Hello again! Its summer and I just got back from Chicgo! Sorry for the very late update, but I'll probably have another chapter by the end of today or tommorrow! Enjoy!
Kisuke Urahara always had this knack where when I needed anything from him, he would be 'gone' or have some lame excuse. This time it was a bad bug and that he needed time away from the shop. Yoruichi had disappeared to somewhere.
Currently, I had no place to stay (curtsey of Tessai) so I was roaming the city like a vagrant. I couldn't go back home, the Soul Society would know because they set a barrier in front of the gates so as soon as I pass through them they would know.
"Hitsuguya-taicho, you're up," said a woman's voice. Toshiro stirred and opened his eyes, the first spectacle he saw was the smiling face of Retsu Unohana. He tried to get out of the hospital bed, but a sudden jolt of pain from the back of his neck caused him to pause and wince. "So do you remember anything that happened last night," Unohana asked.
Toshiro shook his head and Unohana sighed. "I'll leave you get your rest, Hitsuguya-taicho." He nodded and Unohana left without another word. Finally getting what Unohana meant about 'that night', he replayed it in his head. Kurohime changed ever since he had reconnected with her. She was no longer that timid girl who wanted to accepted, she had warped into a hideous demoness with lust for vengence on the injustice done to her.
Yet, Hitsuguya still had this 'feeling' where he felt he was responsible for everything. Truth to be told, he feared her and loved her at the same time. She had this aura that felt like it was going to push you off a cliff if you are not careful, to remain behind forever as a relic and envying the present. Was that why she cried? Why she tries hard to not let her true emotions take her and instead faking a smile to cover up everything?
He decided he would rest back in his own quarters instead of Squad 4. He didn't care that as soon as he reached his barracks, Matsumoto had chastised him for not staying with Unohana. But her expression changed when she stared into his eyes. "You miss her don't you, taicho? You miss the old Kurohime, don't you," she asked. He shook his head and she gave a smile.
Without anymore delay, Hitsuguya finally made it back to his room. When he laid down on the futon set out for him and stared at the ceiling (they repaired the minor damage that Kurohime had caused) and shot back up again. There was a square-like lump under his futon. He cursed and pulled it out, whatever it may be. It turned out to be an old book and he was going to toss it far across the floor when he caught a glimpse of the etching on the cover.
It was a journal, Hinamoto's to be exact. She must had slipped it under the futon when she thought he was looking and forgotten it there when she made her big escape. Whatever the reason it was, Hitsuguya didn't care about it for the moment. Instead, he just settled down his futon and began reading from page one.
I ended staying in someone's house. I didn't know who they are, but I knocked them out with a kido spell and placed them in their bedrooms. I don't need a bed to sleep on, I just stayed on the couch and made sure whatever I did would not affect the furniture setting when the people woke up.
What is surprising is that there are no search teams that I could sense that are looking for me right now. The only thing they set up as an offensive id the barrier that is preventing me from getting into my house. What a horrid time for me to be involved, I thought . . .
Toshiro was already through three-fourths of the journal before he felt a pang of shame. He was invading the privacy of someone who valued their isolation. But he had to admit there was more to Kurohime Hinamoto than just looks, a fighting prowess, and artistic talents. For an example, that manor she had bought that looked like Kuchiki Byakuya would have owned was actually won through a game of 'cards'.
There were more than one time when it looked like she was on the brink of suicide, but a happy memory that Hitsuguya was all to familiar with was all she needed to keep herself going until the next couple of months. Her paintings have gotten more and more complex with each page.
One showed a likeness of himself and Matsumoto side by side with their zanpaktous drawn. The ferocity depicted on their faces were quite noticeable. Another showed herself walking through a flowery meadow of black roses, a look of longing clearly shown on her face. All the other paintings were like that, she was happy if she was in the picture with someone and melancholy when she was alone. There was an incomplete picture near the back. Only her face was drawn and it seemed she was going to draw someone else.
On the bottom, he saw she wrote a small poem. It took a small amount of time before he got the meaning:
Dreams, send me a sign,
Turn back the clock,
Give me some time,
I need to break out,
And make a new name,
Let's open our eyes,
To the brand new day.
He skipped the lyrics and went to the last couple of pages in hopes of finding something that might interest him. And he did. She had written a large amount of her hopes and dreams as a 'part of wishful thinking'. For some reason she had written down 'try Orihime Inoue's cooking' and 'give Kisuke Urahara what's coming to him'. Then there were the less humorous ones like 'slaughter Sosuke Aizen, no pity' and 'write will in case of death'.
Her hopes were more upbeat or her opinion of upbeat. Like 'find a fat gray cat and adopt it' and 'learning how to sing with someone else, duet'. A small part of Hitsuguya's mind had hoped for something of a romantic nature, like an infatuation or a good relationship. He tried to imagine Hinamoto's blood red lips on another man's and the very thought made him want to retch.
Another found its way into his head. Like instead of him forcefully choking the girl, Hitsuguya had wrapped his arms around her neck and asked if she still wanted to leave and kissed her slowly on her lips. For a moment he came back to reality, but his fantasy had pulled him back. Hinamoto's flushed face was turned away from him as if she was trying to hide her surprise, but with no success.
Hitsuguya stopped then and there, recollecting his thoughts and composure. For a moment there, he thought Hyorinamru had planted those thoughts in his head, but to his astonishment and annoyance, Hyorinmaru was asleep, so that meant those were his own thoughts. The only good thing about it was that Hyorinamru wasn't there to mock him.
I don't know how much longer I can take by spending all my time wandering around town. I had left my journal in the Soul Society and god forbid anyone that read it. I also had this ungodly urge to wander to the far end of Karakura. Hiyori and Shinji weren't there at all and so were all the other vizards.
Secretly, I wished that the Soul Society would come after me already, so I would die fighting at least instead of being crushed by the never ending boredom that seemed to follow me everywhere. Shirobara was sleeping 24/7 and I had no one to talk to. I would talk to Sunade, but I told her to flee to somewhere safe because she is a mod soul and I do not want the Department of Research and Development to get their grimy hands on her.
Toshiro couldn't sleep at all. He kept pondering on what might have made him slip character and turn into a obsessive, insane person. This was his own opinion of course. But he could let Matsumoto get a grasp on what was his perception of Kurohime Hinamoto otherwise the woman might get the wrong idea or worse, spread rumors around the squads.
For a second he thought he was overreacting, but Matsumoto's laughing face scared him as much as the image of the entire Gotei 13 jeering at him. Finally, he gave up and declared if it ever happened again then he would just let it take its course and not tell anyone. He tried sleeping again, but another thought came to him.
In Hitsuguya's point of view, it looked like Hinamoto and himself would make a very handsome couple. Toshiro stopped himself completely and just stared at the ceiling as an attempt to fall asleep.
I sneezed repeatedly over and over again, but I kept it quiet so I don't wake the couple down the hall. I know I had put a kido over them, but I couldn't be to sure that it might have worked. I had just came back from an interrogation with one of the Soul Society's Omietskidos operatives. The man was less than happy to tell me that as soon as Hitsuguya gets better from that attack I left on, he would be leading the search teams to find me. To keep the man from telling the old fart in Squad 1, I asked him if he had a family and if he didn't keep his mouth shut, I would leave them the same way I found my mother and sister.
It is amazing how a simple nickname can cause so much fear in another's heart. But these were the people I despised, those assholes (pardon the language) were the people that made my life into a craphole. After that, I went to my tailor who was shocked that my dress was in tatters. I had forgotten that I had used Shunko the night before and came up with a lie. She didn't looked like she believed me, but was happy to find me a replacement.
I wandered around town for a while after that, desperately trying to find some hollows or arrancars.
The Taicho of Squad 10 woke up with a hard smack to his cheek. Grumbling and rubbing his sore face, he saw a hell butterfly fluttering in front of him and held out his finger. "Hitsuguya-taicho, please report to Squad one as soon as you wake up. The Sou-taicho would like to talk to you about certain matters. Thank you." Hitsuguya got dressed and shunpoed to the grand doors of the captain's meeting hall.
"Hitsuguya-taicho, I called you here to ask you to tell me what happened when Hinamoto escaped. She could be potentially dangerous to humans and soul reapers if not handled properly. Toshiro felt a pang of disgust towards the old man's objectified statement that was directed to Kurohime. "I need you to convince her to return to the Soul Society immediately. We need her for an undercover operation, if she cooperates, then we will offer her immunity and a place in the ranks of the Omeitkidos."
Toshiro didn't think that Hinamoto would accept those terms, it wasn't her fault that she had her hollow awakened and she would not like to be bound by the rules and protocol of the Gotei 13. "Yamamoto-soutaicho, if I may speak. I do not think Hinamoto really cares about the fact that she had broken the soul reaper law for hollow abilties. It wasn't her fault, really. Also, if she had cared about being back in the Gotei 13, then she would have revealed her well being to us as soon as Aizen defected," Hitsuguya stated. The old man stroked his beard and replied, "Fine, if you know so much about her, appeal to her soft side to convince her to come back. This is a critical time, we need every shinigami we can get."
Hitsuguya wanted to lash out at the old man. It seemed to him that the Soul Society thought nothing of Hinamoto except as a tool, something to be honed and sharpened. But he was bound by duty as a Taicho of the Gotei 13. "Yes, Soutaicho. I will go immediately." Before he could turn around, Yamamoto boomed. "Soi Fon-taicho waill also be accompanying you, she know most of her attacks, so I expect results as soon as possible."
Hitsuguya nodded and exited out the door to find a whole Squadron of Omeitskido officers kneeling and Soi Fon walking up to him. "Hitsuguya-taicho, I hope you don't mid that I brought some of my own men." Toshiro shook his head and she turned around and barked, "All of you are to follow Hitsuguya and my directions. Any violations will be punished to the full extent!" Hitsuguya couldn't see why Hinamoto thought of the Omeitskidos as enjoyable.
They all walked through the Senkeimon gates and stepped into the real world. Hinamoto, Soi Fon thought . . .
Just a forward warning, the next chapter is not like the epic battle between Yoruichi and Soi Fon! I thought it was a bit cheesy, but I might make some changes later. Reviews! :)
