Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.
Author's Note: It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Chapter nineteen is ready and posted for you to read. Hooray with the early updates! Woot! Special thanks goes to applestoapples, tlg, Pieps XD, Samantha, Maya-chan2007, MoonLightView, HeavensPheonix561, BLEACHISAWESOMEANDIMAWESOME XP, icyangel27, WhitePrincessOfHope, AznInvasionGirl, Neko-cheung, Supreme cookieeater NANCY, Tamashi Aisuto, i-is-animefreak, KnowledgeandImagination, Kaye. Shirogane, The Sweet Peach for your awesome reviews! Anyway, happy reading! Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking."
The Greatest Treasure
Chapter Nineteen: Grand Entrance
He stood in front of the scenery before him. Men, both guards and executioners, were lying on the ground. Some of them are bruised in several places while others were inflicted by a single blow. Either way, they're all unconscious. Captain Ichimaru Gin took a glance at the platform to find that the knot on the lasso oddly became so loose that it untied itself. He let out an amused grin on his face. "Things are going to get very interesting," he said. "I better head back or else I'm going to miss out on all the fun."
But before he could go anywhere, his eyes soon spotted two familiar figures, walking along the palace walls. Judging by their actions, they seem to be plotting something to ruin the wedding ceremony.
"Well, what do we have here? It seems that duty calls..."
Meanwhile, inside the Hinamori Palace, the princess stood in front of the throne room doors. With her hands placed on her lap and her head tilted forward, she could feel her heart beating faster with every passing minute. Her days of remaining the Princess of Seireitei are running short. Once she comes out of those doors, she will become the Queen.
When the doors finally opened, she is immediately welcomed by the many guests who have come here to witness this day. She is astonished that so much came; some of them, she could not even recognize. When the music started, Hinamori slowly walked on the red carpet towards where General Aizen and the pastor are waiting.
From time to time, she would take a glance to the side to see who else is present. As expected, her friends are not here to watch her. However, that's not the only thing she noticed. "Strange, none of the people from Central Chambers 46 are here," Momo thought. "They are supposed to show up for the correlation ceremony."
Noticing Aizen in her sights, Hinamori raised her head up and kept her elegant composure. Even though he is wearing his formal attire, the general always looked quite handsome. Of course, in Momo's mind, there is no one more handsome than the one she fell in love with. "What's wrong princess?" Aizen whispered as they stood side by side, listening to the pastor say his words.
"No, it's nothing," she quietly replied back.
"It looks like you're feeling down. You can tell me."
"I'm just worried about my friends," Momo replied. "It's really unfortunate they can't be here."
It is when Ichimaru interrupted the ceremony by walking up to the bride and groom. Leaning over to the general, he whispered something in his ear. Aizen glanced over at the gray haired captain and nodded with agreement. He soon leaves their side.
After telling the pastor to continue, Aizen whispered to Hinamori, "Is there anything else?"
The princess lowered her head. "I miss Toshiro. If only history could change, then I could live in eternal happiness with him at my side. He is my one true love."
"Do you Aizen Sosuke take Hinamori Momo as your lawfully wedded wife?" the pastor asked.
The general raised his head and replied, "I do."
With a nod, he then turned to the Princess of Seiereitei. "Do you Hinamori Momo take Aizen Sosuke as your husband?"
Momo closed her eyes. "However, there is no turning back now; I have to move on without him in my life. Good bye...Toshiro."
She opened her eyes once more and slowly raised her head up. Looking at the pastor, the peach girl said her reply, "I..."
But before she could finish her sentence, the large throne room doors suddenly busted open. "There is no way she'll say I do to you Aizen! We're all here to stop you!" exclaimed a voice.
Recognizing who it belongs to, Momo quickly turned around to see her friends, Matsumoto Rangiku, Kira Izuru, Abarai Renji, and Hisagi Shuhei present.
"Rangiku-san! Kira-kun! Abarai-kun! Hisagi-san!" Hinamori exclaimed with joy. "They're alright, thank goodness..."
With a grin appearing on his face, Aizen arm hooked the princess by the neck causing the girl to yelp. "Guards, arrest them," he commanded. The general then turned to his loyal subordinate. "You too Gin."
He drew his sword from its sheath and held it out for the public to see. Ichimaru smiled with delight. "Let the games begin."
As people in the throne room start scrambling around to escape from the place, guards from the Royal Guard surrounded the four teenagers from all four sides. Everyone drew their swords out and waited for one another to make the first move. The Trio Knights and Matsumoto stood back to back against one another. "Well, this is a good chance to do some warm up exercises, don't you agree?" Rangiku asked, smiling with amusement.
"Oh hell yeah, you got that right!" Abarai agreed while letting out a smirk.
"Now you guys," Kira said. "Even though they're not as skilled as us, it doesn't mean we should underestimate them."
"I'm sure they understand that clearly," Hisagi replied. "Besides, we still have Aizen to look out for."
"Don't worry about that," the strawberry orange haired woman said. "We already have our allies who will take care of that humble yet evil General of the Royal Guard. They'll arrive when the time comes."
"They better hurry up or else Hinamori-kun is going to get engag--" Izuru replied before he was interrupted.
"Kira, to your right!" Shuhei exclaimed.
Regaining focus on the battle, the pale blond haired teenager raised his sword up and began to clash blades with his opponents just like everyone else. Renji elbowed a guard down while Hisagi kicked him off to the side. "This time, stay down!" the red head exclaimed.
Sensing danger coming from the side, he turned around and successfully defended against the surprise attack with his sword. Abarai kissed between his teeth with slight annoyance.
"You guys just had to be persistent."
Not too far away, Kira and Matsumoto are teaming up to deal with their opponents. Just as a guard is about to strike, Rangiku let out a girlish yell, ceasing his attack. "Don't you guys know it's against the code of nature to hit a girl?"
But before he could answer, Izuru rammed him off to the side with his shoulder and elbow.
"Sugoi Kira, you're so awesome!"
"Um, thanks..." It is when he noticed two guards, preparing to strike his ally down from behind her back. Extending a hand out, he called out, "Matsumoto-san, watc--"
Without any warning, the strawberry orange haired woman raised her arms up and elbowed them both down on the head, sending them to fall on the hard floor below. She gave him a questioning look. "Is there something wrong?"
Noticing their condition, he resumed his attention to Matsumoto. "Eh, no...it's nothing."
With a smile on her face and placing a hand on her elbow muscle, she said, "Well, let's finish dealing with this punks and rescue Hinamori!"
However, just as she is about to run to Hinamori's aid, her sword clashed with his. She blinked with astonishment. "W-What? Gin, what are you doing here?"
His trademark grin appeared on his face. He replied, "Yo, it's been a long time Ran-chan."
Just then, he glanced back to see Kira and Hisagi attempting a surprise attack on him. Ichimaru managed to push Matsumoto away and step back at the same time. The three swordsmen stood face to face against the Captain of the Royal Guard.
"Hello Izuru...Hisagi, it's nice seeing you two so well."
Rangiku narrowed her eyes, trying to comprehend the situation as Kira said to his superior, "We're going to defeat you."
Ichimaru lowered his stance and replied, "We'll see about that."
The captain made the first move by charging at Kira. The pale blond haired knight stood his ground and defended against the attack. However, Ichimaru's power still overwhelmed him. Gin began pushing him back. Sensing Hisagi's presence on the side, took a step away from him. He parried Izuru's attack and went to strike Hisagi with his sword. It is when Matsumoto came into his line of view and tried to cut him with her katana. On the other hand, he was able to anticipate the move and leaped into the air and away from the surrounding opponents. He did a flip before landing on the ground safely. Turning his attention to them, raised his sword up to his face and revealed a very snickering face.
"Let's go everyone..."
As Gin is keeping the other three teenagers busy, Renji is left alone to deal with the rest of the guards. "Tch, you guys are so annoying!" he exclaimed as he continuously kept knocking them out with his sword, kicks, and fists. "Why am I always left to deal with the leftovers?"
At one point, one of the guards, managed to graze a cut on his cheek with his blade. All of a sudden, something snapped from within him. The red headed knight began attacking them aggressively by furiously engaging in a battle of fists and swords. "So, you think you all can defeat me by working together, huh? Well, let me tell you something; it's going to take more than a mere army of Royal Guard members to make this red head go down!"
"Nani?" Momo asked the general. "What is going on here General Aizen? I demand some answers right now!"
Aizen just grinned. He looked down at the princess and replied, "Hn, it seems like they've become rebellious. Don't mind them Hinamori-hime and let's continue on with the ceremony even if the pastor is not present."
"No way I'm not going to get married to you until you tell me the truth of what's happening!" she demanded.
Just as he is about to drag her away, the wall at the side of them suddenly broke down. Aizen turned his attention to the side to see the large presence of a familiar face. "Hn, it seems like they helped you escape as well, Jidanbo-san."
"AIZEN!!!" he exclaimed, raising both his short axes into the air. "Stay away from the princess!"
He slammed his weapons down in an attempt to crush the General of the Royal Guard, but he was stopped midway. Aizen had an arm raised from underneath. He blocked the West Gatekeeper's attack with his drawn sword and reduced it to nothing. Jidanbo stood in place with astonishment at the strength of this powerful ranked swordsman.
"Im-Impossible!"
"Gomen nesai, I'm afraid I can't let that happen," he said.
Keeping Momo in his grip with one hand, Aizen parried Jidanbo's axes with his sword. Just as he is about to strike him back, he suddenly froze on the spot. He slowly glanced back to see the culprit's face. His eyes narrowed. "D-Damn you..."
Hinamori too glanced at the person who just stabbed from behind Aizen's back. Her chocolate brown eyes widened with disbelief. Standing in her presence is the one person she wanted to see the most.
"T-Toshiro..."
References
Nani - What, Sugoi - Amazing, Hime - Princess, Gomen nesai - I'm Sorry
Author's Note: Yay! Toshiro and the gang comes to the rescue! Gah, there's so much tension flying in the air! Did Hitsugaya's back stab did the trick to put an end to Aizen's evil reign? Well, you just have to wait and find out in chapter twenty. Please review! Thanks.