Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.
Author's Note: Thank you for your patience especially my reviewers: becomeafan, serenity095, AIG -d e a d, Samantha, DestinedDuelist893, icyangel27, Kaye. Shirogane, Lil' EyeCandy, tlg, Neko-cheung, applestoapples, satomika, KnowledgeandImagination, chococat450, athfdrizzle, lil'sayuri-chan. Here is chapter four. Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking." Flash Back.
The Next Greatest Treasure
Chapter Four: Welcome
"Rangiku-san, how do I look?" Momo asked, turning to the female swordsman who is standing behind her. The two girls are in the princess' room, helping the frantic girl decide what to wear. She is currently dressed in a light blue kimono with purple lined floral designs on it. Her raven coloured hair is half tied up in a ponytail using a large clip. Today is a special day where she has to look good.
"You look fine," she replied. "I'm just worried about you boyfriend. He's the one that needs to get himself cleaned up so that he looks presentable when your aunt and cousin arrives."
"And to think Okaa-san and Oto-san forgot to tell me about them; if I knew I had relatives in the first place, I could have moved in with them and not have Aizen as my guardian in the first place."
"Now don't say that; if that really did happen, you have never met Hitsugaya or myself."
Hinamori gave her a faint smile. "I suppose you're right about that."
She smiled back. "Anyway, let's go out and see what the future King is up to."
Momo nodded with agreement. "Hai."
"Everything's all set and ready for Queen Higashi Kyoko's and Princess Higashi Ume's arrival," one of the guards reported to his captain.
Hitsugaya nodded with agreement. "Great work; you can take your breaks now."
"Arigato Hitsugaya-taicho!"
Once the guards left, the Trio Knights and Captain Ichimaru entered the throne room. "Ara, you're still on duty, little captain?" Gin asked.
"Hitsugaya-taicho, there's still not much time left before they arrive," Kira said.
"...and before Ran-chan starts lecturing you about the importance of having good hygiene."
Hitsugaya shot a glare at the older captain. "Shut u-"
"Ah Hitsugaya!" exclaimed a familiar voice. "You're still working? Hurry up and get all cleaned up before they arrive!"
"Uruse Matsumoto, I don't need you to tell me that," the fifteen year old retorted at the strawberry orange haired woman.
"Maybe you should ask Hinamori for some help."
Upon hearing that comment, a few faces turned red with embarrassment. "MATSUMOTO!"
"Mou Rangiku-san, don't say that," the Princess of Seireitei said. "We're not married yet."
She folded her arms over her chest. "Geez, you two just had to stick with the rules. You're no fun at all. If you two don't step up your game in your relationship, you might lose interest in each other and then cancel off the wedding."
"Just to say it up front, I'm not going to do that," Hitsugaya replied.
"Oh yes, if you did, Hinamori might end of executing you."
He shot a glare at her. "That's definitely not funny; I almost got hanged the last time."
"Toshiro, you better get going now," Momo reminded him.
Remembering that he is supposed to take a shower and change into a new set of clothes, he bowed to his princess and left the throne room while the others chat amongst themselves.
"I still can't believe that you have relatives Hinamori-kun," Kira said.
Momo nodded with agreement. "Same here, but I can't help it; why did my parents did not mention about them before?"
"If only they were alive. That way, you'll know the answer, isn't that right?" Ichimaru asked.
"But reality is they're not here," Hisagi replied.
"It doesn't matter the reason why the late King or Queen failed to mention about them to their daughter," Matsumoto said. "This is a good opportunity for Hitsugaya to get the approval that he's worthy to take the throne."
"Is this really going to work out?" Renji asked.
"Of course it will; it has to work!"
The surrounding teenagers let out sighs of defeat. "It's easier said than done," Momo said.
"Anyway, we'll head on outside and be on the lookout," Kira said. "We'll see you later."
Hinamori nodded with agreement. "Okay, see you."
"Later," Renji said, waving a short good bye.
"We'll come back in to inform you of their arrival," Hisagi added before the Trio Knights left to go on watch duty.
"So remind how this all happened in the first place," Gin asked.
After placing her finger and thumb on her chin, Momo took a moment to think. She then explained, "Well, it started about a week ago when a letter is sent to the palace. During that time, I was in the middle of my morning stroll through the garden with Toshiro..."
"Oh yeah, I remember that day," Rangiku agreed.
"Normally, I would do this during the springtime when the flowers are blooming, but seeing the garden like this during the winter can be just as beautiful," Momo said while holding hands with her boyfriend.
She let go of his hand for a moment to run ahead. With her arms spread out, the peach girl did a spin before stopping to breathe in the cold air. "It feels like I'm in a winter wonderland!"
Hitsugaya folded his arms over his chest and smiled with delight. "We can't stay out here for long," he said. "Besides, you might catch a cold."
"Daijobou, we're dressed well for the occasion. So, let's have some fun while we have the spare time!"
Seeing that he's not quite convinced, Hinamori decided to do something to get him in the mood. Walking up to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into an interlocking kiss. Though he was a bit thrown off at first, he soon closed his eyes and began kissing her back. However, it was soon short lived. When he reopened his eyes, he noticed she is not there anymore. Toshiro looked around and found the girl running away with his sword at hand. "Oi Momo!"
Taking a moment to glance over her shoulder, Hinamori gave him a teasing smile. "Come and get me if you want it back, oh great ex-thief, Aisu no Ryu. Let's see if you still have what it takes to steal back what is yours."
Hitsugaya grinned over the challenge. There is no way he is going to allow her to get away with it. "Alright then, oh Princess of Seireitei, you asked for it!"
So, he started chasing after the princess. He knows he'll be able to catch her. Considering that she's wearing her usual semi-formal royalty attire, he calculated she is going to have some trouble running away compared to him, who is used to wearing a kimono most of the time. Just as things are going well, Momo turned around and began throwing snow at him. Her plan successfully worked, giving some time to get away while Hitsugaya is on the ground, recovering.
"Hey, that's cheating!"
"Not in my book, Shiro-chan! Besides, you have the advantage in this game of cat and mouse!"
He placed a hand on his knee as a support to get back on his feet. He resumed chasing after his girlfriend. After dodging her snow assault several times, he caught up and jumped on her. The two lovers rolled together in the snow for a few times before stopping. Toshiro sat on top of her, grinning over the fact that he won. However, his attention is not on his sword. "I've finally caught you."
Momo smiled. "Yes you did; what's my punishment?"
He leaned close to her face and replied, "This."
Without anymore words, the white haired teenager closed the distance between each other with a loving kiss. Easily giving in to the passion, the peach girl closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around him, and returned the sentiment likewise. Several more kisses were given and received in the process as the two lovers shared their intimate moment together. It felt as if they have traveled to a distant land; a world just for them.
"Ou, what a pretty scene we have here."
They immediately snapped back to reality and turned their heads to see the grinning Rangiku standing nearby. Hitsugaya made a face obviously little frustrated that she once again ruined the moment just like the many times before. "The news better be important."
As he got off of Hinamori and is helping her get back on her feet, the strawberry orange haired woman replied, "Of course, it's important. As a matter of fact, it's so important that this letter is addressed to the Princess of Seireitei. It is from the Higashi Family of that region."
"The Higashi Family?" Momo asked. "I never heard of them."
"Let's see what they want," Hitsugaya suggested.
With a nod of agreement, Rangiku gave her the letter for her to read.
Dear Princess Momo,
I'm sorry this is sudden, but I only found out recently about your existence in Seireitei and Rukongai. I am the Queen Higashi of the neighbouring country to the east. I am also your late mother's sister. So, that means I'm your aunt.
If it's alright with you, I would like to visit you so that we can meet in person. We have a lot of talking to do, isn't that right? Please reply back with your answer.
Queen Higashi Hinamori Kyoko
P.S. My daughter, Ume will be also accompanying me. I hope you two will get along as cousins.
"I can't believe this," she finally said. "I have relatives."
"Isn't that great?" Matsumoto asked.
"Yeah, it is...Yeah, it is!"
As the two girls started jumping up and down with delight, Toshiro smiled with content. He is happy for her.
"You have to let them come. You have to meet with your aunt!" Rangiku exclaimed. "Ah, I know! Let's throw a party for them!"
"Yeah, we should," Momo agreed.
"So, you're going to answer back with a yes," Toshiro said as he picked up his sword from the ground.
"Is it alright with you meeting my aunt?"
Hitsugaya re-equipped his sword on his back and then folded his arms over his chest. "My opinion doesn't really matter as of right now. The choice is yours. My job is to make sure no harm comes to you, that's all."
After a few moments of thinking, the princess finally made her choice. "Alright, pass me my ink brush and paper. I'll answer her letter with a yes."
"When is she coming over?" Matsumoto asked.
"Make it next week so that we can get ready."
Momo nodded with agreement. "Hai."
"Oh Hinamori-chan!" Gin said as he waltzed into the throne room. "She's here!"
"Arigato Ichimaru-taicho," Hinamori replied. The peach girl then let out a sigh. Time has finally arrived to meet her aunt and cousin for the first time in her life. "Rangiku-san, I'm getting a little nervous."
"Everything's going to be alright; just keep your cool," Matsumoto replied.
All of a sudden, the throne room doors started opened. Just as the princess gulped, the three teenagers saw the person come in the room. "You just had to ruin the mood, don't you taicho?"
Hitsugaya shot a glare at the female swordsman before joining the others. "Shut up...I have to be here before the Queen and Princess of Higashi arrives to this room. Besides, Momo might just faint due to anxiety."
Hinamori gave him a pout. "Mou..."
Once again, they heard the doors open. When the four teenagers turned their heads, they saw Kira, Renji, and Hisagi enter the room. Behind them is a girl with long midnight violet hair (in which her bangs are held to the side with a dark blue flower-shaped hairpin) and sky blue eyes. She is dressed in pair of brown sandals a purple kimono with gold flowery designs. The young man beside her has short jet black hair and dark blue eyes. He is dressed in a navy blue kimono and a pair of sandals. His sword is equipped to his sash on his left side.
As they walked up to her, Momo blinked a few times. Judging from their looks, neither of them could be her aunt. The young male and the young female gave them a short bow of greetings. "I am Princess Higashi Ume," she said. "It is, on my behalf, an honour to finally meet you, Princess Hinamori Momo."
"Same here," the raven haired girl replied. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. If you don't mind me asking, where is Queen Higashi?"
"Unfortunately, my mother became a little ill and couldn't come here to meet you. I wanted to stay with her, but she insists that I go on her behalf. To make sure that I'm alright, she has sent her loyal subject, Nagara Koji to come along in my travels."
"It's nice to meet you all," Koji replied.
"The Queen must really trust him to look after her," Renji whispered to Hisagi and Kira, who are standing on each side of him. "Besides, those two are the only ones who came here from that region."
"Abarai-kun," Izuru whispered back. "We shouldn't be talking about them like this."
"Quiet down you two or else the others hear us," Shuhei said.
However, they felt stabbing chills run down their spines. They raised their heads and soon noticing the grinning face of Ichimaru Gin. Renji cursed. "Shit..."
His smiled turned wider. "You guys better behave yourselves or else who knows what could happen..."
"These people beside me are my friends."
Ume blinked. "Friends?"
Momo nodded with agreement. "I don't consider them as my loyal subjects because they're not my servants. They're the people who helped out over the years while I was growing up."
"I see."
Hinamori held out her right hand and moved it to the side. "Beside me are Captain Ichimaru and the Trio Knights: Hisagi Shuhei, Kira Izuru, and Abarai Renji."
After putting her hand down, she raised the other one and held it out on the other side. "On the other side furthest from me is my female swordsman, Matsumoto Rangiku."
"Female swordsman? Now that's a first..."
She nodded with agreement before turning her gaze to her white haired boyfriend. Resuming her attention to her, she continued, "Finally, the person beside me is my boyfriend, Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro."
"Boyfriend?"
"Yep."
She took a moment to take a good look at the white haired Captain of the Royal Guard. "I see..."
Both Hitsugaya and Hinamori knew something like this is going to happen. Besides, no one in this world has ever accepted a commoner to be a part of the royal family in the first place.
Ichimaru took a step forward and said, "Allow me to show you two to your rooms. By now, the other guards have already brought your belongings up there. I hope you enjoy your stay here." "Thank you Captain Ichimaru," Ume said before resuming her attention to the other princess. "We'll talk again later once we get settled, okay?"
She slowly nodded with agreement. "Okay..."
"Ran-chan, let's go," the older captain said.
"What? Why me?"
He merely grinned at her. "Just because..."
"You're so mean making a young lady to do some work!" She pouted as she folded her arms over chest. She walked over to his side.
With another short bow, Koji, Princess Higashi, Matsumoto, and Gin left the throne room, leaving the others behind. Momo let out a sigh of relief before turning to her white haired boyfriend. She then noticed an expression he hasn't shown in a while: a serious face. "Is there something wrong, Toshiro?"
He just bit the bottom of his lip, trying to figure it out. Why is gut telling him that he has seen her somewhere before?
"Toshiro."
Suddenly snapping back to reality, he turned to see his girlfriend's worried face. "I'm alright," he replied. "It's just something's bothering me."
"Something?"
"For some reason, I get the feeling that I know your cousin from somewhere. I just can't put my finger on it."
All of a sudden, they heard the sound of glass breaking, sending everyone on high alert. "What was that?" Kira asked.
"I don't know, but it sounds like someone has intruded the palace," Renji replied.
"Kira, Abarai, Hisagi, take Momo to where Ichimaru and Matsumoto are. Your job is to protect the two princesses from any harm. In the meantime, I'll be getting to the bottom of this mess."
With nods of agreement from the Trio Knights, they replied, "Hai Hitsugaya-taicho!"
"Let's go Hinamori," Shuhei said, ushering the princess to go with them.
"Be careful Toshiro!" Momo call out.
"I will," he replied, drawing his sword out.
Without any further words from him, he ran out of the throne room, leaving the others with their own duties to fulfill.
As he ran through the hallway, he ran alongside with a few guards and asked, "Status report: what happened?"
"Hitsugaya-taicho!" one of the guards said. "Apparently, someone has came into the palace through the window at the northern corridor. According to some witnesses over there, they believe the intruder is Hi no Tori."
His eyes narrowed in response to the familiar name. After a week of peace, the thief has finally decided to try and steal the treasures from his beloved Momo again. "Alright then, I want you all to block all the exits."
"Yes sir!"
"What will you do, Captain?" another asked.
"I'm going to find him."
"Where could he be?"
"Remember who you're talking to; it takes a thief to know where another thief is possibly located."
As they are approaching the intersection of the hallway, Hitsugaya made a left turn while the others continued their way in a straight direction. All of a sudden, he heard a sound. Stopping in his tracks, he quietly listened for the sound to be heard once more. "It's coming from the library."
Slowly approaching the door, he kept both of his hands gripped onto the hilt of his blade in case the thief ambushes him. When he is close enough, Toshiro quietly listened for any movement on the other side. When he heard nothing, he took a step back. Using its momentum, he moved forward and forcefully kicked the door open.
Immediately as he entered the room, he kept his eyes moving around in search of anything that seems out of place. It remained that way until Hitsugaya suddenly put his hand into the inner part of his haori and threw a kunai to his right. He felt a faint movement of air before the lights lit up the room, revealing everything that was unknown before. "I found you, Hi no Tori."
"Captain Hitsugaya..."
References
Okaa-san - Mother, Oto-san - Father, Hai - Yes, Kyoko - Mirror; the Queen of the Higashi Region, Ume - Plum Blossom; the Princess of the Higashi Region, Arigato - Thank You, Taicho - Captain, Uruse - Shut Up, Daijobou - It's Alright, Aisu no Ryu - Ice Dragon; Hitsugaya's codename back when he was the notorious thief
Author's Note: Another confrontation with Hi no Tori for Toshiro. What is going to happen? Well, you just have to wait and find out in chapter five! In the meantime, please review! Thanks.