A/N: Merry Christmas Eve! Im late for a family dinner so I'll spare you the boring author's note :D
enjoy!
Chapter Twelve
He's floating somewhere, with water splashing gently against his bare skin. His eyes are closed, his breathing even, and his mind empty. Where is he? He is in a river? No, the water is far too warm for a river. Maybe he's in a pool, or a bathtub. But how can a bathtub have waves? Maybe he's at sea, with the sun warming the water, waiting for a flock of mermaids to come and gave him a good old fashion back rub. That thought made him smile.
"Ichigo."
It's so peaceful here, with nothing but him and the water. In her, he felt no fear, no anxiety, or loneliness. He felt nothing and he liked it. He's just floating in the water, without a care in the world.
"Ichigo."
Everything around him sounded faint and far away, like a distant dream from a past that he never wanted to remember. He tried to drown the voice out by pushing himself deeper into the water, but the water just won't give. Oh well.
"Ichigo."
Now, if only that annoying sound would stop...
"King!"
He opened his eyes. "Zangetsu?" He called.
After the name slip past his lips, he drowned.
"Fuck!"
Ichigo snapped his eyes open and grasped his chest, gasping for breath.
"Ichigo!" the screen door slammed open, revealing a very worried Ukitake. Before he could touch the boy, Ichigo splayed his hands on the man's chest, pushing him away. He needed air, he thought frantically. Ichigo brushed past the man and made a mad dash out into the courtyard, landing on the house's sand garden, destroying the meticulously raked sand.
A servant came and tried to assist the boy, but Jushiro mentioned her away, afraid of what the boy might do to her. From a distance, he could see the boy breathing heavily, with little hiccups accompanying his every breath. Ukitake frowned and knelt beside him, holding the boy's shoulder to steady his shaking frame. "What's wrong?" He asked in his most gentle voice.
"I don't know." Ichigo heaved. "I don't fucking know!" He cried out, smashing a nearby boulder with his reiatsu. Ukitake was knocked back by the boy's incredible spirit power, grimacing when the wind sliced his cheek open. He wanted to calm the boy down, but all that he could do is hold on to boulder as a powerful wind began to sweep him aside. The air was charged with power, and the foundation of the house shook and crackle in response. Sand swirled around him and the clouds above pooled together into a tornado. In the middle of the mayhem was Ichigo, kneeling with his mouth open in a silent scream. Through the crackling air and the shifting sand Ukitake saw something that shocked him.
Ichigo was weeping.
The savior of Sereitei was weeping.
"Fuck." He choked though broken sobs, angry tears streaking down his face. "FUCK!" He cried out, bellowing to the wind with such hatred and loathing that it staggered the man.
"Ichigo! Please, stop!" Ukitake shouted against the wind, holding his arm to shield his face from the wind and sand. Ichigo turned his eyes towards him, his face lost and confused. They were begging for guidance, for someone to come and take control. Ichigo gave a last heart wrenching howl and the air was suddenly still.
"Ichigo?" Ukitake called out tentatively.
"I don't fucking know." The boy sobbed.
Aizen leaned his head against his knuckle, watching pensively as the broad zanpakuto began to levitate off the marble table. When he tried to touch it, a small wave of black reiatsu jumped out and burned his fingertips. The man frown, finding himself at a loss for word. Gin stood silently next to him, watching the blade charge the air with it's own reiatsu. When he tried reaching for the blade himself, the black flames flared up and scorched his whole hand. The white haired man gave a small pitiful groan.
"You never learn, do you?" Gin ignored the snide comment and leaned closer to the blade, carefull to not let it scotch his face.
"Ichigo must 'a be in pain." He said emphatically, holding his raw hand close to his chest.
"Oh? Aizen raised an eyebrow, still unsure of what to make with the phenomenon.
"Tha' blade." Gin said. "Zangetsu. He misses him. He misses Ichigo."
Aizen frown deepened, but it quickly smoothed itself back to his usual confident smile. "Well then, we'll just have to bring him back home now don't we?"
The blade suddenly stop vibrating, it's metal sheen began to lose it's luster. It suddenly dropped, impaling itself onto the marble table, waiting for it's master to take a hold of him. Then, the ominous ringing began to sound.
"It's cryin' now." Gin said, his voice almost sad.
"That's enough from you sword whisperer." Aizen said, his calm voice bearing a hint of annoyance. Ichimaru caught it immediately and gave the man his usual grin. "Jus' kiddin!" He sing songed and moseyed out the throne room, flicking out his tongue playfully.
Aizen waited until the door closed before turning his attention back to the blade."Don't cry." He said, touching the zanpakuto like one would comfort a grieving friend. "We'll get him back."
But no matter how softly the man stroke the blade, the sword continued it's anguished cries.
Ukitake run his finger through the messy mop of orange hair, giving a reassuring hush every few second. Ichigo lay with his head on Ukitake's lap, his fingers twitching and his body shaking. The tears had long stopped, but the shaking has yet to cease. Nervous servants peeked from the corner of the hallways, but they dare not disturb the master and his guest. With a wave from his hand, the small crowd of concerned servant dispersed into their other duties.
The Ukitake estate is a state of chaos. Gravel and sand are strewn all over the wooden platform. Beams are cracked and screen frames are crushed into splinters. Bits of paper and fabric lay haphazardly over the wooden floor. The sand garden is bare, having most of the sand is knocked aside from Ichigo's outburst. It was a scene right out of a disaster movie.
When his shaking stopped and his body calmed down, Ichigo sat up, looking exhausted and confused. "Damn." He said as he scanned the perimeters. Ukitake gave a surprised laugh and nodded with him. "Yes, 'damn' indeed." He said, smoothing the boy's hair out.
Ichigo leaned into the fingers, sighing at the now familiar touch. "Fuck." He said tiredly. "Did I?" Ukitake nodded at the unfinished question, noticing the shadows under Ichigo's face. The boy looked twenty years older.
"Could you tell me what happened?" Ichigo shook his head. "It's just... There's something that I forgot and I couldn't remember it."
"What is it? Is it your shinigami robes?"
"No, it's something more-" He pushed his hand against his chest. "important."
Ukitake sighed and decided to let the matter go. It has been a long night and he would very much like to get back to bed. The thirteenth division captain stood up, stifling a yawn and stretched out his arms. "You must be tired. Let me carry you back to bed." He said, offering his hand for the boy to take.
"I can walk with my own two damn feet." Ichigo snapped, a default answer ever since Kenpachi 'saved' him from Las Noches. Instantly, the angry scowl melted into a guilty look. "I mean, no. I can walk by myself." He blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, It's just Kenpachi always tries to, I mean, I'm not-"
"No, no I understand." Ukitake waved the offense away, not quite catching what the boy meant and yet unable to muster the motivation to find out. Like his mother say, if it's said past midnight, then let it go and leave it for tomorrow. But before he could walk away from Ichigo, a wave of violent cough over come him.
"Hey! Ukitake-san!" Ichigo caught the man as he dropped to his knee, coughing flecks of blood onto his sleeve. "Im fin-"
The sight of blood alarmed the orange haired boy, who instantly shifted to his side and held his hand. "Ukitake!" Ichigo rubbed the man's back, surprised on how violently the man shook. When his cough became more violent, Ichigo's voice became more intense. "UKITAKE! OI, DON'T DIE!" Ichigo said, sounding like he's near tears. "UKITAKEEEEEEE!"
The four men landed right on the outer wall of the Court of Pure Souls, all clad in white with sword sheathed on their waist. The nearby farmers scampered out of the way, spilling vegetable out from their baskets. Stark ran his hand though deep brown locks and surveyed their surroundings, his eyes adjusting to the sudden explosion of colors. Ulquiorra shielded his eyes from the sun above, his eyes narrowing into silts. No wonder Gin kept his eyes closed. The sun is unforgiving bright in Soul Society.
Behind them, the two shingami gasped and heaved like fishes on dry land. The Garganta was always harsh on their kind, though the Primera espada. Ulquiorra, however, was not as sympathetic as his companion. He tugged at the chains attached onto their collar, earning him a dirty look from the ever rebellious Hisagi. "Go look for Ichigo." Ulquiorra ordered flippantly like one would ordered a beverage from a restaurant.
"Let them out of their chain first Ulquiorra, they're not dogs." Stark said, shooting him a disapproving look.
"No, it will create an unnecessary risk in this operation." Ulquiorra refused straight away.
Stark sighed and took off his gloves. He never wanted to use this method. "See this?" He pointed at the one tattoo on the back of his hand. "What number do you see?"
"One."
"And what number are you?"
"Three."
"So who is higher, one or three?"
Ulquiorra stared blankly at Stark. "One." He said, snapping his fingers to dissolve the chain. Stark gave a small triumphant smirk. Ulquiorra was always a stickler for hierarchy, a weakness that he exploited nicely. The said espada noticed the smirk and deepened his frown.
"I do not like this arrangement." The number three espada said out loud, grabbing the two shinigami by the scruff of their robes.
"You can tell Aizen that when we get back." The Primera espada said casually, stretching his arms to bask in the warmth of the sun.
"What if I won't do as you say?"
"Then I'll tell Aizen that when we get back." Stark said, his voice sounding more and more annoyed. He toyed with the bracelets on his wrist. It's a reiatsu suppressing device that Aizen gave him, something that would make him less noticeable where he's in Seireitei. He was slightly bemused that a device so small could contain his immense reiatsu, but he wore them nonetheless.
Kira was completely dumbfounded by the childish conversation. This was his first time seeing an espada, and his expectations of them were destroyed the minute the first words left their mouth. He heard that the Espada were the elite of Aizen's army, a group of ruthless killing machine. Seeing them bicker like children lessen his fear of them. "Hisagi-san, should we?" he whispered to his fellow shinigami.
"-make a run for it? Way ahead of you." Hisagi rubbed the part of his neck where the chain latched itself to his body.
"Really?" Kira shuffled closer, ready to receive instructions. 'Hisagi-san is incredible.' He said to himself. 'Even with the enemy around us he already has a plan in mind.' He beamed. Maybe they might have a slight chance in survival. "So what's your plan?" he asked.
"I dunno. I'll tell you once I got one." the black haired shinigami whispered back, destroying Kira's last hope for escape.
"You two." Stark called on the whispering duo, "Bring us to Zaraki's Kenpachi's lair."
Kira almost blurted out laughing when the arrancar said 'lair'. "It's called a division barrack here." Hisagi said, his voice blank and devoid of emotions. Ulquiorra walked up to the black haired shinigami and grabbed the taller man's uniform in his fist. "Lead us there Kira Izuru." Ulquiorra ordered. "And if we found the answer unsatisfying," he unsheathed his blade and pushed the tip against Hisagi's collarbone. "-then this one will die." Kira swallowed hard and nodded. Hisagi rolled his eyes, thinking how he could easily defeat the espada without the threat of a blade around.
"We have to go through the gate keeper to reach Zaraki-Taichou's barracks." Kira said, his voice growing more and more discouraged as he thought the plan more thoroughly.
"Get us in or I'll cut his arm off ." Ulquiorra said, twisting Hisagi's arm behind his back. "Walk." Stark ordered. Kira flinched and nodded, praying to every god in existence that the gatekeeper would believe the lie that he's about to fabricate.
The gods were feeling gracious that day.
"Seriously," Ichigo wrung the hot water out of a towel and waved it around to cool it down. "I thought you were dying!" he said accusingly.
"So sorry to trouble you." Ukitake apologized for the thousandth time. Ichigo rolled his eyes and wiped a wet cloth over the man's bleeding cheek.
"The least that I can do after I destroyed your house." Ichigo shrugged. "By the way, I'm really sorry about that." He said, a tinge of guilt and embarrassment creeping into his voice.
"No, no. These things happen." Ichigo stopped his ministration and gave the man a look that screamed 'Are you fucking shitting me?' "Okay, maybe they don't." Ukitake gave a nervous laugh. Ichigo broke from his serious face and joined him in laughter. It was the first time he laugh since his arrival in Soul Society.
"Thanks for letting me stay here until I figured out what to do." He said quietly. "You don't have to go out of your way to do this."
"You're perfectly welcomed Ichigo." Ukitake patted the boy's shoulder. "As much as Kenpachi-taichou wanted to keep you, it's rather inconvenient to hide someone like you in a barrack."
"Yeah, and he said he was called in to be disciplined for skipping a meeting. Is that true?" Ichigo asked, trying his best to stop snickering. The thought of Kenpachi being thrown over Yamamoto's knee and spanked was too much for him to bear.
"Yes. He so determined to save you that he walked out of the Captain's Meeting."
"Heee? What an impatient man." Ichigo said, clearly not amused by man's level of maturity.
Ukitake caught Ichigo's look and quickly corrected himself. "I mean, we were all worried about you. You should see how fiercely Komamura and Byakuya fought over the news of your kidnapping."
Ichigo blushed, unaccustomed with people fighting on his behalf. Its usually the other way around. "Really?
"Of course. Who wouldn't defend you?"
"Yeah but why?" Ichigo looked away. "It's not like I'm some captain or whatever. I'm just substitute shinigami."
"Ichigo!" The man chastised the boy. "You should think higher of yourself!" He leaned down and held his hand. "You went into enemy territory, freed a hostage, and diverted a major war from us, a war that some," the man threw a wary glance out of the window. "might not survive." His fist tightened over the thought of his beloved friend dying. "So, thank you." Ukitake gave the hand a slight squeeze, his usual smiling face turning somber and serious. "I know that those words are not enough to convey our gratitude, but know that we are in you debt, Ichigo-kun."
Ichigo was left slack jawed at the amount of sincerity that the man gave. After a few second of silence, Ichigo laughed.
"Ichigo-kun!" Ukitake flushed, clearly taken aback by the laughter.
"Sorry!" he chocked between laughter. "It's just-" Ichigo forced the words between his laughter. "You don't have to be so fucking serious!"
Ukitake was suddenly reminded of a black haired shinigami that said the exact same thing.
"No need to be all sentimental Taichou! You know that I will always be on your side!"
He allowed himself a small wistfull smile.
"You never did leave ne, Kaien?"
"Huh? Sorry, didn't catch that." Ichigo chuckled, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes.
"Aah, forget it. Only the mumbling of an old man."
"If you say so..."Ichigo said warily. He leaned up and put their forehead together, afraid that the man might be delirious from a fever. Ukitake smiled at the familiar gesture, remembering how Kaien used to do the exact same thing to him. As much as he enjoyed reminiscing, he pushed the boy away from him, telling him for the hundredth time that day that he is fine. Of course, Ichigo didn't believe him. His father always thought him to never believe what the patient said. It was quite a statement for a doctor to make.
"Enough of these depressing talks, lets discuss something more cheerful!" Ichigo almost sweat dropped on how swiftly the man switched the conversation. "So, Ichigo," Ukitake leaned his head onto his knees. "Do you like sweet stuff?"
"Uh, I guess." Ichigo, trying to look away from those big soulful green eyes.
"Great! I have a lot of candies that you would like!" Ukitake got up and began to rummage through his drawers.
"Eh, but i don't wan't-"
"Nonsense! Of course you want candies!"
Ichigo sighed. It seems like the Gotei thirteenth captain all held onto some level of immaturity.
Kira Izuru sighed for the thousand time in the last half an hour. It was convenient that Aizen did not revealed the arrancars army to the shinigami yet. They've been able to walk around and are able to use extravagant lies such as "They've just transferred from Siberia." Or "It's the new uniform design." for an excuse.
As the four men walked through the halls of Sereitei, Stark couldn't help but marvel at diffrent sight and sound. When a shinigami passed him, he waited for them to pass out from his reiatsu, but thanks to his reiatsu suppressing bracelet, the people around him are still alive. It was nice, walking like a normal person like that. He found that he liked being anonymous, brushing shoulder with people who would normally die from the contact. It was almost as wonderful as having Kurosaki Ichigo with him.
Ulquiorra however, was distracted by a different thing. He found that he hated the sight, the scent, and the sensations in this strange world. Everything here is too hot, too bright, too... alive for his taste. Everywhere there is always someone moving, laughing, brawling, walking around with their problems in tow. It took Ulquiorra all that he could do to not shot out a cero and obliterate everything into dust.
He never missed Hueco Mundo as much as this.
Hisagi winced as the hand in his twisted arm tightened considerably. "Stop it." He groaned, pulling away from Ulquiorra's death grip. The white faced espada only watch the futile action blankly. When a small child gave out a high pitched laughter, Ulquiorra twisted Hisagi's hand further up his back, eliciting a painful kneeing from the man.
"You are annoying shinigami." Ulquiorra said a matter of factly, his voice still monotone and flat. Stark quickly walked over and pulled the poor shinigami towards him.
"That's enough. I can take him from here." Stark said. Ulquiorra said nothing and instead focused his attention to the blond leading them, calculating which body part he should twist next.
"Thanks." Hisagi said, rubbing his arm. Stark only nodded and rested his hand on Hisagi's shoulder's. "Don't try to escape or I'll kill you." Was the only response. Izuru glanced back, praying that Hisagi wouldn't try anything stupid like the knife stunt with Aizen. Something tells him that these two espada was not as forgiving as Aizen Sousuke was.
The black haired lieutenant was not stupid. He knew that he couldn't do the same thing over and over again and expect the same result. And besides, he doesn't have any weapons on him. He did however, just signaled a seated officer from his division to call for back up. It wasn't a complicated sign. His hand was twisted and he was groaning. Even one as slow as Omaeda could understood that Hisagi needed help.
Ten minutes later the ninth division came storming in, all with fierce expression on their faces and their zanpakuto unsheathed.
"HISAGI-FUKUTACHOU!"
"LET OUR HISAGI-FUKITAICHOU GOOOO!"
"WE WILL GUARD YOUR PURITY HISAGI-SANNNN!"
"WE WON'T FORGIVE YOU IF YOU'VE TAINTED OUR HISAGI-FUKUTAICHOU'S HONOR!"
"FUKUTAICHOU!"
"FUKUTAICHOUU!"
"FUKUTAICHOUUUUUU!"
Hisagi eyebrow twitched as the civilian around him whispered and pointed at him with pity and disgust. Damn the ninth division and their stupid battle cry. They make it sound like he's been raped or something. "PURITY MY ASS! JUST COME HERE AND SAVE US YOU IDIOTS!" he exploded, unable to contain his anger any longer.
"OSSU!" Cried the ninth division, all fired out by their lieutenant's words.
The two espada stopped and watched the advancing men. Finally getting the idea that the angry mob men were coming after them. Ulquiorra stared at the crowd disdainfully. "Worms. Trash. Worthless insects." Ulquiorra scoffed, turning slowly with his finger pointed at them "Cero Ol-"
"What are you doing?" Stark stood between him and the angry mob. "We agreed to not kill anyone." The brunette espada said. Ulquiorra frowned deepened. "Im sure that things can be solved peacefully here." Said the Primera espada, a confident smile dancing on his lips.
"TO THE PIT!"
"THROW THEM TO THE PIT!"
"NO MERCY FOR THOSE WHO DEFILED OUR BELOVED HISAGI!"
Ulquiorra turned to his counterpart. "Peacefully?" he raised a condescending eyebrow. Before he could formulate an answer, the espada was knocked to the ground by whole ninth division.
Ukitake and Ichigo both talked through the night, jumping over most of the awkward introductions and found a shared passion in animal and sweet rice balls, which according to the older shinigami, is very hard to get right. Ichigo was surprised to know that Ukitake was part of the many aristocratic family, and so was Kira Izuru. Of course the man waved the fact away, saying that it was only luck that he was born with such a blood line. As night turned to dawn, Ukitake took some unhealthy interest in vending machine, which he calls the 'magic wish box' because of it's ability to conjure up the desire beverages in an instant. They instantly fell into a heated discussion on the mechanics of that said 'magic wish box'.
"No, no, no. It doesn't magically appear. The drinks are already in the machine, and to get it you have to pay for it." Ichigo explained in his most patient voice.
"Yes, yes, but how does it keep it warm or cold at the same time?" Ukitake paused for a dramatic effect. "Magic." He said with a finality in his voice.
"Nooo!" Ichigo answered, both distressed and amused at the man's explanation. It bothered him that a captain of the Gotei Thirteen was so quick to resort to magic as the answer for everything, but it's still funny as hell to watch the older man's face light up like a child. "They use human technology like refrigeration and heating, uh methods."
"You mean magic, right?" Ukitake suggested, his brow wriggling suggestively.
Ichigo was at a lost for word. He couldn't bear destroying the wonderful dream that the man has. "Yes, Ukitake-san. It's magic." Ichigo face palmed himself. Beside him, Ukitake gave a triumphant fist pump, an action that does not fit the man's image at all.
The two men suddenly fell quiet as a black butterfly gracefully flew though the wall and right onto the captain's hand. Ukitake closed his hand around the animal, taking note of the red circles painted on the creature's midnight wings. When the Hell butterfly relayed it's message, the blood seemed to drain from Ukitake's face.
"What's wrong?" Ichigo peeked curiously onto the man's closed palm. Ukitake crushed the butterfly in his palm and stood up, face was set in a determined glare.
"Junsui!" He thundered. The small little servant boy came scurrying down the hall, his black hair still had the remains of yesterday's blue ink. "Bring me my uniform. We're going into the Court of Pure Souls."
The boy's big blue eyes widen in excitement when he found out that he is going to what is equivalent to a theme park."Hai, Ukitake-sama!" he said, his back snapping straight into attention. As the small boy began to rummage though his master's closet, Ukitake pulled Ichigo up and walked him out of his room, placing his hand on the small of Ichigo's back.
"Forgive me, but I have some urgent matters to take care." Ukitake said, reverting to a more formal tone that he practiced since childhood. "N-No problem at all." Ichigo replied, suddenly feeling weird for being treated so politely.
"If you please," He said, hand poised on the door to allow the younger man to pass first. Ichigo fumbled with his yukata and stumbled ungracefully out of the door, making the man chuckle and smile. "It was a pleasure to be in your presence. I hope we can continue our conversation in the near future." He said, keeping his hand the small of Ichigo's back as he guided him through the havoc that is his hallway.
"Eh, uh, likewise." Ichigo mumbled, unsure whether its the appropriate response to the man. Since his capture in Las Noches, manners seems to be the last thing on everyone's mind. Having a bright orange hair seldom allowed him a 'please' or 'thank you' in the real world either. To suddenly have the heir of an aristocrat family treat him with such courtesy made him feel happy and stupid at the same time. Well, mostly stupid. But he appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
When they arrive outside his room, Ukitake slid a black envelope into the folds of Ichigo's sleeve. "For when you need help." He winked, fingers grazing the skin beneath the sleeve like the kisses of a butterfly. Ichigo swallowed at the contact and nodded, too distracted to answer verbally.
"Good day." He gave a bow, one that Ichigo mirrored over and over again.
When the screen door finally closed, Ichigo fall onto his futon and sighed. "Fuck." He breathed out the air that he's been holding in. "Being polite is so fucking hard." He said with a smile on his face. Then, before he could even count to three, the boy was thrown back into the land of dreams.
Komamura Sajin was sitting on a hill just outside of his barracks. His large anthropomorphic body was not clad in his usual captains uniform. Instead, he wore a simple cotton kimono coupled with a plain blue haori on top. People who walked past him whispered to each other, pointing at his large wolf head and his lack of uniform. Three months ago he would have snapped and barked out punishment to the dilly dallying officers, but today, nothing can faze him.
Because he has a date with the cutest creature alive.
"Komamura-taichou!" a clear voice snapped him out of his musings, bringing a smile to the captains face. Over in the distance, Hitsugaya Toshiro waved his hand to the larger man, also clad in civilian clothes. He wore a white yukata with green waves etched on the sleeve. On his right hand he brought a large watermelon and on his left hand was a large lunchbox tied off with a checkered fabric. Without a haori to go over his yukata, the boy almost looked like a girl.
"Hitsugaya-san, I told you to call me Sajin."
The smaller man flushed and handed him a large watermelon. "Only if you call me Toshiro, Sajin-san."
"Okay then, Toshiro-kun."
The both sat together, flustered.
"You know, I-"
"I never-"
" " You go first." " the two said in unison.
The two of them laughed, sending them both into deeper blushes. "I guess we are both nervous." Sajin smiled, twiddling with his thumb nervously.
Toshiro stood up, scowled slightly and crossed his hand over his chest. "Well, I've never been on a date before." He said, his voice quivering at the word 'date'. "So I'm afraid I'm going to be rubbish at it, so don't complain okay!" the white haired captain pointed accusingly at his date. Komamura caught the tiny hand and purred.
"You're so cute Toshiro-kun." He said, rubbing a thumb over Toshiro's smooth slender wrist.
Toshiro shivered and slapped the man's arm playfully. "Hey this is sexual harassment." He mocked pouted, hiding his hands behind his body. "You're supposed to take me out on a date before touching me in inappropriate places." He smirked though half lidded eyes.
The combination of a sexy Toshiro and the promise of 'touching in inappropriate places' almost gave Sajin a major nosebleed. Hitsugaya laughed at the look on Komamura's face. "Sajin-san! Don't look so perverted!"
"Eh? Pervert? I'm- I'm" Sajin cursed on his inability to speak. No smooth Casanova here.
Hitsugaya flopped himself next to the large wolf-man and laughed. "So I guess we're both rubbish at this dating thing." He said, toying with a strip of leaf.
"Forgive me this is my first ever, err, date." Komamura scratched his ear.
"Mine too." Hitsugaya scowled, hiding his blushing face behind his knees. The combination of pink skin against the white robes made the boy all the more alluring.
"So we'll learn together then." Saijin put his hand over the smaller captain's, a calloused paw meeting with soft unblemished skin.
"Yeah," Hitsugaya breathed in slightly. "Together." He turned his palm up and held onto Komamura's thumb. The older man smiled gave him a small squeeze.
Of course, the heartfelt exchange has to be interrupted by their growling stomach. Hitsugaya quickly covered his stomach, looking more and more embarrassed. Komamura only laughed and patted the bento box.
"... Lunch?"
"Hisagi-san?" Kira croaked, his body curled up in a fetal position.
"Stark-san?" he called, his voice sounding so sad and pitiful.
"Uh, Ulqui... Ulqui.. uh Stark-san?" Kira gave up on trying to pronounce the white espada's name. He would rather have Stark than with that sadist anyway.
"Ohh? Kira-kun? What happened?" A soft voice called out.
"Ah! Ukitake-taichou!" Kira latched himself onto the thirteenth division captain's leg. "I'm so glad I found you taichou!" he sobbed, rubbing his face against the captain's wonderful silk robes. Before Kira could start his next sentence, a small feel planted itself on the top of blonde's head, knocking him to a nearby wall.
"Get your grubby hands off of Ukitake-sama! You're ruining his ceremonial robes!" Junsui growled, on his hand was Ukitake's shinigami uniform. "Junsui-kun! Don't be so harsh." Ukitake chastised the boy, who pouted and nodded obediently.
"Cere- Ceremonial robes?" Kira accepted the proffered hand. He then saw Ukitake draped in the most extravagant twelve layer Kimono, the colors ranging from midnight blue to the most wonderful turquoise. "Ukitake-san, why are you wearing such an elaborate dress?" Kira blinked, overwhelmed by the extravagance shown before him.
"Ah yes, there is going to be an execution so the King came straight away. As the head of the Ukitake house, I am required to welcome the Royal Procession." Ukitake explained. "Such a macabre affair." He said grimly. "Speaking of uniforms, why aren't you wearing your Shihakusho? Then again... aren't you supposed to be in Hueco Mundo?"
Despite these allegations, Kira was too distracted to be worried by the man's questions. "Wait, that orange hair..."
"Oh no." Ukitake sighed.
"Orange-niichan!" Junsui jumped up, grinning in excitement.
Somewhere in the court of pure soul, Ichigo ran aimlessly, cursing Aizen for sending the Espada to find him. When he first overheard the servants gossiping about an execution, he instantly remembered Rukia and how he fought the Gotei thirteen to save here. A nostalgic smile was replaced by an angry frown. He went through all that trouble to save Rukia, why didn't she put the same effort in saving him? Then, when he heard that the ones that are going to be executed are arrancars, his blood ran cold. "Fucking Aizen." He said, his voice a mix of realization and anger.
So Ichigo went over the gate and ran into the eleventh division barracks. After ten minutes of spiriting though the zig zagging corridors, Ichigo remembered that Kenpachi was still being court marshaled after his offense. So he kicked a wall in frustration, but stubbed his toe on a wooden beam. He then went to the tenth division, looking for help from Hitsugaya. He then found out that the little brat is out on a date, with that wolf guy Komamura nonetheless. It's like the whole universe were making a joke out of his life.
"Fucking Aizen." He growled, kicking a wad of newspaper in anger.
Why can't the man just leave him alone? He would've kept his mouth shut about Las Noches and lived in quiet seclusion as a normal teenage boy. But noooo, the man just have to be his usual possessive prick. And look at what happened, his men are captured and they're going to be executed! And those men are not some low ranking arrancar, they're his espada, the so called elite army of Las Noches. Not only did he send members from his elite army, he sent his Primera fucking espada. How the hell can Ichigo ignored the news of his execution?
"Fucking Aizen." He cursed the man again. He hoped that some divine karmic force would come hold the man down, rip his fucking uniform off, and shove a telephone pole up his ass. Maybe then he'll understand what it feels like to be fucked over. Of course, the boy was talking in metaphors. After all, what kind of man would wish such a fate on to another man like that? Then again the name, 'Aizen fucking Sousuke' was the one that popped into his mind.
In his mussing he didn't notice his host with his former prison mate conversing right in front of him. He also did not notice Junsui, who ran towards him with his arms stretched out, asking for a hug. Naturally, someone that small would trip a running man. And trip, Ichigo did.
"Mother fu-"
"Ichigo!" Ukitake eye widened. He quickly pulled the boy under the folds of his kimono, hiding his ridiculously bright orange hair.
"You! How did you-" Kira Izuru pointed at the boy, his jaw slacked in surprise.
"I don't have time to talk. They're going to kill him!" Ichigo pushed the taller man away, his eyes darting back and forth, looking for the execution grounds.
"You're talking nonsense Ichigo. Just calm down for a second. Who are you talking about?"
"Stark! They're going to kill Stark!"
"This is all your fault."
"For the last time Ulquiorra Cifer, this is not my fault."
"It is. You didn't hurt the shinigami enough, that's why we're in this predicament."
"Oh, because a man in pain would never try to escape, is that it?"
"Exactly. Look at Kurosaki Ichigo. He was comfortable and happy, and he escaped."
"Your argument is invalid. Ichigo was kidnapped and he was not happy."
"Those are negligible facts."
"... You are insane."
"And you are incompetent."
Stark sidestepped a monstrous contraption and hit Ulquiorra squarely on the head, the butt of his sword cracking from the impact. The white faced espada charged up his cero but was unable to fired it for a mechanical tentacle threw him to a nearby wall. "That was unpleasant." He said, rising slowly from the rubble pile. The crowd above them cheered on the small victory, the countless number of faceless individual turning into a monster that screamed and jeered for blood, like the spectators of the Coliseum.
Ulquiorra brushed the dust off his shoulder. He finally understood why Aizen hated the inhabitants of the Court of Pure Souls. They uphold beautiful things such as love, friendship, and loyalty, but at the same time, they choose to torture their prisoner before killing them. How hypocritical. Even the humans have mercy on their prisoners. Such society has no place in the natural order of things. Like the decadent Roman Empire, this society will be erased, and Ulquiorra Cifer is more than happy to do so. With a firm resolve, Ulquiorra pointed at the crowd, a small green ball of energy forming on the tip of his finger. "Cero O-"
"Don't." Stark said, knocking the arrancar's hand away.
"Why not? They want us dead. Killed or be killed."
Stark mouth twitched at the despicable cliché.
"What's that? Kill or be killed?" Ichigo snorted. "That's hardly the way to live."
"No." He said firmly. " We will not cause any fatality." He jabbed his finger to Ulquiorra's chest. "That is an order."
Just as those words left his lips, multitudes of darts began to shower at the two arrancar. The two espada jumped and snoidoed away, trying their best to avoid the needles. No matter how fast they moved, those small projectile still managed to embedded themselves into their bodies, quickly paralyzing the area where they hit. Stark pulled out one that stuck to his leg, sniffing it's needle to confirm his fear. "Poison." He said. Ulquiorra stared at the two needle in his palm, still not believing that he, an espada, would fall victim to an archaic technology.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? STOP YOU BASTARDS, STOP!" A voice separated itself from the crowd's chanting, drawing attention from the two espada. The owner of the voice pushed though the crowd, fighting fiercely to reach the edge of the pit. "STARK! STARK!"
"Ichigo." The Primera espada sighed at the voice, dropping to his knees. He could already feel the poison coursing in his blood.
Ichigo punched a fat man beside him and held onto the railing. With uncanny grace, he flung himself over the edge and flew down into the pit, his orange hair fluttering down for everyone to see.
The shinigami on the officer's tribune gasped, instantly reconizing the shade of orange hair. "What in the name..." Yamamoto Genryusai turned to his fukutaichou, "How did he escape Hueco Mundo?" he demanded from the equally confused shinigami. On the royal box, the silhouette behind the screen shifted forward with interest.
"Are you okay?" Ichigo grabbed Stark's shoulder, shaking the man. The Primera espada smiled, happy to finally be with the person that he longed so much to see. He raised his hand to shield Ichigo's face from a nearby blast, stripping the flesh from his bone in a mere second. Ulquiorra dragged himself to the two figure and began chanting. "You are a handful Kurosaki Ichigo." He said tiredly, his voice devoid of malice or anger. A thin line began to appear, a slower version of the Garganta.
"Stop them! Don't let them get away!" The captain commander shouted. The technical team below nodded and turned the dial up, pushing the machine up to it's maximum killing capacity.
On the waves of crowd, Ukitake unsheathed his sword and knocked the people around him with his reiatsu. Kira eye widened. The man is going to jump. "No Ukitake-taichou, don't!" Kira wrapped his arm around the captain's waist, hoping that his weight is enough to keep the captain from jumping down. It wasn't.
The two landed right behind Ichigo, standing between him and the raging machine. Recognizing a new target, the machine locked it's target and with a soft whirling sound, a missile was launched. Ukitake quickly swung his sword up to deflect the incoming missile, saving the boy and the espada from mortal peril. Before Ichigo could turn and address the man, the Garganta opened and swallowed them all.
The pit is now empty.
Nobody in the execution ground moved.
On the royal box, the King laughed. "That was entertaining! Please tell me that the next act would be just as exhilarating." He snapped his fan open and hid his face behind it.
A man draped in purple robed approached the bamboo screen, kneeling down until his head was touching the ground. "Your majesty, there is a dance pre-."
"I don't like dancing, it puts me out to sleep." The silhouette snapped his fan closed angrily. "Get me more people to execute." The man clad in purple nodded and pointed at the spectators. The royal guards bowed and jumped down, grabbing about a dozen of shinigami by their robes and throwing them down into the pit. The raging machine caught the screaming shinigamis in it's great black maw and crushed them, painting blood onto the walls.
There were no cheering. There were no chanting. There were only agonized screams, the crunching of bones, and the emanating from the laughter in the royal box.
"More! More! More!" The King shouted.
Amongst the crowd, Hisagi eyes widened in terror.
A/N: DUNDUNDUUUUNNNNNN! A chapter with some actual plot involved? gasp
What do you think? Yes? Nay? Where the hell is the Yaoi? go right ahead, put it in the review pile! Reviews makes me happy :D
ps: Check back tomorrow for a special Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa gift from yours truly.
byebyeeee