Uwaahhh! sorry, peops if this chapter is kinda...blargh. but hey, I just want to get them out and over with and get the story moving along. anyways, finished Band Camp and I...still...haven't made it to the middle of my summer books! AAARRGHH I admit defeat! i'm just gon go to Sparknotes! yea! Well, so far the leading characters on my mini "vote" thing is Ichigo and Kenpachi. voting is still open until...perhaps one..two more chapters? haha well on to the story!
Chpt 5- Back
It was early in the morning, fog shrouding the ground like a gentle blanket. The air was cool as rain drizzled from the sky. A woman emerged into a small clearing carrying a small child in her arms. A long gray scarf was loosely wrapped around her neck and covered her head like a hood. She was a cautious deer, checking for any signs of danger with her sharp eyes. The child in her arms was wrapped in a warm bundle, his head uncovered as he enjoyed the light shower. His eyes fluttered, the rhythm of the rain softly beating on his head tempting him to sleep, but stubbornly stayed open to take in the unknown area around them. They waited for a while until a man dressed in a dark cloak, the hood covering half of his face, came out to greet them.
"You came," a greedy grin formed on the stranger's lips.
The woman pulled down the scarf to uncover her head, revealing cold gray-blue eyes. "Let's get this over with," she snapped.
The boy looked back and forth between the two as they exchanged their conversation in harsh whispers. He let out a yawn and rested his head at the crook of the lady's neck, wondering why he was woken from his slumber at such an early hour. He froze when he felt a chill down his spine and looked up against the drizzle to see cold, malicious eyes stare back at him.
"So we have deal then?" the man asked, his eyes never leaving the boy.
The woman tightened her grip on the child then lowered him down. His feet touched the earth, softened by the falling water, waking him from his daze. Her hands on his shoulders slowly turned him around to face the suspicious figure. A triumphant smile lit up on the man's face as he held his hand out. The boy stared at the man's pale, outstretched hands then turned his head back with confused eyes, silently asking the lady what to do. The hands on his shoulders gently pushed him forward, causing him to stumble and instinctively grab a hold of the hand in front of him.
The pale fingers clamped tight in a vice grip and pulled him towards the man. With a harsh whisper, "You…will be coming with me now…" The hooded man began to walk in the opposite direction, tugging the dazed boy with him. Before the fog consumed him, the boy turned his head to look back at the woman behind him. Confused, innocent eyes searched for answers as he was dragged away. He blinked sleepily, fear creeping up as the woman slowly became more and more obscured by the rain and fog.
"…Okaasan…?"
Hanatarou winced as his eyes gradually opened, adjusting to the light that seeped into the room from the window. '..Ah…we did it,' he thought as he stared at the ceiling. The bijuu residing in him was silent. 'Probably sleeping, I bet.' He forced his tired body sit up and stretched. A yawn came out as he did so. "How long was I asleep?" he murmured. He stood up shakily, still not fully recovered from his chakra being drained, and slid the door open. He heard talking in the kitchen and went in. Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia, Renji, Ishida, Chad, Hitsugaya sat on the floor around a large, low table eating. When they saw him, the clatter of the bowls and chopsticks paused from shock. Only Urahara and Tessai seemed to have been expecting him. The black cat in-between the two was sleeping.
"Oh," he blinked and bowed. "Um…Good morning, everyone?"
Immediately, they surrounded him and bombarded questions at once.
"That was amazing by what you did two days ago!"
"What did you do?"
"How come you never showed that kind of power?"
"Now, now, everyone, give him some room to breath. You can ask questions a bit later," Urahara interrupted as he stood up and came by. He put a hand on Hanatarou's shoulder and set him down on a cushion on the floor by the table. "I'm sure he's also hungry."
Hanatarou picked the foods with his chopstick and put them in his mouth, chewing nervously as eyes stared at him. What is this, an interrogation? "Um…so I have been asleep for two days?"
"Ah," Hitsugaya affirmed. "Matsumoto hasn't woken up yet either."
"What happened to her?" he asked and flinched when the captain's icy gaze fell upon him. He observed the way the captain's aquamarine eyes gazed past him, as if remembering whatever happened. There was anger and…confusion in his eyes. 'Something bad must have happened,' he thought.
Hitsugaya replied in a low voice, "A… slight trauma to the head. She just needs some rest."
"M-maybe I can look at her and see if there is anything I can do to help," he suggested in hopes to lift up the captain's spirit a bit.
"…Thank you," Histugaya nodded and turned back to finishing his lunch.
The meek shinigami resumed eating some more but paused when he saw some people missing. "Where is Taichou and Fukutaichou? Kuchiki-taichou, Abarai-san, Kurotsutchi-taichou, and his fuku-taichou are also gone."
"They went back to Soul Society," Orhime started.
"Nii-sama, Renji, and the other captains are reporting back to the general about the events in Las Noches," Rukia finished, "and that we are all safe."
"Zaraki-taichou and Kusajishi-fukutaichou?" Hanatarou yelped when he felt a pinch on his arm. It was Yachiru with Kenpachi looming behind.
"Just call me Yachiru!" the girl pouted.
"..Ya..chiru..-san," he said slowly.
She smiled, "Yay!" and grabbed Nell's hands, dragging her away to find Jinta and Ururu to play with. "They should be sweeping out front!" Urahara hollered after them.
"Damn," Kenpachi tsked as he dropped into a chair. "Nothing. I can't find any of those hollows you talked about."
"Eh?" Hanatarou was confused. Everyone filled him in on the events that happened: the strange hollows, postponing of the war, etc. Before he could digest the information, Ichigo asked hesitantly, "Hey, Hanatarou…about that power…" Ishida sighed and said, "What Kurosaki is trying to say is: what was that power you used?"
"How come you never used it until now?" Orihime added.
Hanatarou ate a bit faster, stuffing his mouth to delay himself from answering. They waited for him to finish his meal, expectant eyes barely leaving their target.
Chad watched as he ate slowly. He remembered hearing talk of the boy, how he was weak and bullied. If he had such powers, couldn't he defend himself with it?
Though Hanatarou's trick worked on them, it didn't work on the grownups of the building. Tessai, Urahara, and Yoruichi barely caught the flicker of fear in time before the kid ducked his head.
"So…Hanatarou…" the Geta Boushi slowly started. "If you don't mind me asking, who…or should I say…what…are you?"
It became silent again as everyone stared strangely at the man. Hanatarou's chopsticks froze midway before the rice reached his mouth.
"Eh?" Ichigo mumbled with food still in his mouth. "What are you talking about? Hanatarou is Hanatarou."
"Who else would he be?" Rukia scoffed.
"I said 'what' not 'who,'" Urahara pointed out. "I became very curious when I was told how you 'magically created a portal,' and I would really like to know how you did it. I'm sure everyone else wants answers as well."
Hanatarou chewed his last bit of rice and swallowed before he lifted his head up with a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry but…I don't really know how to answer that question. I'm just a seventh seat medic." He turned to Hitsugaya and said, "If it's okay, maybe I can go check up on Matsumoto-san?" Hitsugaya nodded and began to lead the way. Hanatarou put down his chopsticks, "Thank you for the food." He looked at the others, "S-sorry, but could the questions be saved for later?" Then off he went, stumbling after the shorter boy.
"Hmph, I really wanted him to ask him some questions," Ishida pouted. The Quincy stood up to help clean the table with the other teens.
"Tenchou…" Tessai started.
"He is hiding something," Yoruichi mumbled as her golden eyes peeked open halfway.
"How was your nap?" Urahara asked.
The cat stretched her front paws as she yawned, "Good, good." She watched the teenagers talk and laugh as they cleaned up the dishes. "Kisuke," she glanced at the said man and said in a low voice, "something is strange about that brat. Something seems different about him than last time he came here ." Urahara's gaze was lingering at the retreating figure of the current topic. "I barely noticed it, too. I swear…I could feel a different…reiatsu?…mixed with his own." He shook his head and stood up with a goofy smile. "Well," he patted his pants, "we'll just have to wait until the time is right now don't we?"
Meanwhile in Las Noches…
The espadas were restless, fidgetting in their seats at the meeting table. The empty seats left them uneasy. "I can't believe even Ulquiorra was taken out," Stark scratched the back of his head. Halibel sipped her tea silently and Barragan sat frowning. Aizen had his chin propped against his hand as he stirred his tea pensively. His face was the utter portrayal of calmness: emotionless, no sign of panic or distress as if the escape of the captives in Las Noches didn't bother him one bit, the faint smile on his lips that rivaled the Mona Lisa's. Ichimaru and Tousen stood near the entrance. There was a projection in the middle of the table replaying the attack of the new hollows.
"So, what now?" Stark asked.
"The war is postponed until these new…disturbances are taken care of." Aizen replied.
"What are we going to do with them?"
"Nothing. Why do anything when we can just let Soul Society take care of them. We will simply observe these new species. Someone is definitely behind their sudden appearance. If we can get whoever it is on our side, perhaps these hollows will be useful additions to our family."
Halibel's grip on her tea tightened. One of her own fraccion was injured by them and for Aizen to suggest them to be a part of their "family"…! She sighed mentally. Even if she were to protest against the idea of letting those incontrollable savages in to Las Noches, it wasn't as if he'd give a damn. Aizen was the god in this world, his word is law. She remembered the last meeting when that fool Grimmjow acted out of line.
Soon the meeting ended. The espadas were given the orders to "use the postponing of the war to their advantage." To "think of it as a small vacation and time for any needed improvements." Also, "report anything that may be linked to the new hollows."
Aizen, Gin, and Ichimaru were the only ones left in the dark meeting room. The leader replayed the scene of the hollow attack again and again with interest.
"Aizen-sama…" Tousen said.
"What is it, Kaname?"
"It is about Ichimaru's uncalled behavior when he helped the enemy-"
"Again, again with suspicions," Gin pouted. "Ya should really learn to trust people, Tousen!"
"I am sure," Aizen interrupted before the two could clash, "that he had a good explanation. Isn't that right, Gin?"
The fox-face gave a sly smile and said, "O' course! I just couldn't let that mean ol' hollow take away my prey like that." He glanced at the blind man. "No one… touches, more o' less kill them,… except fo' me…! Well," Gin gave a large shrug. "That's it! Good enough isn't it, Sousuke?"
Aizen's lips twitched up to a faint smile and he nodded. "I'll overlook it this time, Gin…" The excused man grinned and put his hands together so that his sleeves fully covered them, and walked away whistling.
"Aizen-sama…" Tousen said.
"Don't worry, Kaname. Instead, why don't you help me look for more data on these new specimens?"
Tousen bowed, "Yes, Aizen-sama!" and disappeared.
Aizen sipped his tea in the dark. The screen in front of him created an eerie glow as he smiled. "This…will be interesting."
Hanatarou followed the ice-captain to the room that was in front of his. The door was pushed aside to reveal the unconscious vice captain. Her eyes were closed in peaceful sleep and her wavy hair gently framed her face. On the back of her head was a gauze, secured by bandages wrapped around her forehead. "Did you change them?" he asked and got a nod.
"Her wounds are all healed," Hitsugaya informed. "but the wound on her head is still healing. The medic said she just needs rest but…"
Hanatarou nodded; he wouldn't need his medic bag then. He leaned down, closed his eyes, and put glowing emerald hands up to the strawberry-blonde's head. They gently skimmed over the area of the injury.
"Well, the medic didn't overlook anything," he said. "It is healing just fine, but if you would like I can help it go faster."
"Do whatever you can."
Hanatarou went back to his patient's head. If he had Hisagomaru he could heal the gash in a snap but he didn't. 'Should I?' he thought. If he used his chakra he could probably have her well enough to regain consciousness by tomorrow. He glanced at the captain who stood near the doorway. 'If I let out too much Hitsugaya-taichou would surely notice.' Praying that the taichou wouldn't notice, he concentrated some chakra into his hands, lightly turning to a darker shade of emerald. He discreetly healed the wound through the gauze until he left it small enough to be healed in one night.
"U-um…" he sweated.
"Is something wrong?" Histugaya straightened up with ready alert.
"Oh! No, no, she's fine. I was just about to say that I w-was finished."
"Oh," Hitsugaya relaxed. With a curt nod and, "Thank you," he left. Hanatarou's shoulders sagged with relief. After he fixed the blanket on the female vice-captain, he also left, unaware of gleaming eyes watching him through the window.
Bright gleaming eyes watched its target until he was out of sight. "Found him!" Its chakra was lowered to where whoever noticed would have thought it to be a harmless bird in a tree. "It's still daylight," it grumbled. "Che, I'll just come back later." With that the small figure slinked away and disappeared into the shadows of the leaves.
Yay, done! please Read and review! srry if this is a dull ; but oh well! lol. the next chapters may take longer to upload cause of school starting so just sit tight!