17 Ways of Erase and Rewind
Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me.
Special thanks to my Beta Chancewriter that makes my crazy ideas understandable and readable. You're THE best!
Warning: SPOILER ALERT! This story is up to date with manga 421: Deicide 23. A/N at the bottom, italics are for thoughts, and some cursing but nothing major. Last thing, I think I went a little OOC with Hiyori this time. Keep in mind she is more mature after the incident because she does, in this chapter, some things I can't see her doing (yes I'm using maturity as my OOC excuse).
So much to love
So much to learn
But I won't be there to teach you, oh
I know I can be closed
But I try my best to reach you
.
Chapter 5: Circus
When Unohana lifted the restraining order of leaving Hiyori's room undisturbed, an order that applied to everyone except for Shinji – Damn Baldy with connections in the right places- Hiyori knew annoying and irritating people would soon becoming by to annoy and irritate her. That wasn't something new or something that surprised her.
She hated to admit it but her room became a freaking circus. A one ring circus.
The ring master and resident clown was Shinji, of course. He received the people at the door, played the host and charmed the visitors with his stupid grinning smile and his acute comments.
The Dumbass.
And her, 'the fragile', recovering patient was the entire crappy show, including acrobat, juggler, tightrope walker, well not that one, because she wasn't allowed to walk more than five minutes in the morning and five minutes at night.
But at least, there was one role she enjoyed playing: The lion. Screaming, roaring left and right because by that time she was already tired of being trapped in that stupid white room and the idea of having to put up with people she did not like without the alternative of leaving was sickening.
So the audience of the circus, the concerned for her health visitors, didn't really take long to arrive.
'
- First Act: The Lovable Freaks (5:00 - 5:30)
First, as it was expected, her surrogate family was there: The Vizards. They were surrounding her bed and showering her with comments and sentiments of concern. At one time Love walked into the room he went to her and rumpled her pigtails saying something like,
"I'm glad you're ok, Bokke".
Lisa only nodded and dedicated a smile while she adjusted her glasses. Rose at the foot of her bed started testifying to the muses of health that brought Hiyori a speedy recovery. Hachi smiled proudly of the girl, remembering her bravery in the moments she was being healed. While Mashiro ran as fast as she could toward Hiyori and wrapped her into a tight hug squealing "Hiyoriiii is fine… ahhhh we were soooo worried, we can't believe you are alright!"
"Oi… Mashiro you're going to hurt her." Kensei yelled to his ex-Fukutaichou. "Stop hugging her so strong, remember what Unohana said."
In the seconds Kensei had muttered those words, Shinji hit his forehead, Lisa rolled her eyes and Hachi whispered an, "oh-oh."
"What do you mean 'what Unohana said'?" Hiyori looked at the group with suspicion in her eyes.
"Nothing, nothing." Shinji intervened, trying to distract Hiyori with a fake apologetic expression.
"Kensei no-baka, you put your feet into your mouth!" And the green-haired girl stuck her tongue at him. "I know we have to be careful with her!"
"Oi… Mashiro you're making it even worse! You're confirming that I said something I shouldn't have." The Ex-Captain yelled at the girl and a big argument between them broke out.
But the noise generated by the other two Vizards didn't seem to bother Hiyori because in that moment a fire that resembled the Sou Taichou's zanpakutou, Ryūjin Jakka, had formed behind her. All the other ex-Shinigamis had lived with the little girl long enough to know what would happen if they behaved differently than normal with the injured blonde. So Lisa put her hands over her ears, Rose sighed, Love took cover behind a couch and Hachi smiled apologetically.
"BEING CAREFUL WITH ME? WHO DO YOU ALL THINK YOU ARE? I'M PERFECTLY FINE! THIS IS NOTHING! I CAN TAKE BEING INJURED LIKE THIS AND EVEN MORE!" At this time Hiyori was standing in the bed, covers forgotten on the floor.
Shinji came even closer trying to calm her down.
"Ok, ok we all know you're 'fine'." He motioned quotation marks with his fingers, "But you don't have to wake up the dead with your screaming Hiyori. Sit down, please," he said, voicing the last part in his old Captain's tone.
The girl complied with Shinji's request, but still some popping veins could be seen in her face, her breathing was still frantic and she wasn't uttering a word to any of them.
The conversation started between all the visitors and soon it shifted to unimportant business like the weather, new acquaintances and the new places they discovered in Seretei. After a couple of minutes Hiyori noticed Shinji gave a look to Lisa, she passed the same type of glance to Rose, and him to Love, the brunette looked at Hachi and he to Kensei.
"It's getting late." The pink haired man told Hiyori in a tender tone.
"Late? I think it's like 5 o'clock in the afternoon." Hiyori replied annoyed, but of course she didn't care if they stayed or went.
"Yeah, yeah… it's better if we go." Kensei said standing up and grabbing Mashiro of the floor like a sack of potatoes, paying special attention to cover her mouth, because the girl was about to talk and surely it will be something like: No, I want to stay!
All the Vizards started to leave, saying their goodbyes to the blonde girl and Shinji followed them to lead them to the door. He stayed with them for a couple of minutes and returned to his chair next to Hiyori's bed.
"Baldy…" The girl looked at him while he examined a magazine Rose had given him, she could read the cover that said 'Court of Pure Souls Correspondence'.
"Hmm?" He said, his eyes not leaving the magazine.
"Is there something wrong?" Honey eyes had stopped looking at him and started looking at her hands.
Damn it! She's starting to notice. Shinji thought, but of course it didn't show in his face. "Ah? What are you talking about Hiyori?" He lied vehemently with a smile in his face. She was about to say something but a knock could be heard at the door.
'
- Second Act: The rest of the Clowns (5:30 – 6:00)
"Good afternoon!"A redhead smiling appeared behind the door.
"Orihime-chan" Shinji greeted her friendly, recognizing the head of the girl and standing up to play a good host.
Imbecile perv. Hiyori wanted to scream, run and hide. What is this human girl doing here? Orihime didn't know her that well anyway… Has the Seretei gotten so bored that the only thing people did was visit her?
Where was Ichimaru Gin, Aizen or any other enemy? Because right about now Hiyori thought dead was a really good option. She looked at her visitor and realized she was wrong. She didn't have one human girl in her room chatting lively with Shinji; she had eight freaking people bothering her at the same time! Hiyori swallowed hard and faced the facts: dead was the ONLY way out.
For some time the injured Vizard had to endure stupid situations between a guy named Keigo and Shinji; yelling between Ichigo, Rukia and the mysterious Shinigami - Abarai Renji-; punches and kicks from a girl named Tatsuki to another named Chizuru, and annoying little comments and apologies to her from Orihime because her stupid powers didn't work.
She was ready to kill someone or herself, because after ALL this torture someone had to die.
Like clockwork, the entire crowd was at the door in exactly 30 minutes giving excuses for their departure, excuses, which Hiyori huge scowling face took gladly.
"Annoying humans." She spat when they had been sent off by Shinji.
A couple of minutes passed and she vented.
"CONFESS YOU DICKHEAD!"The ex-Fukutaichou screamed when he had returned to his chair.
"What?" He said picking back up his magazine that had been forgotten while the humans were visiting Hiyori and ignoring her tumultuous tone.
The blonde girl had endured 30 minutes of torment, so her words could not be voiced calmly.
"Is there a schedule to my visitations?" She said with steel in her voice and hate in her eyes.
Shinji looked at her with an unexpressive glance and then he started to laugh. Not laughing like a silly joke, but practically rolling on the floor at her words. When he was done because she had hit him for not answering fast enough, he replied,
"That injury really messed up your head, ah?" The tall blonde said cleaning the tears leaking from his eyes from laughing too much.
She hit him again, today was not a good day to mess with her.
And then another knock came to the door and she looked at him with fury, but he stood up before anything was said or done to his wellbeing.
'
Third Act: Main Event (6:00 – 8:30)
Hiyori could hear some rough whispering between a couple of voices and Shinji. She tried to move a little to take a peek, but she didn't measure the width of her bed correctly and fell to the floor with a very audible thud.
In a matter of seconds a yellow and black flash was at her side.
"What do you think you are doing?" Shinji's voiced sounded angry and apprehensive.
Hiyori put a guilty smile on her lips and scratched her cheek.
"Eto… " a very uncharacteristic nervous laugh came to her throat.
"I'm glad to see you are well enough to be curious at a conversation, Hiyori-san" A tall light-skinned man with messy, light blonde colored hair and gray eyes that were shadowed by his hat entered into her view along with a beautiful dark-skinned woman with golden-colored eyes and a long purple ponytail.
"Kisuke… Yoruichi" She whispered. She had forgotten about the crazy shop owner.
Her former Taichou dedicated the girl a warm smile and came closer while the woman voiced a "Yo," as a hello. Hiyori stood up with Shinji's help, much to her displeasure and took notice for the first time of a person, no, a thing, that was standing up behind Urahara.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri was in her room in a Captain's haori and a yellow smirk in his face looking straight at her.
"WHAT IN THE HELL is that alien doing here!" She said pointing at him with contempt in her eyes while Shinji was practically pushing her into the bed.
The blonde man whispered into her ear,
"Do not get yourself upset." And his words sounded like an order.
She noticed his tone wasn't normal yet, obviously he hadn't forgotten the fact that she had fallen out of her bed for eavesdropping. But when he detached from her proximity, Hiyori noticed he hadn't let go of one of her hands, holding it tightly and scowling towards the current 12th Division Captain. Shinji was not angry at her for overhearing the conversation or even because she could have gotten herself hurt by falling. Shinji was pissed off at Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
Hiyori swallowed hard and looked at the three men and one woman standing in her room; none was saying anything.
"So…" She voiced as calmly as she could. "What's up?"
"Such horrible language." Mayuri intervened before Urahara could utter a word. "I suppose it's something to be expected of a," and his yellow smirk glowed even more, "half-snotty boy."
"Half?" Hiyori had heard the insult, but for the first time in her life she was more puzzled by the meaning that the intention behind it. However, while the girl had responded in a way none could have expected, the Vizard next to her had let go of her hand and shunpoed in front of Captain with a menacing look.
Hiyori was even more surprised at this, Shinji had lost his patience? Today was the strangest day of her life.
"Hirako-san please." Urahara had stepped between the two men and even before any of them could shoot an insult Yoruichi had grabbed one arm of the Vizard and one of the Taichou and was pulling them to the door.
"Wait Yoruichi… What are you doing?" Shinji was saying, trying to escape her iron grip unsuccessfully. For a being so thin that woman was very strong.
"I think some air will give you two a different perspective of things Shinji. Beside you haven't left this room in a long time, right?" The honey-eyed woman was, at that time, dragging both men out of the room.
"Unacceptable, unacceptable!"Mayuri was screaming outrageously.
The pale blonde accompanied the other three toward the door and said, stopping when they were out of the room,
"Please do not fight in the hallway. Unohana Taichou would be really mad at you and I would not like to be the person who is on her bad side." And with that he closed the door in Shinji's face.
This day just keeps getting better and better.Hiyori thought looking at Kisuke putting the lock on the door.
Urahara smiled and held the little girl's glare with kind eyes "I'm sorry to be so secretive Hiyori-san, but you and I have a lot to talk about."
Secretive? Ah? He must be talking about locking the door She said to herself in her mind, but nodded to indicate that man should continue.
"I do have a lot of things to tell you, but the only thing I ask of you is to wait until I am finished. I thought wrongly, I can see that now, that Hirako-san and Kurotsuchi-san should be here to help you grasp everything I'm about to say. But like usual," Urahara said taking his hat off and placing it on the bedside table and sitting down in Shinji's chair, "I give you less credit of what you deserve".
The ex-Shinigami started telling the story as if it were a tale. Kisuke told her everything about the fight with Aizen since Shinji started fighting him one on one, all through Aizen's encounter with the Taichous that left a girl called Hinamori practically dead, his own encounter with the rouge ex-Shinigami, Ichimaru's betrayal, the brunette's fusion with the Hogyoku, Ichigo's arrival and subsequent loss of his powers and Urahara's kidou sealing Aizen.
"You're a sneaky bastard, you know that?" She replied, surprised that his master plan had worked.
"Don't tell me you're feeling bad for Aizen Sousuke, Hiyori-san."
"OF COUSE NOT!" She screamed enraged and she remembered she must tone it down because probably an idiotic worry addict baldy was outside trying to listen.
"Hmm… but, what is the big deal with me? Did you pull another one of your idiotic strategies and hide Aizen's sealed form in my body?"
"Not funny Hiyori-san." A shadow covered his eyes. She rolled hers.
"Whatever."
"Actually there's a little more. The reason I made Kurotsuchi Mayuri come and I am here explaining these things to you has nothing to do with the war we have just put on hold."
"On hold?"
"Yes, Aizen Sousuke is SEALED not killed in the kidou I used. But please do not sidetrack me to that subject again. The reason I'm here is to let you know something I discovered. But first, I need to remind you of an important lesson: The difference between spiritual pressure and spiritual energy is simple: reiryoku is the amount of energy a being has stored within their body or soul, whereas reiatsu is the pressure that a person's reiryoku exerts. The difference is much like energy and power. Power being the amount of energy exerted per unit of time. Reiryoku is potential while reiatsu is energy in use. A skilled warrior can overcome a person possessing greater Spirit Energy by possessing greater Spiritual Pressure.
"I know all of that you imbecile." The blonde was getting bored with his classroom explanation.
"Well Hiyori-san apparently your body does not. Researching for a method," Her eyes grew big at the use of a word like research,"I mean, looking for something to make your injury heal better and faster, I encountered the fact that for some reason you're not using your total reiryoku on your reiatsu. Obviously, I can only guess at the motive, but I'll have to point out that maybe it was your Hollow's doing."
She sighed with angry eyes.
"And… what are we going to do about it?"
"Actually, we already did it. Hirako-san help you fight your inner Hollow, remember?" When your body recovers completely you'll be able to see the difference in your reiatsu, after all you're a prodigy Hiyori-san."
"Don't call me that." She scowled as she remembered a question she had for him. "Why is Shinji so mad at E.T.?"
Urahara chuckled.
"You should know by now that Hirako-san is always looking after you." His words made her blush.
Yeah, yeah everybody knows now Shinji loves Hiyori and Hiyori loves Shinji… how annoying. She thought.
The shop owner continued with the same amused expression.
"And he overheard Mayuri saying you'll be a perfect experiment in his lab because of your strangeness."
Hiyori got up and started to walk towards the door with an angry expression on her face, her fist in the air and muttering something like, "killing the bug" and "HE calling ME strange," but Urahara grabbed the neck part of her kimono and dragged her to the bed again.
"I know you probably want to kill him, but Hiyori-san right now you had a very busy day and it's better for you to rest."
Hiyori gave him an evil eye, but complied because she was indeed very tired.
'
- Fourth Act: Grand finale (10:30 – 10:35)
"Hiyori, sweetheart I need you to wake up for a moment." Shinji's extremely sweet voice in her ear was waking her out of her dreams.
Did he just call me sweetheart? I am going to punch him when I wake up. She half opened her eyes and stared into Shinji's hazel orbs. "You have visitors, Hiyori." He replied at her look.
The girl re-closed her eyes and took her sheets as a shield from Shinji's hands.
"No, please no more people for today."
"Believe me this 'people' you're going to like to see." He was talking to her in that tone that showed he loved her over everything. Was he proud of the way she was taking what had happened with Aizen? And the problem with her reiatsu? Who knows? Lately Shinji was behaving like a completely different person. She thought, remembering he would have at least punched Mayuri in his creepy face.
Unwillingly she opened her eyes and took the sheets out of her face. Shinji looked at her with a tender smile and made her stand up.
Ok that is different. She voiced in her head while looking at the blonde tall man grabbing one of her hands and began taking her outside her room. They walked a couple of steps outside to a balcony that faced one of the esplanades of the building.
There, before her on the floor of the 4th Division where around 30 to 40 people, all Shinigamis of the 12th Division, Shinigamis that remembered the short, hot tempered, just Fukutaichou.
Her eyes weren't big enough to take in what they were being witness to. A tall black haired eyebrow-less man came to the front and smirked at the blonde girl.
"Can't believe you're still short," and he snickered.
"Akon." Her eyes readjusted and her normal frown was on her face, "Ass! That is no way to speak to a sick person." and she made a rude hand gesture.
"Ano- ano…Sarugaki-san" A dark blue-haired woman with a chain around her forehead talked this time. "We all chipped in and bought you something." She pointed to the enormous bucket of flowers that was been held by a couple of guys. She was so impressed that she didn't even care that there were roses between the gift.
"And there is something we needed to say to you." Akon said.
The 40 members at the same took a bow and said,
"Thank you for your dedication Fukutaichou."
There weren't words to describe what Hiyori's face looked like in that moment. She smiled showing the red blush in her cheeks and looking at her feet she responded,
"Arigatou guys."
So maybe, just maybe the entire show of this circus was something she didn't mind being a participant of.
.
A/N: Phew…. Finally is over. This chapter has been the hardest to write because I had no idea where I was going with it.
So what does Shinji gives to Hiyori? I think frankly he gives her space while Kisuke told her what happened. And he structured her visitors (The schedule was pasted in the main gate of the 4th Division, just so you know, along with what to do and what not do while visiting Hiyori.)
Erase and Rewind? The bad image of SOME Shinigamis. I decided to go with the 12th Division doing something for Hiyori because in spite of her bad temper she was probably a great Fukutaichou and someone had to like her there, right?
Another little note on this story, Seretei, Soul Society and the 13 Squads of Protections DO NOT think Vizards are dangerous, so…no one is going to the Maggots Nest or being executed. In a later chapter we will hear more about it, but I thought it would be important to point out.
I'm updating really early because I'm very happy about the new manga chapter (the one is impossible to fit in this story without really knowing what's going to happen next, impressions on that chapter in the P.S.). I have to apologize guys, but I'm having a bit of a writer's block with 6, hopefully tomorrow I can finish it and send it to my dear beta.
Be sure to check my new story too, it's another Shi/yori (what else is new) called 'If a tree could talk', is about the past and is only 4 parts -2 are already up-.
Love ya
Kate
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P.S. SPOILERS MANGA 422: The silent Victory. FINALLY SOME VIZARD LOVE! And apparently Hiyori is alive, for the moment, or at least she is in one piece. I literally jumped! and BTW Shinji's line totally EPIC!
I'm sorry I needed some venting.