uwaahh...okay...this chapter ain't much either. The story is going so sloowww...uughhh. well, perhaps I should draw some character that will be in this story? Like the way i keep picturing Hanatarou's Bijuu..Hisagomaru-as a gourd flower (maybe i should make her a fairy too?). some OCs that are going to be some of Hanatarou's friends and be in the story alot? hmm hmm.
okay well, yea. as i said, i'm gonna be takin a pretty long time for each chapter. eheheh. Oh, well i guess the voting thingy is done now haha. and winner is pretty much Kenpachi. hmmm this may be hard to do the surprise...but i'll try to make it. Oh yea just a bit of FYI(is this how you use FYIs?)...kukuku...i never did say that the surprise was going to be good now did I? bweehehehehehehhhh demon face
Read and Review pweeaasee!!
Chpt 6- Four Hollows?
Just as the seventh seat medic said, Matsumoto--
"She's waking up!" Orihime came out the strawberry-blonde's room with a large smile. Everyone scrambled into the room as the lieutenant's blue eyes stirred open. Her blurred vision cleared to familiar faces. "Wha…?" she stopped when she saw a familiar orange-haired girl. "Orihime!" she gasped and shot up from her futon. She hissed and clutched the back of her head with pain.
"Please, be careful," Hanatarou said as he went to her side.
"What happened? What…How…?" she grabbed Orihime into a tight hug. "Aizen closed the garganta! How did you all get out?"
"They say it was Yamada," Hitsugaya answered from the doorway, his arms crossed as he leaned on the frame.
"Taichou!" Matsumoto gasped.
"How are you feeling?"
"Just a headache."
Matsumoto looked down at the 4th squad member kneeled by her side, shuffling around his medic bag. "So he was the one who got you all out?"
"Ah," Ichigo affirmed with a nod.
"How?"
"That's what we'd all like to know," Ishida pushed his glasses up.
"H-here," Hanatarou brought his hand out to reveal a small pill, "this should get rid of the headache." Everyone mentally groaned. By now they all noticed how he would duck and dodge questions like they were killer ceros.
Matsumoto accepted the pill and swallowed it dry. "What happened when I was unconscious?" she asked then snapped her fingers. "The war started…then those hollows…What happened to Aizen? Did you get rid of the attacking hollow, Taichou?"
Hitsugaya frowned. "About that… everyone…could you leave us alone for a while?"
Sounds of disapproval, whines, and complaints filled the room.
"I said, could you all leave?" Hitsugaya growled. The room in the temperature dropped to emphasize his annoyance.
They all wordlessly scrambled out the door. Hitsugaya's eyes twitched when he saw one person still left in the room. What is he, deaf?
"Oi…" Hanatarou jumped and slowly turned his head to face the boy. "I would like it if you left the two of us to talk."
Truthfully, Hanatarou didn't want to leave. He was curious to know what happened and didn't want to face another round of "interrogation" from the others that was surely to come. He thought quickly. "U-um, you see…I think it would be best if I checked the wound…while the medicine is working…"
"Can't that wait until later?"
"Oh, just let him stay, Captain!" Matsumoto rolled her eyes. "Whatever you're going to say can't be that bad."
Hitsugaya pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "All right…but…" A threatening glare to Hanatarou. "I don't want you to repeat what you hear to the others, or else it may cause some confusion." Hanatarou nodded and began to remove the bandages from Matsumoto's forehead. "So what is it?" Matusmoto asked. She teasingly patted a spot next to her as if telling the boy captain to sit down.
Hitsugaya didn't budge from his position on the doorway. "When you were knocked unconscious, the hollow was about to finish you off….I almost didn't make it." Matsumoto's bubbly persona grew somber as she watched her captain. He was being too hard on himself again. "The one who saved you, Matsumoto," his gaze met hers, "…was Ichimaru Gin."
Light blue eyes widened with shock and confusion. Now she understood why her captain wanted Hanatarou to leave. "…Ichimaru…Gin?!" the vice-captain gasped.
Hanatarou paused in the middle of his check-up. 'The traitor, Ichimaru Gin?' He resumed his activity slowly as he listened.
"I…I don't understand, Taichou…Why would he…?"
"I don't know either…I just thought I should tell you."
There was a pause.
"Matsumoto," he pushed himself off from the doorway, "just because he helped us this once doesn't change that he is still a traitor and a threat to Soul Society. Remember that." He slowly left the room, leaving behind his confused fukutaichou and a medic.
Hanatarou dabbed at the wound, now a small gash that was barely noticeable underneath the silky curls, with antiseptic. "The wound is almost gone," he commented quietly. "It should heal fine without the bandages." He looked at it one more time before he packed his white bag.
"Alright, thanks Hanatarou," Matsumoto said.
He gave her one last look before he closed the door behind him.
Matsumoto sighed in the empty room and a hand through her hair. Her lips trembled and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. Her heart tore itself with confusion between the pale-haired boy who offered her the dried persimmon and the man deemed traitor
"Sayonara, Rangiku…Gomen."
"Gin," she whispered, "what goes on inside that head of yours?"
'Huh? Where did everyone go?' Hanatarou thought. He looked around the shop and finally went outside to see Urahara, Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, and Nell outside the shop.
"Ano…"
"What is it?" Urahara asked.
"Where is everyone?"
"They split up to look for the hollows we told them about," Jinta answered.
"It's dangerous…" Ururu cast worried eyes out onto the roads.
"They probably won't find any," Yoruichi assured. "I scouted around and haven't seen anything suspicious as of yet."
"But, but what if they do get hurt?" Nell frowned.
Urahara's eyes glinted. "I know!" He put his hands on Hanatarou's shoulders. "Let's send him out!"
"…" Everyone gave him a deadpanned look.
"What's he gonna do?" Jinta crossed his arms. "Slap a hollow with that bag?"
The shop owner wagged a finger, "No, no, no. He's a medic! A medic's job is to heal. If we're all so worried about them getting hurt, why not send a medic? "
Hanatarou pointed a finger at himself. "M-me?"
"Yes, you!"
Urahara pushed him onto the road and waved him off. "If you see any of them, tell them to come back before dinner!"
Hanatarou didn't know what to do. Was the man serious or was he joking? He looked at the road, which divided in three ways. 'I guess I'll just take the middle one,' and started his search.
"Kisuke…" Yoruichi a vein twitched. "If that boy runs into danger, he wouldn't survive!"
"Oh, don't worry! He'll be fine, I'm sure!"
The little medic looked here and there for any signs of the group. 'I hope nothing comes out, and that I'll find someone soon!' He perked up when he felt a familiar reiatsu and ran towards it. There he saw Ichigo in his shinigami form standing on a roof.
"Kurosaki-san!"
"What the-!" Ichigo jumped down in front of him. "What are you doing here, Hanatarou? It's dangerous."
"Ah ha ha…yea…" Hanatarou laughed nervously. "He sent me out to find one of you and I guess be the healer of the group if there is trouble."
"That sandal-hat…!" Ichigo huffed. "Well, you're already here so it'd be best to stick with me for now."
They looked together for a the hollows but had no luck.
"I don't think there are any hollows," Hanatarou thought aloud.
"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "Everyone else is probably back at the shop. Let's head back, Hanatarou."
As they turned, Hanatarou felt the back of his hair raise up as he felt evil waves of chakra. 'Chakra?' he thought. It came from a corner down the streets. Along with it he also felt two strange energies.
'Four hollows?' Hanatarou bit his lip. If it was, he wasn't confident he would be able to take them on and, if the hollows were as strong as Yoruichi-san said, knew even Ichigo would have a hard time.
"W-we should run," Hanatarou advised.
Ichigo didn't hear him and continued to stare at the direction of the energy flow. "Could it…?" he mumbled then dashed across the street.
"Kurosaki-san!" Hanatarou shouted. He gulped, "W-wait for me!" and ran after him.
They skidded to a stop to take in the scene before them.
There was a girl with blonde-pigtails and freckles who stood in-between an injured man and two humanoid hollows. The girl was mildly injured with cuts and scratches while the man had more serious wounds. He clutched onto the wall for support and blew his blood-matted, blond hair out of his face.
Hanatarou would have been fooled to think that the two were shinigamis except for one thing. The white masks on their faces. The man's mask was falling bit by bit, revealing light brown eyes and a frown that revealed large white teeth, but retained its pharaoh-like shape. The girl glared yellow eyes from behind a horned demon's mask.
"Arrancar?!" Hanatarou gasped. "What are they doing here?"
"No, they're not…" Ichigo stopped himself. He almost forgot that Orihime and Urahara were the only ones who knew of the vizards and his demon side. If Soul Society found out he himself was a vizard, what would they do? Even Orihime was scared when she first saw the cruel mask replace his face in Hueco Mundo.
'But she accepted it in the end, ya know, King?' the distorted voice in his head said.
'You!'
'Besides,' it gave a high pitched cackle, 'if he tries to rat us out, all we have to do is kill him!'
'No! I can never kill a friend! Never!'
'…Tsk, still naive…'
The hollows' tongues lolled out as they panted, too. One had a feline-like mask and held two daggers while the other had a simple, plain mask and twirled its set of kunais.
"So hungry…" the feline hollow whined.
"Patience, brother, patience. It's hard to eat food when it squirms about," its glowing eyes leered at the blonde girl. "I'll take the girl. You take the one behind her."
The girl panted, "Sick freaks!" She glanced at the man. "Oi…the hell are…you doin', Shinji? Get your ass up…and lend me a hand! This is all your fault… to begin with."
"No, it's not…my fault those damn things just decided…to jump me from behind!" Shinji's legs collapsed and he slid off the wall. The feline hollow took that chance to attack the unconscious prey.
"Get away from him!" a sandaled foot kicked the hollow a distance away from the man. "Dumbass, this isn't the time to sleep!"
The girl sprinted to Shinji's side when a flash of white intercepted her. "Oomph!" her stomach made contact with a white elbow and she felt the wind get knocked out of her. She cried out when a kunai slashed her thigh.
"Hiyori!" Ichigo shouted. "Damnit!"
He clenched his fist and made up his mind: this wasn't the time to be hesitant. He put his hand over his face.
Hanatarou watched with awe as white particles swirled around Kurosaki's face. The hand whipped away to reveal a skull visor. 'That mask! Didn't I throw it away back in the sewers?' He shivered when he felt the raw power surge about the orange-haired boy. Ichigo's head turned to face him with downward eyes.
Ichigo turned his head, almost hesitantly, to Hanatarou. He tried to look at the boy's face but found himself unable to. Even though Orihime accepted this side of him now, he could never forget the look in her eyes when she first saw him like this. The fear that he was the cause of, it hurt him to think about it. He never wanted to see that look in anyone's eyes again.
"Hanatarou…you wait here and be safe."
The boy nodded dumbly as he watched Ichigo take off to fight the hollows. The feline one made several swipes at the teen and managed to land two. Ichigo hissed when he felt the cuts on his arms.
"Ichigo!" Hiyori shouted. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think?" came a muffled reply. "Hiyori, take Shinji and get away! I'll take care of them." He blocked an attack and pushed the hollow away. He was already taking heavy damages from the battle. Wounds scattered here and there all over his body after a matter of minutes.
Hanatarou watched the fight numbly. 'Those masks…If you think about it…they don't look much different from our own masks…' He shook his head and watched the girl, Hiyori, flash to Shinji's side. 'They're…Ichigo-san's friends, right?' He looked left to right until he deemed it to be safe, and jogged across the road to them. Hiyori noticed him and raised a sword at him threateningly.
"What the hell is a shinigami doing here?" golden eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"U-um…" Hanatarou took a step back and held his hands up submissively.
They both looked up when they heard a yowl. Ichigo slashed a large wound on the feline hollow. It pushed itself up feebly and staggered forward when it was stopped by a clawed hand. "No, let me take care of this one. He's stronger than he looks."
Ichigo gaped in surprise. Yoruichi was right, the hollows…acted so human. But then again, they were originally human spirits… They even, he thought almost sadly, seem pretty close.
"What are you saying?" the bloody hollow wheezed.
"I'm saying you should back down. Back down from this battle, you wouldn't survive."
The hollow growled but did as it as was told. It disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the two fighters to themselves.
"That was awfully nice of you to do that," Ichigo smirked.
The hollow snorted and flung a shower of kunais. Ichigo's eyes widened and brought his arm up to protect his head. His arms received most of the damage, one struck his arm. He clenched his teeth and took it out. When he looked up his face met a fist. He tried to regain his balance but the hollow was quicker. It landed blow after blow of kicks and punches.
"Ichigo-san!" Hanatarou shouted. He wanted to help in any way then thought of an idea. His eyes searched the street until they found a jagged rock. He picked it up and weighed it in his hand. Looking up he pulled his arm back, aimed, then let the sharp stone fly from his hand. It soared through the air and hit its target. The hollow stopped its array of attacks on Ichigo when it felt the small rock bounce off its head. It growled and twisted its head to glare at the boy who threw it. Ichigo took the chance and raised his Zangetsu up into the air. "Yosh!" The hollow's eyes widened when it realized its mistake and turned to the enemy seconds too late. The black sword sliced down the hollow cleanly in half. With a wail and shower of blood, it disintegrated into the air.
Ichigo took a deep breath and sighed. "Whew! That was tough…but I think the espadas were harder to deal with," he said lightly.
He quickly shunpoed down to Hiyori and Shinji with Hanatarou behind him.
"Hiyori-"
"Don't come near!"
Ichigo was taken aback, a twinge of hurt in his eyes. The masks on the two wounded melted away revealing their faces: Shinji's long face, his eyes closed, and Hiyori's freckled face. Hiyori narrowed her eyes and snapped, "What the hell are you doing, bringing a shinigami in recklessly and just showing off your vizard form like that in front of him, huh?!"
Hanatarou was confused but stayed silent when he saw the guilt on Ichigo's face.
"I know it wasn't smart to do that but I couldn't just pretend I didn't know you guys and let those hollows kill you!"
"You're damn right it wasn't smart! What are we going to do, now that a shinigami knows about us?"
Ichigo replied, "Hanatarou's a medic, he can heal you guys. Look, it's probably going to be dangerous if we stay here so we should go to the hideout. There, Hanatarou can safely heal you up."
"Are you crazy! You think we're going to let him know where our hideout is and tell-"
"Hiyori!" Shinji rasped.
The argument silenced as the blond mumbled. "Just…let him in…"
Hiyori's hazel eyes widened. "But Shinji, he's-"
"Doesn't matter…Besides…something like this was bound to happen one day or another…" He fell unconscious again.
Hiyori chewed her lips then sneered, "Fine!" She pulled him up to a piggy-back and dashed away in a cloud of smoke. The lanky body on her billowed out like a flag, unconscious and unable to anchor its arm around the girl's neck.
"She's going to kill him like that…" Ichigo muttered.
"Um…Ichigo-san…"
Ichigo turned to Hanatarou.
"What…just happened?"
The substitute-shinigamis frowned. What does Hanatarou think of him now? Will he even come to help heal Hiyori and Shinji?
"Hanatarou…will you help them?" Ichigo asked. "They're…friends of mine. I'll explain on the way…"
Hanatarou saw how the teen in front of him tensed. He saw the fear of rejection yet a flicker of hope for acceptance. 'Monsters…demons…' he thought. 'Everybody has one, right? I should know first-hand.' He gave a small smile.
"I am a medic. It's my job to heal any wounds for a comrade."
Ichigo's shoulders sagged with relief and he gave a warm smile.
"Thanks, Hanatarou."
"…Killed him…They killed him…" Glowing red eyes full of anguish and hate watched the two shinigamis depart from the area of battle through the foiliage. They turned to the puddle of blood that was left behind.
"I'll never forgive them…Never!… Monsters…murderers…" The eyes landed on the shorter one's back. "It's his fault! He distracted Brother!!" It wailed. Fangs gnashed together in fury before the hidden hollow dashed away to seek revenge.
ahaha...whoa...that's it? ahaha, every chapter looks so short whenever i upload them on this...they look a bit longer on Word Processor...okay anyways, any typos or mistakes? sorry if the story is not moving much(again). but i did try to put some action...which was sort of a fail for me haha...anybody notice how i keep recycling adjectives and verbs? yea...i can't think of any good words! and every time i read Once and Future King I'm like "woow...description's good!" okay well...yea...
The vizards make an entrance! and Ichigo's hollow! (just call him...Hichigo? Shiro? Nobody? bwahaha No-Name!) okay well yea...oh..is it just me or did my lil feline hollow kinda remind anybody of Kadaj from FF7:Advent Children? for anybody who's seen it ..haha..Kadaj...such a brother-complex