!"
"What?! The princess is dating the thief?!" they exclaimed.
"Since when did it all started?" Hisagi asked.
"You little brat, you have some nerve to getting all of Hinamori's attention," Abarai commented.
"Wow, who would have known a situation like that could happen," Kira said.
Hitsugaya gave the strawberry orange haired woman a short glare. "Now is not the time to be talking about stuff like that. We need to get out of here and find where they're keeping our weapons."
"Okay fine then, we'll drop the subject for now. However, how much time before they say I do?" Renji asked.
"We still have about two hours left. There are still guests who has yet to arrive at the Hinamori Palace."
Matsumoto folded her arms over her chest and nodded with agreement. "Yup, that's our Hitsugaya. You have already uncovered and devised a plan for this situation."
"Shut up and let's get going," he retorted as he is leaving the cell. "We have a lot of undercover work to do."
"Hai hai," she happily replied, following behind him.
The five companions left the jail cell together and cautiously navigated their way out. Just as they were about to leave the Dungeon Tower, Hitsugaya stopped them at the exit by putting an arm in their way. They stuck their heads out and took a peek. "Normally, they keep weapons in the shed over there," Kira whispered.
"Now that's just great," Renji said, crossing his arms. "There are guards here too."
Without a word, the white haired thief puts up his hood and clears his throat. "H-Hitsugaya, what are you trying to do?"
Unfortunately, he ignored the pale blond haired knight. Leaving his friends' side, he approaches the waiting guards and said in a different voice, "Good work you guys. It's time for you to take a break. I'll cover for you."
The guards sighed with relief. As they are leaving, they began stretching their arms into the air. "Finally, a break!" one of them said.
"It took long enough to get one."
"Yeah..."
Everyone watched them leave the area. Once it is safe, Hitsugaya placed his hood back down on his shoulders and then turned to his companions to put up a thumb. Renji, Kira, and Hisagi just stared at him with amazement and dumbfounded. "Oi, that's pretty bold of him," Hisagi said.
"Yup," Renji agreed.
Joining up with the white haired teenager, Matsumoto said, "Great job."
Hitsugaya nodded with agreement. "Let's get going before the other guards notice."
The Trio Knights and the two citizens of Rukongai went to the shed. "Damn it, it's locked," Renji cursed, struggling to get it open by using force.
"Don't worry everyone; just leave this matter to me," Matsumoto said.
Aisu no Ryu just crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head off to the side. He has a bad feeling that his friend is going to do another outrageous act like she always does. The strawberry orange haired woman picked up a large rock and began pounding against the lock. Hitsugaya's eye twitched as the Trio Knights were surprised by her actions. His prediction is once again correct. In their thoughts, Renji, Hisagi, and Kira expected that she was going to do something intelligent like what Hitsugaya did a while ago. However, looks could be deceiving.
After a few pounds, the lock finally snapped open. She dropped the rock off to the side and brushed some of the sweat off her forehead with her wrist. "There. That should do the trick," she said.
"Oi, I could have picked the lock," Hitsugaya commented.
"Don't be such a party pooper," Matsumoto happily said. "Besides, I always wanted to do this."
Hitsugaya just kissed between his teeth, walked past her, and entered the shed. The swordsmen retrieved all their weapons and equipped themselves with them. "So, what do we do now about the wedding ceremony?" Kira asked.
"Isn't that obvious? We barge in and kick their ass!" Renji exclaimed, doing a guts pose.
"I don't think that's a good idea Abarai," Hisagi replied to the red headed knight.
The pale blond haired knight turned to the white haired thief. "Hitsugaya, what's your suggestion?"
Toshiro thought for a moment and then glanced over to the side to see two particular large looking weapons sitting on the side. Turning back to his companions, he gave them his answer. Aisu no Ryu replied, "I have an idea."
References
Daijobou - It's Alright, Sugoi - Amazing, Aisu no Ryu - Ice Dragon. Hitsugaya's codename as the notorious thief, Hai - Yes
Author's Note: Oh my flipping gosh, Hitsugaya's alive! (Darn you AznVKai, why must you keep us hanging like that?! xD) Hehe, anyway...now that he joined up with Matsumoto and the Trio Knights, it's time for you to get ready to read some future butt-kicking action! In the meantime, please review! Thanks.