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

Author's Note: Oh yeah, exams are finally over and I'm out of school for the rest of the year! Yay! *shreds all the exam rough paper notes into tiny little pieces and throws them up into the air* Ahem, now that I have about three weeks of winter vacation, it's time to get back to my favourite routine: write HitsuHina fan fictions to satisfy my everlasting hunger for HitsuHina love. LOL.

Anyway, let's start with the first update: chapter twenty of The Next Greatest Treasure. Thank you everyone for your patience especially my awesome reviewers: tlg, HyourinmaruIce, k a y - t h i, MoonLightView, KnowledgeandImagination, anime16, NeonCookies O.o, applestoapples, satomika, becomeafan, and athfdrizzle. Without any further adieu, happy reading!

LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking." Flash Back.

The Next Greatest Treasure

Chapter Twenty: Traitor

After taking a look down at the forest way below him and his girlfriend, Hitsugaya closed his eyes and let out a relieved sigh. He whispered, "Thank the heavens for letting us live a little longer."

He looked below to see how she is doing. It is when he noticed something.

"Momo, I appreciate that you stop cuddling against my rear," Toshiro said. "Your weight is making my pants slip down."

In response to his comment, Hinamori turned a few shades darker and turned her head to the side. "I-It's just a coincidence I ended up hanging onto you like this."

Suddenly, a thought came into mind.

"Hey, what does that suppose to mean? Are you trying to say that I'm fat?"

"What are you talking about?" Hitsugaya asked. "Of course, you're not fat! I was able to carry you while we were trying to run away from those guards!"

Without any warning, they start going lower and lower. The peach girl looked up and asked, "W-What's going on?"

When Toshiro raised his head up to take a look, he hissed between his teeth. "Damn it, the fire is starting to burn through my cloak. If we keep holding on like this, we'll both meet our end below."

"Shiro-chan, hurry up and think of something fast!"

"I'm working on it!" he snapped. "At least help me come up with some ideas too."

"Okay, okay!"

Hitsugaya bit the bottom of his lip, frustrated over the situation he and the future Queen of Seireitei are in. "Damn it, Toshiro think."

As the cloak continued to rip apart, the two lovers are steps closer to their doom. "Ah T-Toshiro!"

"Do you have a kunai on you right now?"

"Yes, I do have one hidden in my sash. Why did you ask?"

"We're going to use it to slide down the castle wall," he replied.

Realizing the meaning of that action, the peach girl nodded with agreement. Without any warning, she let go of his waist and started falling. Knowing that she doesn't have much time left, Hinamori quickly pulled out her pointed short range weapon. With all her strength, she planted it into the stone wall and started sliding down. Just as she was doing that, she suddenly lost her grip and let go of the kunai. "Toshiro!"

"Momo!"

Noticing that she is in danger, Hitsugaya let go of his cloak and started falling as well. As he is trying to close the distance between them, the white haired captain took out his grappling hook and threw one end towards her. Once he saw her take hold of it, he caught Hinamori's lost kunai with his free hand and forcefully pierce it into the castle wall. As he is sliding down, Toshiro wrapped his other hand with rope so that he doesn't lose his grip. After a few seconds, their falling has slowly come to a stop.

"Don't...let go of...that rope!" the young Royal Guard Captain said as he struggled to support her weight on his hand and wrist.

"I'm trying to get a good grip on it!" Hinamori exclaimed as she took hold of the rope with both her hands.

Hitsugaya looked up at his other hand and noticed he is losing grip on his kunai. He hissed between his teeth. "Damn it, I can't hold on much longer."

Suddenly, Momo noticed his hand started slipping. "There's not much time left until he has to let go. I have to think of something and fast!"

The Princess of Seireitei then looked down and started scanning for anything that could help them get out of this mess. It is when she noticed something. Momo raised her head up and said to her boyfriend, "Toshiro, we can let go now!"

"What are you tal-"

After stopping his words in the middle of his sentence, he noticed what she meant. With a nod, they both let go. Before long, they both fell into the arms of two familiar people. "Daijobou Hinamori-hime?"

When Momo opened her eyes, she saw she was caught by none other than Jushiro. "Ukitake-san, what are you doing here?"

"Oi Ukitake, why do you have to be the one who catches the princess?" said another voice.

They turned their heads to see Kyoraku tossing Toshiro aside, making him fall to the ground. "Ouf!"

"Toshiro!" The long white haired man let go of the princess so that she can run to his side. She got down on her knees and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Old man, you didn't have to do that," Hitsugaya snapped at the straw hat man as he is numbing the lingering pain on his behind with a hand.

"Oh sorry little guy, I didn't notice."

"You bastard..."

"Now is not the time to be hanging around here," Jushiro pointed out. "Let's get out of here. We'll explain everything to you along the way."

When the young lovers both got up on their feet, they nodded with agreement. Noticing that the two older men have brought Toshiro's horse with them, he and Momo ran to the animal's side. After he got on the horse first, Hitsugaya took his princess's hand and hoisted her up behind him. "Hold on tight," the white haired captain said to his princess.

With a nod of agreement, she wrapped her arms around his waist. He then took hold of the reigns and commanded the four legged animal to run with the other two horses. "How did you know that we were here?" Hinamori asked.

"Gin sent us here to look for you," Ukitake replied.

"How come I'm not surprised about it?" Hitsugaya said.

"By now, the war at the border has already started," Kyoraku pointed out. "You two need to get there and lead the army to victory."

The future rulers of the Seireitei and Rukongai kingdoms both nodded with agreement. "Have you seen Nagara along the way?"

"As a matter of fact, we did meet with him," Shunsui said. "Luckily for us, we managed to take the scenic road in order to avoid a confrontation."

"Come to think of it," Ukitake said, "we have seen Princess Ume pass by us."

"You saw Princess Higashi?" Toshiro asked.

"What about the Queen's army?" Momo further questioned.

"We definitely saw every one of them," Kyoraku replied.

Hinamori let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness that neither of you were hurt."

"Thanks for telling us the update," Hitsugaya said. "Now, I have a good idea what is going on and what steps we need to take once we get there."

"Sugoi Hitsugaya, you must have already thought of a plan to stop this war."

"The plan I have in mind will change accordingly once we join the battle. Let's pick up the pace before more people die, trying to protect our land."

"Yes sir!"

"Fire!" Kira exclaimed, commanding his subordinates to fire their arrows at the approaching Higashi army. Seconds later, agonizing screams and yells were heard as a handful of them were put down to the ground. "Wait for my next signal to fire!"

"Yes sir!" they shouted in unison after they prepared to fire once more.

The pale blond haired teenager then turned to his superior. "Ichimaru-taicho..."

"I know Izuru," he replied. "Their guards are too much for our little army to handle. However, like I always say, it's not quantity that matters. It is quality that does. I'm going in!"

"Hai!"

With that said, the gray haired captain kicked the sides of his horse, commanding the animal to charge into the battlefield. "The Captain of the Royal Guard has finally joined the battle!" exclaimed one of the Higashi guards.

"Kill him and then the war is over!" said one of the higher ups.

"Yes sir!"

They charged at the running horse and began swing their swords at the animal. In reaction to the attack, the horse let out a neigh and stopped. It stood on its hind legs and began kicking the guards away. During this time, Ichimaru jumped off his ride and began his fight against the Higashi Guards. He swung his sword around at his enemies and skilfully cut them down. As more and more people were taken down by his sword, his grin grew. "My my, you guys have to do better than regular straightforward tactics in order to stop me."

"Don't listen to what he says!" said one of the guards. "Keep crossing blades with him! Sooner or later, he will get tired and get defeated by us!"

"How naive you all are."

Sensing several guards trying to attack him from behind, he changed the grip on the hilt of his blade and stabbed it through his haori. Without any warning, a mysterious purple gas is excreted into the air. The guards ceased their attack and began coughing. "What the hell is this smoke?"

"I-I don't know!"

"Well, I'll answer the question for you," said a voice. "It's a smoke bomb."

The guards turned around and swung their swords where the voice is coming from. However, they only managed to cut through air. "Shit, that guy is playing around with us!"

"Where the hell is he?"

"I'm right here." In a blink of an eye, Gin slashed his sword into various vital points on their bodies before pulling away. Moments later, he watched the blood squirt out of their bodies, the cringing looks on their faces, and their agonizing yells as they fell to the ground. "I love the reactions on their faces. They never cease to amuse me."

All of a sudden, he felt a breeze blow through one side of his clothes. Knowing that there is someone trying to attack him, Ichimaru turned around and blocked it with his sword. It is when he realized who he is crossing blades with.

"My my, after not seeing one another in such a long time, this is how you greet me, Queen Higashi Kyoko?"

"Ichimaru Gin, you used to be Aizen's right hand man," she said. "However, that all stopped when you betrayed him. Why do you side with that undeserving princess and that Rukongai commoner?"

"For your information, your Majesty, I used to be one of those Rukongai commoners," Ichimaru replied. "Furthermore, I have no intentions of joining Aizen in the first place. Instead, I intended to kill him."

She raised an eyebrow. "Kill him?"

Twelve year old Gin is walking back to his house with a bag filled with his favourite preserved fruit he purchased at the local market. He grabbed a handful of the dried fruit and tossed it into his mouth to eat. "Mm, I knew it; that is the best place where to get the most delicious dried permissions in town."

All of a sudden, he heard a distance voice. "I told you guys to apologize! Don't you know it's polite to say sorry when you accidentally bump into someone?"

Recognizing the voice is his childhood friend, Ichimaru hurried through the streets. He soon found the eleven year old Rangiku in the forest, surrounded a group of older men dressed in black kimonos. "Those guys," he thought, "what are they doing all the way out here in Rukongai?"

"Huh?" one of the guards asked. "Don't you know who we are?"

"I don't care!" Matsumoto snapped. "All I know is that you're a bunch of meanies! You spilled all the water I collected from the well!"

Ignoring the strawberry orange haired girl, they began walking away. Feeling upset, she ran up to one of them and kicked him in the shin. As a result, the Royal Guard jumped and cringed in pain. "You bitch; you're going to pay for this!"

Without any warning, the other guard punched the young female. Rangiku let out a yell before being tossed aside. The other guard walked up to her and said, "This is what happens when you're messing with Royal Guards from the Hinamori Palace."

However, she won't let them get away with it. Matsumoto slowly got back on her feet again and stared at them in the eye. With her hand turned into a fist, she tried to throw a punch at the guard's face. Unfortunately, he anticipated the move and caught it with his bare hand. At first she gasped, but she concentrated and threw her other. Despite that, her efforts were deemed worthless.

"How amusing; I love spunky girls like you."

"Sorry, but you're not my type."

All of a sudden, she took hold of his wrists. Using them as support, she did a midair back flip after kicking him in the face. The guard winced, took a few steps back, and covered his nose with his hands. A few moments later, he held them out only to find out that he's bleeding. Looking up at the serious eleven year old Rukongai citizen, he hissed between his teeth. Leaving no other choice, he removed his sword from his sheath. He raised his weapon above his head and charged at the girl. "You're dead!"

Suddenly consumed by fear in her body, Rangiku gasped, shut her eyes tightly, and raised her arms up, defending herself. Just as he is about to strike down on her, another person joined the fight by ramming the guard to the side. Moments later, she opened her eyes only to find her friend has come to her rescue. "G-Gin..."

"Who is this kid?" the first guard asked.

"I don't know, but he's defending the girl," the other replied.

With his wooden sword in his possession, Ichimaru got into battle stance and raised his sword out to them. They suddenly burst out with laughter. "Aw, look at that! The kid is trying to be like us. How cute..."

"Let's see what he's made of."

"Gin, you're no match against them," Rangiku warned. "They're using real swords!"

However, Ichimaru ignored her words. All he cared about is taking revenge on them. His opponents standing in front of them are responsible for causing his childhood friend pain. He charged at them. He tried to swing his wooden sword at them, but they easily evaded. In retaliation, one of the guards punched him in the gut. Gin winced, dropped his sword, and clutched his stomach. Before long, he was punched down to the ground. They started kicking him. "You're still far from being on our level."

"Get lost and run to your mommy."

Noticing that he is in trouble, Matsumoto came to his aid. "Hey, leave him alone!"

They stopped and looked over their shoulder. Seeing the strawberry orange haired girl coming after them, they turned around and got ready. Just as she is about to throw a fist at them, one of them grabbed the front of her yukata and lifted her up into the air. When Ichimaru came to himself, he saw what happened next. They threw her at the tree trunk and saw her lose conscious once she made contact with it. "That should take care of her."

Angered by what happened to his friend, Ichimaru stuck his leg out and tripped the two guards. As they kneel down to the ground, Gin used this opportunity to steal one of their swords. Changing the grip on the hilt, he planted the blade into one of their feet. The second guard let out a yell. "You bastard!"

The gray haired boy threw a fist in his face. Shortly after, he threw another one.

As Gin continued to knock the daylights out of the guard, the first guard recovered and grabbed the boy by the back collar of his yukata. Without any warning, he punched the Rukongai citizen in the gut causing him to wince in pain. With his immense strength, he threw him into the bushes. "That brat was annoying..."

"No kidding." The second guard removed his sword from his foot before letting out a yell. "Shit, when I find him, I'm going to kill him!"

"Kill who?" asked a voice.

Meanwhile, Ichimaru was about to get back into the fight before he stopped and hid himself. Another person has arrived. He had brown hair and eyes and is wearing a black kimono with a white haori worn over it. "It's Captain Aizen Sosuke!" the guards exclaimed.

"Hn, it seems like you have gotten yourselves involved in a fight..." He looked over and noticed the strawberry orange haired girl, who has recently regained consciousness, slowly getting up from the ground. "...with Rukongai citizens."

"T-There's a good explanation for that, sir!" the second guard said.

"Yes sir," said the first subordinate. "That girl started picking a fight with us. So, we defended ourselves!"

Sosuke walked past them and up to Matsumoto. The pale blue eyed girl looked up to see the captain of the Royal Guard. He extended a hand out to her, asking, "Are you alright, little one?"

She slowly nodded with agreement and took his hand. After hoisting her back on her feet, the strawberry orange haired girl said, "Thank you."

He let out a genuine smile. "It's no problem."

Ichimaru let out a soft smile, glad that not all Royal Guards from the Hinamori Palace are mean people. Just as he was about to come out of his hiding spot, something unexpected happened. That not so nice man suddenly stabbed her in the stomach with his sword. Mercilessly, removing his sword from her body, he watched her lose conscious and fall down to the dirty ground. As her blood came pooling out of her, the Royal Guard captain put his sword back into its sheath and toward his followers.

"Now that, my dear subordinates, is how you deal with rebelling Rukongai citizens."

"Y-Yes sir!" they exclaimed.

Before long, the three Royal Guard members left the injured citizen behind unnoticed. Moments later, Ichimaru came out of the bushes and rushed to his friend's side. Judging by how serious the wound is, he knew he had to seek for help right away. However, thoughts about the culprits responsible for her injury came into mind. One of Gin's hands clutch tightly into a fist. He looked to the side where the three older men left. Written all over his face is the expressions of seriousness and resolve. "So he's Captain Aizen Sosuke of the Royal Guard, huh? I'll be sure to remember that name."

"Even if I tried to explain it, you wouldn't understand," Ichimaru said.

"In that case, you're just going to pay the price along with everyone else!" Queen Kyoko exclaimed.

The two fighters pushed each other away before their swords clashed together once more. Just as they began to exchange sword swings at one another, Kyoko sensed danger and quickly backed away from the Royal Guard Captain. Looking down on the ground, she saw several acupuncture needles. Noticing them as well, Gin turned around to find the person responsible for the attack. "Now, this is something I never expected."

The Queen raised her head and soon narrowed her eyes. Another key participant has made it to the battlefield.

"Ume, how dare you attack your mother like that?"

References

Daijobou - It's Alright, Hime - Princess, Sugoi - Amazing, Taicho - Captain, Hai - Yes, Haori - Kimono Jacket, Yukata - A casual kimono

Author's Note: Gah, everything is getting intense! What is going to happen next? Well, stay tuned for the next update. In the meantime, please review while I go back to finishing my updates for today and typing up my next fan fiction update on December 20th. (Hm, I wonder why? xD) Thanks!