Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: AHHH! THIS STORY'S OVERDUE FOR AN UPDATE! GAH! I'M TERRIBLY SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! (Blasted school...) Anyway, thank you everyone for being so patient with me especially my wonderful reviewers: Samantha, becomeafan, applestoapples, tlg, serenity095, NeonCookies O.o, icyangel27, k a y - t h i, KnowledgeandImagination, maili-chan, HoneyFlower15, Neko-cheung, Kaye. Shirogane, athfdrizzle, MoonLightView, HyourinmaruIce, redpandagirl. Without any further delay, here is chapter ten. Enjoy!

LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking."

The Next Greatest Treasure

Chapter Ten: Two Thieves

Princess Ume opened the window to feel the cold breeze coming into the room. After she is all dressed in her thief outfit, she looked over her shoulder to see the Queen's loyal guard standing in her presence. "You know what to do."

Looking back at Koji, she silently nodded with agreement.

"In the meantime, I will keep the others busy."

"Okay." With that said the thief girl stood on top of the windowsill and jumped out. As she is falling, she took hold of a thick branch on a nearby tree and hung on. When she is stopped, the female thief slid down the tree and landed on the ground safely. Hi no Tori closed her eyes and let out a relieved sigh. "Alright, it's time to get going."

She turned her body toward the palace walls. Over them is the place she wants to go.

"It's time to find the notorious thief, Aisu no Ryu."

After traveling together for several long hours, the young lovers have finally returned to their home kingdom. As they smiled with content, Toshiro glanced over his shoulder and gave his fiance a loving kiss. "Welcome home Momo."

"Thank you, it feels great to be back," she replied.

As Hitsugaya guiding the horse toward the palace, Momo leaned on her boyfriend's back and cuddled against him. In response, he glanced over his shoulder and let out a content smile. He is glad to have his princess back at his side once more.

"Toshiro."

"Yes Momo?"

"Does Ume and Nagara-kun know about...well, your other identity?"

"All Ichimaru and the rest of us told them is I'm going to rescue you, that's all."

"Oh..."

"It's best for them not to say anything about my life as Aisu no Ryu," he further explained. "Besides, I don't plan on continuing this in the long run."

"Yeah, I know. You don't have a reason to become the notorious thief when the people of Rukongai are not living in poverty."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a light hug for reassurance. From there, they began leaning towards one another. Just as they were about to give each other a kiss, their moment was short lived by a loud scream. They jerked back and raised their heads on high alert in the direction the sound is coming from. "What was that?" Hinamori asked the narrow eyed teenager.

Without a word, he took out his black bandanna and put it on over his head. Shortly after, he put on his mouth mask.

"Toshiro?"

Hitsugaya got off the horse and looked up at the concerned princess. "You head back to the palace first," he instructed. "I'll go to where the noise is coming from and check things out."

She slowly nodded with agreement. "Okay then, be careful."

"I will, love. I'll see you soon."

With that said the white haired thief left his princess' side and ran off to investigate the matter.

Hi no Tori were fleeing from a group of angry citizens after stealing their precious treasures. "Get the thief! Don't let him get away!"

As they threw various weapons such as pitchforks and clubs, her head turned to them, showing an amused grin before running further away from them. "Come and get me if you can!"

"That bastard!" another one of them exclaimed. "He's mocking us!"

To her, those people are mere insects: small and insignificant. All she cares about is the possible arrival of the great notorious thief Captain Ichimaru, Matsumoto, and the people of Rukongai view as a hero. "Even if you're a saviour, I want you to come out, Aisu no Ryu. I want us to meet face to face."

All of a sudden, she saw something swiftly pass her eyes. In reaction to it, she jerked back and stopped in her tracks. When the female thief turned her head to the side, her eyes widened with shock. If she didn't notice it before, she would have been killed instantly by the several shurikens stuck on the wall. By the time the citizens caught up with her, a few of them took a moment to catch their breath. At the same time, one of them exclaimed, "You have no place to run Hi no Tori!"

However, she didn't listen to a word they said. As a matter of fact, her full attention is on the black clothed figure that is standing on the nearby roof, looking down on her. "So, you're Hi no Tori, the thief everyone has been talking about lately," the white haired thief said in his disguised voice.

Ume's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I think it's safe to assume that you're Aisu no Ryu."

Hitsugaya turned his head to the side. "Who knows..."

"Aisu no Ryu?" one of the citizens asked.

"What is he doing here?" another person wondered.

The male thief raised his right hand and gripped it onto the hilt of his long sword. After drawing it from the sheath on his back, he leaped into the air. With both his hands gripped onto his weapon over his head, he slammed it down at the female thief. In retaliation, Hi no Tori drew her sword, held it out horizontally, and successfully defended against the attack. While they are in a dead lock battle for dominance, Hitsugaya decided to change his pace. He took a step back, allowing Hi no Tori to overtake him. Lucky for him, she lost her balance. Using that open opportunity, the sixteen year old teenager changed the grip on his sword and swung it toward her side.

Though the female thief managed to evade it, she heard a small tearing noise. Her eyes widened as she watched the clever thief snatch her precious items away with one swift movement. Once he pulled back his sword, it caused the bag to loose its grip on the blade. As it was in midair, Toshiro caught it with a single hand. Holding it out in open view, he said to her, "If you're going to be a thief, you better do a good job at doing so. Who knows when you're going to meet someone, who is of higher skill, steal all the items you've worked so hard to get."

The princess in disguise narrowed her eyes at him as she watched the thief give back the items she stole back to their owners. "What are you doing here dressed up as the thief, H-"

Just as the citizens were about to further questioning him, Hitsugaya replied, "Sorry, I have some business to take care of right now. I'll explain things on a later date."

Understanding what the former Rukongai citizen is talking about, they nodded with agreement. "Okay, thanks for your help."

With that said, they left the two thieves alone.

"I'm not going to lose to him," she thought. "I'm happy to hear that your skill measures up to what the people around here say about you. However, this place isn't big enough for two thieves. I suggest that we battle it out! If I win, you are to never show your face around here again and vise versa!"

"Are you sure about that? I'm the one who has the advantage here. Besides, this is the place where I was born and grew up in."

"Home advantage doesn't matter to me." Ume pointed her blade at him. "It is skill that matters. Put your pride on the line, Aisu no Ryu!"

The Royal Guard Captain in disguise let out a defeated sigh. "Very well then, let's fight."

From under her mask, a grin appeared on her face. She raised her ninjato up in front and got into battle position.

For the next couple of moments, the two thieves kept their eyes on one another, waiting for the other to make the first move. During this time, people of Rukongai and Seireitei seek for shelter in their homes or in nearby stores just in case the battle between thieves gets rough. "Mama, what is Nii-san doing here and why is he disguised as Aisu no Ryu?" one of the children asked her parent. "I thought he wasn't going to dress up like that anymore."

"Shh, let him do what he needs to do," she replied. "He's trying to chase away Hi no Tori out of this town."

Knowing that waiting for her is going to take forever, Hitsugaya decided to make the first move. He took a step in where he is in her attack range. Immediately, she retaliated back. With a step forward, she trusted her sword toward his neck. However, Toshiro made his counterattack by raising his sword up and parry against hers. As she is regaining her balance, he used this opportunity to go down to the ground. With his hands supporting him, he did a low spin kick and tripped the female thief. Luckily for her, she regained her footing and dodged against the other thief's mid ranged sword attack by doing a single handed hand stand. Hi no Tori created some distance between her and her opponent so that she can catch her breath.

In the meantime, Aisu no Ryu kept his eyes locked onto her in case she plans to make another move. "Why?" he heard her ask. "Why do you steal for these people? I don't think they have never done anything for you to make you return the favour."

He raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out her motives. Why would a thief like her ask him such a question? Nevertheless, he answered, "I steal because I don't want them to suffer and live the life I have experienced years ago. Why do you steal? Is it for fame, riches, or justice?"

It is when she lowered her head and replied in an audible voice, "I have lost sight of the reason for quite some time now."

"She lost sight of her reason?" he wondered. "Could it be that she doesn't want to st-"

Before he can complete his thought, she immediately charged at him. Another round of clashing swords have begun.

In the middle of the swinging exchange, Hi no Tori took a step back and fled to higher ground. Refusing to let her get away, Aisu no Ryu followed her to the rooftop. By the time he got on, several thin needles are thrown in his direction. He took out a kunai (which is hidden in his kimono) with his left hand, raised it up to his face, and quickly knocked away every single one of them without any physical contact inflicted on him. With no time to waste, he threw the kunai toward her face. She easily anticipated the move and dodged it by stepping to one side. However, when her foot made contact on a layer of slippery ice, she immediately lost her balance. She let out a scream.

Upon noticing that she is dangerously going to fall off the roof, Toshiro rushed to her side and grabbed her wrist. For a while, the two thieves slid on the icy surface until they met a dead end. Ume thought that she and Aisu no Ryu are going to meet their end. However, it turned out the other way. He ended up hanging onto the roof's edge with a single hand while holding onto her by the waist. She raised her head and asked, "W-Why did you save me? I thought we are enemies."

Knowing that it is a safe distance, Hitsugaya landed onto the ground and gently put her down. After brushing the snow off his clothes, he answered, "We are enemies. However, I can't stand seeing another person potentially lose their life over something very trivial. You still have a lot to live for instead of doing this all day long for your amusement."

Toshiro looked up in the cloudy sky and watched the snow starting to fall down to the ground.

"It's starting to snow."

Ume looked up as well. For the first time in a long while, she found that being under this weather is good to experience. Taking another look at the notorious thief, thoughts about his bravery surfaced. He saved her life because he sees her as a person, not an enemy. It is something that never happened to her. "He's smart, kind, and brave. Maybe he can understand what I'm going through."

Under her mask, she suddenly felt her cheeks heat up. Upon noticing her change in behaviour, the princess in disguise quickly turned around and began fleeing from the area. When Aisu no Ryu noticed, he held out his hand and called out, "Oi, wait!"

However, she was already gone. With that confirmed Hitsugaya closed his eyes and let out a defeated sigh. Once again, he has let the female thief get away.

"It's back to the drawing board."

References

Aisu no Ryu - Ice Dragon; Toshiro's codename as the notorious thief, Hi no Tori - Fire Bird; Princess Ume's codename as the female thief, Shuriken - Ninja Star, Ninjato - A straight bladed ninja sword, Nii-san - Older Brother

Author's Note: O.o Things are going to get complicated in the romance department. What is going to happen next? Well, you just have to wait and find out in the next chapter!

On a side note, since I've epically failed to keep my updates for this story on time, I've decided to do the following: starting from today, I will be updating each week while alternating between my two stories. For example, I've updated this story today. Next week, I will be updating for my other story, Forget Me Not. The week after that, I'll update for this story and so forth. Hopefully, this plan works out well and co-operates with my homework time. (Blasted school...)

Once again, I am truly sorry for keeping you all waiting and thank you for your patience. Please review! Thanks.