Fire Melts His Ice

Here we are with Chapter 7. Um yeahs, sorry but the process is kinda slow. I don't really have time to write fanfics anymore. But I'll try! Really try! I love this story of mine whether you people do or not :D

Unappreciated Reunion

The night was silent and full of tension. Hitsugaya stepped out into the cold wind. He could definitely feel it. A strange, roving presence nearby, walking the streets of Soul Society, possibly waiting for more souls to kill. Hitsugaya's intuition told him it was the man Yamamoto had spoken of. He had to be on his guard tonight. It was too much of a risk to leave the division quarters and give an open chance for assaults, even though strong barriers had been put up.

After a while, Hitsugaya decided to go back in. Just as he was about to put his foot in the doorway, he felt the slightest, barely noticeable twitch in the atmosphere. Instinctively, his hand shot to his hilt. The leaves of the bush behind rustled, and he whipped his head around. As soon as he turned around, he quickly turned back and unsheathed his sword to block the blade that was fast on its way to his face.

Hitsugaya jumped back. The attacker raised his blade. In the next second, he shot forward and thrust his sword at Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya warded off the blows as quickly as they were coming. In between the exchanging of blows, he hissed, "Who the hell are you?"

The man didn't answer. He jumped back, his feet scraping the grass-dusted floor.

"Who are you?" Hitsugaya repeated. "If you don't tell me, I will kill you faster than you can blink."

The man spoke. "I suppose there's no point in telling you since you'll be dead soon," he sneered. "but I'll tell you anyway. I am Ikeuchi Asou, the man who will not let anyone pass him alive."

"Really." Hitsugaya raised his brow in silent contempt.

Hitsugaya saw the gleam of Ikeuchi's blade. A split-second later, it clashed with his own sword. Hitsugaya kicked him in the stomach, and brought his sword down. Ikeuchi quickly fended it off.

Just as Hitsugaya was about to release his shikai, a voice called out from the dark.

"Toushirou-kun!"

Damn, Hitsugaya thought. What's she doing here?

Hotaru leapt out of the bushes, clutching her sword. "I thought I sensed something wrong, and you weren't in your office, so I came to find you!"

"Go back inside," he ordered. "You don't want to be out here now."

"Yes, scram, little girl. Don't interrupt us, eh, Hotaru-chan?" Ikeuchi said, a smirk forming on his face.

Hotaru...chan?

Hotaru turned to face the stranger who had said her name. She took a look at his face and her sword slipped out from her hands. It fell on to the grass, but she took no notice.

Hitsugaya was slightly perturbed, but he didn't have any time to waste. He lashed out his sword in a flash, ready to take Ikeuchi on again.

But his sword never got to even touch Ikeuchi's. Instead, it clashed with Hotaru's, which made a shrill, piercing sound. Hotaru had used shunpo to dash in front of Ikeuchi to block the attack. For a while, there was a tense silence.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hitsugaya said, in a voice that normally made some people blanch.

Hotaru stared straight back at him. She had a look of both defiance and desperation in her eyes, a look that Hitsugaya had never seen in her before. Her brow was furrowed, and she was biting her lip. Behind her, Ikeuchi smiled smugly.

"Hotaru, get out of the way!" Hitsugaya barked.

"No." Hotaru gripped her hilt.

"I said, GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Hitsugaya shouted, his temper and confusion rising. He was frustrated and perplexed with Hotaru's sudden rebellion.

"I WON'T!" She yelled back, ducking her head.

"Why are you doing this? You're protecting the enemy. It's my job to kill the man responsible for so many assaults!"

"Don't you dare," Hotaru gasped, her eyes suddenly blazing. "Don't you dare hurt my brother!"

Hitsugaya stiffened with shock. Brother...Hotaru's brother...Ikeuchi is her brother? The one she said was dead? His mind raced with questions.

He tried to remained composed. He bore his gaze straight into Hotaru's eyes. Hitsugaya would have to turn this reckless girl's thinking straight, or it could be her downfall soon.

"Whoever he is, brother or not, he is the enemy." Hitsugaya pointed his sword at Ikeuchi, who was still staring coldly at them. "He is the one blacklisted in the whole of Soul Society, and it is our duty to bring him down. I don't want any personal issues to come between this."

For a moment, Hotaru's jaw quivered. Then she spoke, her voice calm and steady.

"You think you're so right," she said. "You think just because you're my superior so you can give me all this pompous crap. But you're just a single-minded, workaholic, pathetic person who doesn't have any humane feelings whatsoever. You don't know anything at all. YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME OR MY BROTHER, SO SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Hotaru drew back her sword and leapt at Hitsugaya. Their swords clashed. Hitsugaya was appalled at her sudden show of fury. Who did she think she was? A criminal was standing right before them and she was letting him go --

Just as he was in the middle of his thoughts, Ikeuchi sheathed his sword. "I see there is no use in continuing a fight now," he said. "I shall return when you are alone, captain."

With that, he disappeared into the night. Hitsugaya was filled with sudden anger. He drove Hotaru back with all his strength, snarling, "You're going to regret this!"

If he wanted to see Hotaru's powers, it was now. He had done more than enough to provoke her. And he was right. Hotaru suddenly released a huge amount of spiritual energy. An orange glow surrounded her, and the tip of her sword burst into flames. Hitsugaya remembered this as the fiery release of her shikai. Except this time it seemed stronger than it was the last time Hotaru had used it. Hitsugaya suddenly didn't want to make her release her bankai and create more chaos. What was he thinking, wanting to test her powers? There was more than enough to deal with already. He had to put a stop to this immediately, even if he had to release his own shikai.

"Soten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!" The sky turned completely black and the ice dragon roared behind Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya dove towards Hotaru, aiming his blade.

Hotaru deftly spun her sword, and released a huge ball of fire at him. Hitsugaya slashed it aside. The one second of distraction was all it took for Hotaru to appear directly at his face and apply a blow to his face. Suddenly, there was a thin gash running across his cheek from the nose to the ear. Blood dripped down and Hitsugaya stood, furious with himself. He couldn't help it though, Hotaru's shunpo was fast beyond anyone's he'd seen. Her speed matched that of Yoruichi, maybe even faster. Why was she so powerful? Her abilities surpassed that of any 3rd seat. It was strange that she hadn't been made a captain. Hitsugaya's mind flicked back to the time he had come across her papers.

Special Request. The two words that had been on her papers. Hitsugaya had never been more curious to find out the meaning of it. But if it wasn't enough, he had an escaped intruder to deal with. And Hotaru had let him go just like that.

Filled with a sudden blaze of anger, Hitsugaya surged forward and blindly slashed at Hotaru. She had been trying to find an attack spot, and was distracted momentarily. Hitsugaya's attack hit her directly at her torso. Just like that, the flame evaporated from the hilt of her zanpakutou, and it dulled in colour. Hotaru's mouth was open with shock, and she fell to the ground.

For a moment, Hitsugaya wondered if he had gone too far. But when he reached her, he saw that her eyes were still blazing with fury and pure hatred.

"It's your own fault," he said coldly. "You allowed the intruder to escape, and it is my right as your superior to punish you." Though as he said the words himself, deep down he felt somewhat unsure of himself. He wasn't exactly guilty, but he hadn't meant to hurt her, really.

Hotaru's head was lowered. Her fists were clenched tightly. "Get the hell out of my sight," She said. She refused to look up.

"Hotaru," Hitsugaya began.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Hotaru shouted. She looked up and hit Hitsugaya's gaze with a glare full of anger and hatred.

Hitsugaya turned and walked back to the division quarters. Once he was inside, he slammed his fist of the table. There was so many things going through his mind. Ikeuchi was the main problem, and then now Hotaru. He was still trying to go through the fact the Ikeuchi was the brother Hotaru had spoken of so reverently. As he mulled over it, he glanced out the window. It had started raining. Hotaru was kneeling in the grass, her face lowered to her knees. Her sword was lying beside her. Hitsugaya looked away. He didn't want to deal with this.

***************

Hotaru lay in the grass, trying to blot out the pain in her abdomen. The wound wasn't that serious, but she was still livid. And she was so confused too. That had been her brother, wasn't it? She was sure of it. And he'd recognized her too. So why hadn't her brother been overjoyed to see her? She had been shocked, but she had also been immensely pleased that the brother she thought was dead had just appeared before her. In fact, scratch pleased. She had been utterly ecstatic. But then that Toushirou-kun just had to ruin everything. He'd ruined their reunion with each other. Hotaru didn't care that her brother had done some bad deeds, it didn't give Toushirou-kun the right to strike him down. She wanted to protect him, to be with him once more. But everything had gone wrong.

Hotaru suddenly felt like crying. More than anything, she wanted her brother. She wanted to hug him, to tell him that she cherished her brother more than anyone else in the world. She missed her brother, who had protected and loved her.

"Onii-tama," Hotaru sobbed. "Come back, please come back. I don't care what you've done. Onii-tama!"

Suddenly, someone stepped in front of Hotaru. Hotaru looked up. It couldn't be...it was her brother. "Onii-tama!" she cried.

His expression was soft and kind, just as she remembered it. He held out his arms. Unable to control herself, Hotaru dragged herself up and threw herself into his open arms. She hugged him tightly, half-sobbing, half-smiling. "Onii-tama...onii-tama!" Hotaru looked up at him, beaming. "I've missed you so much! I'm so happy...so happy you're alive...I'm so happy..."

Her brother smiled down at her. "I'm glad," He said, stroking the top of her head. "I'm glad that you've been safe all this while. But tell me, Hotaru-chan. Why are dressed in shinigami clothes and wielding a sword?"

"Huh?" Hotaru looked up, puzzled.

Suddenly, there was a horrible, stabbing sound. Blood spurted into the air, and fell on Hotaru's face. She stood there, stunned. Hotaru looked down. There was a sword plunged into her stomach. She looked up at her brother. The warm, loving gaze had been replaced by a cool stare. As she took it all in, the pain started to double up in her, and she gasped.

"You broke a promise." Her brother pushed Hotaru roughly to the ground. "But that's actually the least of my issues."

"Onii...tama...?" Hotaru whispered, tears starting to trickle down the sides of her face. She couldn't move, she couldn't talk anymore.

And then everything went black.

**********

The cold night wind brushed past Hitsugaya as he sped as fast as he could towards where Hotaru had fallen. He had been thinking hard about how to track down Ikeuchi, and then he'd seen Ikeuchi himself appear before Hotaru. Before he had time to contemplate whether or not he should step in, Ikeuchi had attacked Hotaru without warning.

Hitsugaya reached the place where Ikeuchi was still standing over Hotaru's limp body, panting slightly.

"What did you do to her?" He said aggressively.

Ikeuchi ignored him, and wiped his blade. Hitsugaya whipped his zanpakutou out and directed a blow at him. He was sickened by his presence, and he wanted to kill him more than ever.

It seemed that Ikeuchi's shunpo ability was on par with his sister's. He instantly shifted himself, and Hitsugaya sliced thin air.

"You're wasting your time," Ikeuchi said still not looking at Hitsugaya. "Just like this sister of mine. Honestly, I can't believed how I lived with her for so long. So obsessed with me, always trying to please others. Really, it's sickening."

Hitsugaya suddenly felt a sense of defensiveness for Hotaru. He thought of the way she had treated her brother with such reverence, of how much love she gave him her whole life. And Ikeuchi still had the nerve to condemn her like this. Before he could say anything though, a strange, cold feeling washed over him. Hitsugaya's entire body went numb and limp. He couldn't seem to move his limbs. The worst part was, he felt as if his spiritual energy was being sucked out of him.

Then Hitsugaya remembered what the head captain had said about Ikeuchi's dangerous ability. The ability to absorb even the most alert shinigami's spiritual energy.

"Damn...it!" Hitsugaya gritted his teeth.

Ikeuchi grasped his sword and proceeded to attack him while he couldn't move.

REALLY long chapter, huh? It took me a while to write it, I just couldn't find a better way to describe their fights. And yeahs, if you notice this, I kind of based the part about Ikeuchi stabbing Hotaru on the Hinamori / Aizen thing. Y'know, when Aizen stabs Hinamori when they're hugging. Haha :D Wells, I hope this chapter has been a little more exciting for you.