Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.
Author's Note: What the hay? Why wait three more days for another chapter when you can have it now? Yay, it's an early update! Special thanks goes to my wonderful reviewers: Ziya Hitsugaya, icyangel27, k a y - t h i, vampireacademygirls, HyourinmaruIce, tlg, KnowledgeandImagination, satomika, applestoapples, anime16, becomeafan, superattackpea. Here is chapter sixteen. Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking." Flash Back. Short Flash Back.
The Next Greatest Treasure
Chapter Sixteen: Intentions
Princess Momo closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She raised her head and looked at the eastern horizon. It has been about twelve hours since the last time she saw her boyfriend. Now, she started to get very worried; something might have happened to him. "Please come back soon..."
"Hinamori-kun, you're already awake," said a voice.
Turning to her pale blond haired friend and his Trio Knight companions, she nodded with agreement. "Yeah, I'm waiting for Toshiro to return."
"I see; he hasn't come back yet."
"He should have been back by now," Shuhei stated.
"Hitsugaya-taicho better not be captured by them," Renji said.
"Daijobou Hinamori-hime," Ichimaru replied upon joining in on the conversation. "Hitsugaya-kun is not a weak person. If he was, you would have never asked him to become a Royal Guard Captain in the first place, right?"
She let out a soft smile. "Yes, you do serve a good point. I should give him complete faith that he's able to escape from the Higashi Castle safely."
"I'm glad to see that you're acting very optimistic. Now, it's time to clean up and get moving. We're almost at the border to Rukongai."
"I understand."
With a short nod of agreement, the gray haired captain left the princess alone with the Trio Knights to check up on his childhood friend. Renji suddenly stood up from his seat and began doing some stretches. In the meantime, Hisagi stood up and started collecting the leftovers from this morning's breakfast. "Hisagi-san, Abarai-kun, Kira-kun, can you three do me a big favour?" the Princess of Seireitei suddenly asked.
The Trio Knights stopped what they were doing to turn their attention to Momo. "What is it you want us to do, Hinamori-kun?" Izuru questioned.
"I want you guys to keep Ichimaru-taicho and Rangiku-san from knowing that I'm not with you guys."
"Wait, what?" Renji asked.
"What are you planning to do?" Hisagi further asked.
With her head raised up, she answered with great determination, "I'm going to go back and find Toshiro."
Hitsugaya stirred for a bit before he opened his eyes. Just as he is about to scan the area, he suddenly let out a hiss. He looked down and noticed his bleeding injury on his side. Unable to tend to it, he let out a curse. "At this rate, I'm going to eventually bleed to death."
"Well, you're finally awake," said a voice. When he turned to where the voice is coming from, he saw Koji and an unfamiliar person on the other side of the cell. His eyes narrowed, not liking his situation at all. Judging from the way she is dressed and comparing her looks to Momo, he has a pretty good idea who she is. "After so long, I finally get the chance to meet my niece's fiance. It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro."
"You must be Queen Kyoko of the Higashi Region."
A grin appeared on her face. "How expected of a Royal Guard Captain to be well informed. It's also one of the qualities needed for one to become King."
"Where are you getting at with this?"
"Oh nothing really except it's really unfortunate that someone as bright as you have to meet his end so soon."
"I see," Toshiro answered. "You plan to kill me."
"That's correct; once you're dead, the young Princess of Seireitei will fall into deep misery to the point where she is unable to take her place on the throne. In the end, I will take her place and become the Queen of Seireitei."
"Momo is not a weak person who will give in to your demands. Even at the cost of losing her future with me, she will do what is best for Rukongai and Seireitei. The people will help and support her in order to become the proper ruler they wanted her to be, not you."
Then, she gave him a serious look. "You know what, you're starting to annoy me. That's why I warned Aizen to get rid of every single rebel in Rukongai in order to prevent an overthrow in the near future. However, he had to go his own way and let things happen the way they are."
His eyes widened with surprise. Who would have thought that their previous enemy has something to do with his current situation? "You know Aizen?"
"Yes, I knew him. We met a couple of times in the past," she explained. "I knew his intentions of wanting the throne and what better way than to use him to see what little rats I needed to get rid of. Unfortunately, he failed to get rid of you, a mere peasant boy."
There was a brief pause.
"Anyway, it's time to finish what he started and use the pretend hostage excuse to get Princess Momo to give up her seat to the throne."
She turned to Koji.
"Let's go Nagara, leave him be to die in his cell."
"Yes, your Majesty," the faithful servant replied, bowing down to her.
"Have fun here while it lasts, Hitsugaya Toshiro."
Once they left the dungeon, the white haired thief closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Once again, his life is in jeopardy. He only has a certain amount of time before he breathes his last breath. He reopened his eyes and looked up a the ceiling. After a few moments of silence, his eyes narrowed. He has come to a conclusion. "It's risky, but I just have to bet my chances on it. Hopefully by then, I still have the strength to fight back."
"I said before that I would show you no mercy. However, a part of me believes that you're much better than that. After fighting against you several times, I have noticed you have never done any serious damage to me. It feels as if you're holding back." He suddenly changed the grip on her sword and pointed the hilt toward her. "Because of that, I have decided to let you go once more."
"You do understand that having a kind heart will get you into trouble someday," she said while taking her sword back.
"I'm fully aware of that," Toshiro replied. "In the past, it has caused me all sorts of problems, leading to many consequences. Along the way, I lost many things including my last living relative, my grandmother."
"Hitsugaya-taicho..."
He let out a faint smile. "She always told me to ignore what others say and now that I think about it, I understand what she meant. I must always stay true to myself no matter how bad things get."
"I see; so you're that type of person," Ume said. "You have a lot of pride."
"I suppose so..."
Princess Higashi Ume stood in front of the window, looking down at where the dungeon is located. "All this time, I've been infatuated by Captain Hitsugaya's actions as the thief of Rukongai."
She placed a hand on the curtain before gripping onto it. She lowered her head.
"Maybe that is one of the reasons Momo-chan fell in love with him in the first place; she knew his identity." She let out a sigh, turned around, and leaned against the windowsill. "In the end, I lost. There is no room for me in his life. I have no right to interfere with that's going on between them. It would make him sad if I take her away."
"I appreciate your honesty Hi no Tori, but...I don't have the same feelings for you. To be honest, I'm in love with someone else. I'm really sorry, but please try to understand."
She closed her eyes.
"Even if I left them alone, my mother intends to end the happy times they're having together just like what she did to mine."
She heard agonizing screams in the hallway. Five year old Princess Higashi curled up on her bed in fear in response to the noise. A while ago, she found her mother in the living room, beating a few servants for a crime they didn't mean to do. All they did was make her studies fun to learn. This isn't the first time the Queen has done that. "Why mother?" she wondered. "They didn't do anything wrong."
She heard another scream and quickly buried her head in her arms.
"They're also my friends." She heard the noise again. "Please leave them alone."
Without any warning, the door slammed opened. Ume's head was shot up to see the Queen of the Higashi Region in her presence. Furious, she marched over to her bedside and took hold of her arm. Trying to resist the woman, she tried pulling away. However, her strength is nothing compared to hers. By the time her daughter is close to her, she began beating her with a sheath. "This is what happens when you associate with them," Kyoko said. "They're nothing more than little rats who are meant to follow every order we command them to do. As for you, you need to learn not to disobey your mother."
"I-I'm sorry!"
"You're not sorry!" she snapped. "This isn't the first time I have to do this to you, Ume! It is obvious that you have yet to get the fact through that small brain of yours."
"O-Okay, I-I'll stop!"
"So, you realize it now? Well, it's too bad that you're going to continue to get beaten until I am certain you've learned your lesson!"
Ume opened her eyes and put up a fist up. "No, I won't let her do that. I won't let Hitsugaya-taicho die here. He doesn't deserve the harsh treatment and neither does Momo-chan."
After putting it down, she began leaving the bedroom with resolve in her eyes.
"For the first time in my life, I will make my own choice. I will stop my mother from taking over Seireitei and Rukongai."
"Everything is all packed," Hisagi said to the Royal Guard Captain, who is busy looking at the east horizon. "We're all ready to go, Ichimaru-taicho."
"Oh really?" Gin asked, grinning at the short haired teenager. "Now tell me where's Hinamori-chan? I haven't seen her around."
The Trio Knight began looking elsewhere. "Hinamori? I...I haven't seen her around either. Sh-She's probably need to use the washroom right now."
All of a sudden, the gray haired teenager walked up to his face causing the member of the Royal Guard to tense up. He narrowly opened his amber red eyes. "Are you sure, Shuhei?"
"Y-Yes sir."
"Oi Gin, what are you doing intimidating Shuhei?" Matsumoto asked as she walked up to the two teenagers.
At that moment, Ichimaru pulled back (which made Hisagi sigh with relief) and turned to his childhood friend. He let out a smile. "What are you talking about, Ran-chan? I'm not intimidating him."
She put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. After a few short moments, she let out a defeated sigh. The Royal Guard Captain can be so mysterious in more ways than one. It sometimes make her question why she could tolerate with him in the first place. "What's wrong, Ichimaru-taicho?" Abarai interrupted as he joined the other three teenagers. "I thought we were heading back to Seireitei now."
"We will all leave once we find Hinamori-chan," Ichimaru said. "What's the point of returning to the palace without our princess?"
It is when the red headed teenager started to feel a bit insecure. "Shit," Renji thought, glancing back for any sign of the other Trio Knight. "Where is that guy? He should have been here by now."
"H-Hey everyone, sorry for taking so long," said a voice from behind.
Everyone turned around to see the Princess of Seireitei, who had her face covered with her cloaked hood, already riding on the horse and waiting for the others to join her. Renji and Hisagi fought to hold back their laughter. The raven haired girl that was supposed to be in their presence is actually their fellow Trio Knight Kira in disguise. Suddenly, a grin appeared on the gray haired teenager's face. At the same time, Matsumoto raised an eyebrow. She could tell that something is different about her. She asked, "Hinamori, have you caught a cold or something?"
The disguised princess silently nodded with agreement in response.
"I see." When Gin walked to his childhood friend's side, she leaned over and whispered, "That's definitely not her."
Ichimaru's grin grew wider, knowing that he's not the only one who is thinking the same thing. Walking over to the impostor Princess of Seireitei, he suddenly exclaimed, "Hinamori-hime, there's a cockroach on you!"
Kira immediately jumped and shouted, "What? Where is it?"
At that moment, he realized what he had just done. Gin and Rangiku stared at the blushing blond haired teenager. "Ara Izuru, I didn't know you really like wearing female clothes."
"Damn it, I knew it's too good to try and fool that genius fox," Renji said to Hisagi.
"No kidding," he replied.
"Enough with all the fun and games, where's Hinamori?" the strawberry orange haired woman asked.
"Well, um...you see...there's a good story behind it, Matsumoto-san."
"I don't care what happened. I want to know where is she," Rangiku exclaimed. "Hitsugaya left me responsible for looking after her. If something did happen to her, he's going to kill me!"
"Alright Ran-chan, enough with all the dramatics," Ichimaru interrupted. "I have a pretty good idea where the young princess went. Now, let's head back to the palace as quickly as possible."
"But Gin, what about Hinamori?"
"She's going to be alright. Besides, when she has a goal, she won't change her mind. We also have to consider that she now has enough knowledge to defend herself on her own." He smiled at her. "Have a little faith in her."
With one look at her childhood friend, Matsumoto let out a defeated sigh. "Alright then, but I still get a bad feeling that something is going to happen."
Momo let out a yell as she commanded her horse to run to the Higashi Region. She looked up and noticed the familiar kingdom coming to view. "I'm almost there."
At that moment, something was shot down at the horse's feet causing the animal to stop. The four legged animal let out a neigh as it stood on its two hind legs. Hinamori pulled on the reigns as she told it to calm down. Once the horse settled down, the Princess of Seireitei looked down and noticed that the weapon aimed at her was a sharp kunai. When she raised her head to look for the culprit, she found her appearing out from behind a nearby tree.
"Hi no Tori."
The female thief placed a hand on the bottom of her mask and took it off, revealing her identity to Hinamori. Her eyes widened with surprise.
"Ume, you're the thief that has been causing us trouble this whole time?"
She closed her eyes and nodded with agreement. When she reopened them, Princess Higashi said, "I understand if it's hard for you to accept, but I want to help you rescue Captain Hitsugaya."
References
Taicho - Captain, Hime - Princess, Hi no Tori - Fire Bird; Princess Ume's identity as the female thief of the Higashi Region
Author's Note: Gah, she has finally shown herself to Momo! What will she do? Find out what happens next in chapter seventeen of The Next Greatest Treasure. Please review! Thanks.