This one was a bit faster, neh? Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach. Songfic song by Linkin Park
Chapter 22. Breaking The Habit
The memories came back to Hitsugaya in a rush, but he had to push them away and focus on his battle.
The attacks repeated again and again and Hitsugaya was now terribly aware of each time when a petal would disappear, it just reminded him of how little time he had to defeat Aizen.
As he raced forward again and extended his right arm and his Zanpakutou, he felt as though his wings would give at any minute now. He only started to feel their weight and the weight of the dragon's head and tail whenever he was weakening.
By now, the white haired captain was covered in wounds inflicted by Aizen's blade. Blood trickled from his right arm and over the blue ice there, matching the scarlet color of the dragon's eyes. As he flipped around and tried to land a blow by using his wings, Aizen dodged again. Once Hitsugaya straightened up, he felt his 11th petal burst into small purple particles. "Damn!" Hitsugaya hissed.
Aizen saw him weakening physically and was waiting for the last petal to disappear to strike. He was intent on killing this boy, for he too had been a pawn, like his lieutenant. And, like her, he had no more use for him, and he needed to be disposed of as well. But he knew that the time period after the last petal melted away, Hitsugaya would most likely fight using his ShiKai or just his Zanpakutou. But Aizen knew one thing, that this whole procedure was getting boring, bothersome and very time-consuming. He wanted to get ride of him before he had a chance to regain his abilities and then his power would be raw again. Aizen knew that even if this did happen, he would still win, but it would take up far too much time, and he was not sure if he would be able to kill the other captain off if more enemies showed up.
But no matter what happened, he would surely win in the end.
Memories consume
Like opening the wound
I'm picking me apart again
You all assume
I'm safe here in my room
Unless I try to start again
Finally, after one more strike, the 12th petal disappeared.
Hitsugaya's rage began to fade into fear, but then doubled with fury. Hyorinmaru slowly began to melt away and Aizen looked on and witnessed the scene with satisfaction. Soon, the mighty dragon was gone and there was no proof left of his ever being there except for the small amount of ice that still remained on the platform.
Hitsugaya glowered at Aizen; he hated letting the enemy see him like this. But automatically, he raised his sword and ran at Aizen. The two blades collided and there was an earsplitting screech of metal scraping metal, but neither side flinched nor gave in. Hitsugaya pushed forward, trying to back Aizen against a wall, or to knock the blade from his hands. However, neither happened, and instead, Aizen pushed him backwards across the room.
Hitsugaya found his footing and kept his balance, glaring at the other captain with pure hatred. "Why?!" He shouted, breaking the quick moment of silence. "Why, Aizen?! Why her?!" He spat, enraged, but he did not move.
"My, my," the 5th division's past captain smirked. "Such rudeness."
"ANSWER ME!" Hitsugaya demanded.
" Because," Aizen replied impatiently. "I had no more use for her. Although she did play a big part in my plans, but she was just so bothersome." He sighed.
"You didn't have to kill her!" Hitsugaya hollered.
"I supposed I didn't," Aizen looked thoughtful for a moment.
"THEN WHY DID YOU?!" He exploded.
"Because I wanted to." Was the cool reply. Hitsugaya was taken aback. What? That's why? Because he wanted to?!
"I hadn't killed in quite some time." Aizen continued, but Hitsugaya cut him off.
"YOU SLAUGHTERED CENTRAL 46-"
"Yes, but that seemed like ages ago." He leered. "I needed to smell fresh blood. And besides, I had planned on doing it. It was just so enjoyable to watch her come to me and break down crying like I was the person she thought I was. Though I must admit it was quite annoying after a while, I had to talk to her and pretend to comfort her, but it was definitely worth it. You should have seen the look on her face when my sword cut into her. Pitiful. She was weak, and I did us all a favor in killing the little nuisance." He finished.
One second after he had finished, Hitsugaya was in front of him, slashing wildly like a mad creature. He did not want to lose now, he could not lose now, after hearing that. He had no idea how he was going to win, but he was going to have to find some way. He had seen many great warriors go down in battle against enemies before, even though they rightfully should have been victorious. It does not matter who is the good person or the one fighting for justice or honor, it all depends on who plays dirty and is the most cunning and treacherous. Even if they fight for all the right reasons, they still may end up losing, the battle chooses the winner, not the skill and the determination.
No matter how hard you try, you still have a fair chance of failing, but Hitsugaya was intent on winning anyway; he had to.
I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused
As he was forced away again, Hitsugaya's rage was suddenly overcome by suspicion.
He just noticed that something was wrong…
Then, he realized what it was with a jolt; Ichimaru was gone. Damn it! How couldn't I have noticed that earlier? He thought angrily to himself; it was unfair to have two opponents. Where did he go? Did Aizen send him somewhere? Could he be getting reinforcements? Thoughts and questions buzzed in his head as he glanced around the room, frustrated. The 5th Squad's captain seemed to notice his confusion and grinned.
"Ah, I see you've noticed. Where is Gin?" He asked, acting like he did not know the answer.
Most likely on cue, the silver haired captain appeared inside the room where Hinamori's body lay. Hitsugaya was standing with a clear view and watched in horror as he glided around and finally came to a halt, hovering over her crumpled form. Hitsugaya had wanted to keep the two of them away from her at all costs. Gin stood still for a moment, staring down at her body as if examining it. Hitsugaya tried to run forward, but Aizen blocked his path.
"Ichimaru! What are you doing, dammit?!" Hitsugaya yowled. The other taichou did not reply, pretending that he had not heard. Hitsugaya could see him past Aizen as he circled Hinamori's bloody shape like a vulture. Finally, he stopped again and knelt down next to her. Then after a moment, he stood again.
"Uh-oh." He smiled evilly. "Seems like we got ourselves a problem, Aizen Taichou." He looked up at the other captain who turned to face him. "She's still breathin'." He reported.
Hitsugaya froze. What?! He felt relief, fear, shock and grief crash over him all at once.
"That's no good." Aizen frowned. "We'll have to fix that." He flashed a smug glance at Hitsugaya. "Kill her, Gin."
"Hai, Aizen Taichou."
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I know it's not all right
So I'm breaking the habit
I'm breaking the habit tonight
Hitsugaya pushed past Aizen and pelted across the room.
"ICHIMARU!!" He roared, his voice echoing around the room several times; it probably would have deafened a human.
He leapt up the stairs as if they were not there at all and was upon Ichimaru at once. His sword slashed the air and Ichimaru just barely dodged, a piece of his haori drifting to the ground. Gin drew his Zanpakutou as well, and appeared standing off to the side.
"How annoyin'." He complained, frowning. Hitsugaya glared at him and lunged forward again. Ichimaru sidestepped to his left and sliced open his opponent's right arm in the process. Hitsugaya howled with agony and he fell to the floor. He pushed himself up using his left arm, and glanced up to see Ichimaru standing over Hinamori again; there was even more blood around her than before. "I don't understan'. Why d'ya care so much fer this little thing?" He sneered.
Hitsugaya's stomach lurched and twisted as he saw Ichimaru's foot smash into Hinamori's limp body. She rolled over twice and lay on her side again, even more blood spilling from her broken body. All of his pain was gone as Hitsugaya stood up and dashed forward, swinging his sword in fury. Their blades met and small red sparks flew through the air.
"DAMN YOU!!" Hitsugaya spat. Ichimaru jut grinned and pushed him backwards. Hitsugaya slipped on Hinamori's blood but jumped away before he could fall. Now as he fought, he constantly had one eye on his friend who was supposedly still alive.
Suddenly, Gin disappeared. Hitsugaya turned around sharply; searching for Hinamori, and thankfully, Gin was not there, ready to kill her. "SHOW YOURSELVES! YOU COWARDS!" Hitsugaya shouted. But no response came. He looked around outside the room as well, but both of them had disappeared; for the moment at least.
Hitsugaya found himself turning around hopefully, looking down at his friend.
He prayed that Gin had not been fibbing, for if she was alive, that would give him reason to fight on. He wanted to hear her laugh again, see her smile and so much more. She was like an antidote to a sickness for him, a cure.
It seemed that he would get a moment to rest for somehow; he knew that his enemies would be back very soon. Pain stabbed through him as he saw just how much blood there was on the floor, and that only a few drops of it were his. Seeing her like this hurt him deeply. He had seen her wounded before, both emotionally and physically and he himself had even injured her not too long ago in their quarrel.
He realized that Aizen must have devised that too, and he cursed the old captain of Squad 5. I won't loose this battle. He told himself, even though he knew fairly well that many good and pure-hearted people had perished unjustly in battle, even though they fought to protect and defend righteousness.
He would try his best, give his all, and pray that the battle would choose him to be victorious.
He had to win; it was the only option.
Clutching my cure
I tightly lock the door
I try to catch my breath again
I hurt much more
Than any time before
I have no options left again
I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused
He knelt down next to her motionless body.
His stomach flipped over when he saw blood still flowing from her wound.
The only thing eh could think to do was freeze it over, so what precious little amount of blood remained in her body stayed there. But first he wanted to be sure…
He stared down at her body, and he soon realized that Gin had been fibbing; she was not breathing.
Hitsugaya felt a fresh wave of emotion overcome him as he stared at her broken body. "Hinamori…" He placed a hand on her cheek; her skin was still a bit warm, but was much colder than any normal person's; far too cold. He knew that the only thing left to do was avenge her now.
So he froze over his own wound on his arm to stop the bleeding. He was about to stand up again, but something invisible seemed to pull him and made him stay there. He simply could not bear to see all that blood, and still flowing from her body, so he froze over her wound, so it ceased.
It was painful just watching her bleed, even though she felt no pain anymore.
Then he stood up and with his sword in his hand, walked out of the room and onto the platform. He thought of leaving to find backup, but before he could move, Ichimaru and Aizen were back in the room in a flash.
"Sumanai." Aizen apologized. "We just had to go and check on something. It seems we will be getting some visitors soon. Let's finish this quickly, shall we?" With that he used shunpou and was right in front of the white haired boy. He blocked the other sword with his own and suddenly, Hitsugaya felt his strength and power returning to him.
With a smirk he grabbed the hidden chain that was attached to the hilt of his sword that he obtained in ShiKai. He threw the chain and the crescent shaped blade sliced trough the air. The chain coiled around Aizen's blade, and Hitsugaya pulled, trying to rip the sword from his grasp. But suddenly Aizen and his Zanpakutou were both gone.
Hitsugaya curse and glanced around wildly, also keeping an eye the bloody room where Hinamori was murdered. He whipped around just in time to block Aizen's sword a second time. Hitsugaya was getting more power back now, and Aizen knew that if he did not finish him off soon, and backup came, he might be in a bit of a mess.
Hitsugaya wanted to use his BanKai again, but he wanted to wait until he was at total maximum power first.
Usually, he had a habit of sparing his enemies, letting them live to repent and get information from them; but not this time.
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I'll never be all right
So I'm breaking the habit
I'm breaking the habit tonight
Hitsugaya gritted his teeth as Aizen escaped again and again.
Finally he decided to use some of his stored power. "Thousand year ice prison!" He howled. He gathered the moisture in the air, and the small particles stuck together to form hard, compact ice pillars. He positioned his sword and with a roar of fury, sent them flying at his foe. The large blue pillars formed a cage around the brown haired man, who stood with a look of annoyance on his face.
"Enough play time." He growled. With a single swing of his sword, all of the pillars cracked and fell to the ground, shattering and sending sharp splinters in all directions. Hitsugaya jumped back to avoid them but Aizen stayed where he was as the small blades bounced past him.
"That's impossible!" Hitsugaya shouted again. This was the second time Aizen had defeated one of his best attacks. The only one he had left and was willing to use at the time was the Dragon Hail Flower, but before he could use it, Aizen was slashing at him again.
"Let's end this, Hitsugaya-kun, once and for all." He tried to back the younger boy against the wall, but Hitsugaya refused to give an inch.
Then he heard a snicker behind him and whipped around to Ichimaru coming at him from behind. Aizen had given him an unseen signal to attack from behind.
"Damn it! Is this any way to fight? You coward!" He spat; pushing Aizen's blade away and turning to deal with Gin's.
"Gomen Hitsugaya-kun, but we have no time for 'honorable' fights and all that nonsense. A battle is a battle, it doesn't matter how it's won."
Hitsugaya surged with a new, unknown strength as he deflected Ichimaru's attacks and parried Aizen's as well. There was a new wound on his right shoulder, but it was not much more than a scratch to the strong prodigy. Hitsugaya knew that he was going down unless he released his BanKai or those reinforcements ever came. But he had no time to summon his power.
He jumped away and dodged constantly, twisting from side to side as he tried to buy time. Even if he did go down, he was going to let the rest of Soul Society know whom the people behind these schemes were; he would paint the walls in their blood, as evidence. Surely someone would be able to identify whose Zanpakutou matched his and Hinamori's wounds? No matter what, the other Shinigami would know who did this, even though he was thought to be dead.
In his last moments, Hitsugaya would write it in his own blood if he had too.
Anything to let them know who it was so they could find him, kill him, and avenge Hitsugaya's best friend for him.
I'll paint it on the walls
Cause I'm the one at fault
I'll never fight again
And this is how it ends
Finally, there came an instant, no longer than a heartbeat, when Hitsugaya had no opponents to deal with.
He eagerly ceased the opportunity.
"BanKai!" He shouted again. As he drew his sword, the blue mist engulfed the room once again as Ichimaru and Aizen jumped back. Hitsugaya was going to swipe that vanity they had away from them like a tiger swiping a gnat. "Daiguren Hyorinmaru!" He called forth the mighty ice dragon for the second time during that battle.
Aizen flash-stepped out of the way of the long tail as it slithered around the room, searching for its targets. Hitsugaya watched him and his aqua eyes followed him as he landed on the white haired boy's other side. Ichimaru was about ten feet away, avoiding the slippery ice that was reforming from the moisture in the air.
Just then, Unohana and her lieutenant Isane raced into the room, and stopped short when they witnessed the scene before them. Hitsugaya was barely aware of their presence; they were far too late to help now. He was finishing this fight himself.
Well, he thought. At least they know the truth and can carry on the message to the rest of the Shinigami.
Something deep down inside him told him that the members of Squad 4 would be the only ones who would be making it out of this room alive. Aizen and Ichimaru were dying here; he would make sure of it. As long as that happened, Hitsugaya did not mind if he went down as well. "Aizen, I'm going to kill you." He vowed, glaring with furious and pure hatred at the man before him.
The man's mouth stretched into a wide grin.
"Don't use overly strong words." He sneered. This was it, his chance to kill this nuisance who interrupted his plans. "It'll make you look weak."
Then, there was a noise that sounded of shattering glass as the ice beneath Hitsugaya's feet split into shards. With a howl with the ferocity of thousands of wild beasts, Hitsugaya took flight and pelted through the air, straight at Aizen. The speed that his wings allowed him to obtain was so fast it was impossible.
Before anyone knew what had happened, Hyorinmaru's blade was thrust through Aizen's chest.
Hitsugaya felt a wave of shock. Had he really defeated Aizen so easily now when it had taken so long before? He guessed that his fury gave him new abilities, or perhaps his BanKai was stronger the second time it was used. Ice formed around Aizen's body like a cocoon.
But as Hitsugaya looked at the face inside the ice, it smirked. Hitsugaya gasped, how could he still be alive?
Suddenly, he felt a sharp, intense pain in his right shoulder.
"What…" His jaw dropped as Aizen appeared behind him. Then, the pain swelled, and with an agonizing pang, the skin on his shoulder burst apart and the blood spattered freely into the air. His arms dropped to his sides as the mighty wings behind him cracked and shattered like a mirror struck by a stone and broke apart. His blood mixed with the ice as it fell to the ground, the pure, sparkling crystal tainted and stained with scarlet. "That's…impossible…" Hitsugaya's mind was echoing with all sorts of questions and words.
Then, it all went blank as he staggered. His ears barely caught Aizen's words.
"What a nice view." Hitsugaya's weight suddenly felt too great for his feet, his balance diminishing at a fascinatingly quick rate.
Then, he fell forward. Hitsugaya's body crashed down onto the ice below him, small splinters dancing around him and bounded away, disintegrating into nothing.
"It's not the season but…" The boy prodigy's ears wear blocked by warm, sticky blood. "Seeing ice this time of year isn't bad."
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
But now I have some clarity
To show you what I mean
I don't know how I got this way
I'll never be all right
So I'm breaking a habit
I'm breaking the habit
Hitsugaya was only vaguely aware of the conversation going on between the captains of Squad's 4 and 5.
The smell of blood was overwhelming, a rusty, tang like rain and salt.
D…Damn it! He snarled in his mind. I…I lost…Hinamori…please…forgive me…I…broke my promise…
His last thoughts where of his childhood friend, who had become so much more than just that. He did not know if he would live, it sure did not feel like he would. But then again, the captain and lieutenant of the 4th division were here now maybe he could be saved. But then, he almost wished that they would not save him, and just leave him there to die, so he could be with the one he cared for.
His thoughts clouded over and he heard no more, and the scent of blood became fainter. His eyes were sightless and his body was numb.
Then, he cursed silently as his mind finally went black.
He had used to have a good habit of winning battles.
I'm breaking the habit…tonight.
A/N: OMG Hitsugaya-kuun! Also, so sorry! I knew there were probably a lot of grammar errors, huh? As soon as I finished revising it, it didn't save so I had to revise it ALL over again, so I know I missed some stuff. Please point them out if you can so I can fix them!
Next chapter, Hanging By A Moment:
"It seems you have been under the impression that she has departed from this world."
"Yes. I assume that she's dead." He forced the words out, Unohana's small smile grew a bit.
"Well then, I am pleased to be the one to tell you that she is still with us...but just barely..."
Please review!!