Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Karin squeezed her eyes tighter while clinging to Zangetsu's muscular neck. Karin had her hands wrapped tight around the dragon's neck as she leaned over hugging him even tighter as she felt the wind sweep over her.
"I can't believe you took off like that." Karin mumbled to the dragon's scales she couldn't hear her own words since they were swept away by the wind.
"Are you scared, child?" She heard Zangetsu's booming voice under her ear and vibrating through the scales on his skin.
"YES! OF course I'm scared. The only other time you've flown I fell from your back." Karin yelled back to him. She heard Zangetsu groan in what sounded like pain.
"Karin there is no need for you to scream, remember I have excellent hearing." Zangetsu's chuckles vibrated through her as she continued clinging to him for dear life.
"Yeah, well you didn't hear that whistle so I don't know how good your hearing is." Karin retorted with her eyes sealed shut.
"You don't have to bring that up." Zangetsu complained to Karin.
Karin gripped tighter to Zangetsu causing him to chuckle even more.
"You are a very strange human, Karin." Zangetsu declared to the scared girl on his back.
"Why is that?" Karin asked keeping her eyes closed.
"You show no fear in a den of dragons, you even threaten some of us, yet you are afraid of a little height." Karin could feel Zangetsu shake his head at her strangeness.
"This is not a little height - this is a lot of height." Karin defended her fear.
"It's not high as long as you don't look down," Zangetsu explained causing Karin to grip tighter.
"I CANT BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!" Karin shrieked into Zangetsu's neck. That shriek also nearly busted his very sensitive hearing.
"What did I say?" Zangetsu asked in confusion. Honestly, he could not figure this girl out she flips out because of one sentence.
"You told me not to look down." The dragon turned his head around to glance at Karin. "You never tell a person to look down because then they always look down." Karin explained hugging him tighter.
"So then, humans will do the opposite of what they are told." Zangetsu mused to no one in particular.
"Yes." Karin answered.
"Well then, don't look up." Zangetsu's words caused Karin's eyes to snap open in surprise and she stared at his neck that was thicker than a tree trunk.
"What the heck did you mean don't look up?" Karin found she couldn't resist looking up so she started slowly sitting up as her eyes looked up higher and she looked up at the starry sky. She had never seen so many stars in her life - there was a complete ocean of stars.
"Wow." Karin mumbled but Zangetsu still heard her.
"The night sky is very beautiful. It would be a shame if you missed it." Zangetsu explained. Karin looked down and was relieved that she couldn't see the ground due to Zangetsu's large body blocking her view. She stayed in her seat at the base of Zangetsu's neck just above his shoulders and his wings that were flapping in a steady, strong rhythm to keep them airborne. She saw his wings move up and down, then still in mid flap to move into a glide for a few moments. During a moment that Zangetsu was gliding, Karin could see her saddle bags in the crook of the wing and shoulder blade under the pale moonlight. It looked like everything was there even her bow and arrows. Karin looked back up to the sky and stared even harder simply focusing on the sky.
"I've never seen the stars this close before, it looks like I could reach up and touch them." Karin exclaimed.
"I wouldn't suggest that, you might fall off." Karin heard Toushiro to her right side. Just a few yards away was Toushiro riding Hyourinmaru, he seemed to take being in the air much easier than Karin.
"Yeah, I've done that before and this is waaay higher." Karin laughed nervously scratching the back of her head.
"As long as you stay put and don't move then you'll be perfectly fine." Toushiro reassured her when he noticed she started looking up at the night sky again.
"What are you looking at?" Toushiro asked her making her transfer her gaze back to him.
"I've never seen the stars this close. They are so very beautiful. Don't you think, Toushiro?" Karin commented looking back up at the stars. She didn't see that Toushiro never took his eyes off her.
"Yeah beautiful," Toushiro whispered then looked away when Karin glanced back to him.
"Hey, Zangetsu, where are we going anyway?" Karin asked the black dragon she was riding. Now that she had gotten over her fear she could finally think straight.
"We are going to see one of the elder dragons." Zangetsu answered her question.
"You mean Ryuujin Jakka." Karin nervously asked.
"Yes, is there something the matter?" Zangetsu noted her voice became very nervous when she spoke his name.
"It's just that he scares me, and I've never even met him." Karin could hear both dragons laugh at her observation.
"Yes, everyone is scared of him, child." Hyourinmaru exclaimed to her as he flew closer to Zangetsu so the humans could speak more freely.
"What will we do with the humans, Hyourinmaru?" Zangetsu asked the icy dragon as they flew farther through the night.
"We cannot take them into the den, Ryuujin would be furious." Hyourinmaru noted.
"I take it he doesn't like humans." Toushiro guessed causing Hyourinmaru to nod his head in agreement.
"Yes, boy, the older dragons remember what it was like when our kind was not hunted and many of them are bitter. The very thought of a human is enough to anger them into attacking, it is because of this reason those dragons are in their own land far away from any human contact." Hyourinmaru exclaimed with a sigh.
"I can't imagine what they will do when they see the two of you." Hyourinmaru admitted.
"Furious will be an understatement." Zangetsu agreed.
"However, I believe the only dragons we have to worry with are Saru Zabimaru and Hebi Zabimaru along with Ryuujin. I think the other dragons would tolerate the humans, however I cannot know for sure." Hyourinmaru postulated to the small group. Karin looked at both dragons as her situation started to make sense.
"Hyourinmaru, I'm sorry that I tried to bargain with you." Karin apologized to the ice dragon as he listened.
"All is well, child. I understand completely, if I was in your position I would most likely do the same."
"Still, I didn't know how much trouble you were getting into by even talking to me." Karin admitted and the dragon nodded his head.
"Well, since we're talking about friends getting into trouble, you should ask Toushiro about his position." Zangetsu spoke up making Toushiro very nervous since he would be in trouble when he returned to the village.
"What are you talking about?"
"It's nothing, I'll explain later." Toushiro admitted and silently wished he could hit the black dragon. But that move would more than likely cause Karin to fall, and there was no chance he would endanger her in anyway.
"It doesn't sound like nothing." Karin stated as the sun started to rise in the horizon.
"Karin, I'll tell you later. I think we should have this conversation on the ground." Toushiro ended his statement and leaned in close to Hyourinmaru so he could whisper.
"I would appreciate it if you would not say anything until I can talk to her. I don't think she'll like my decision." Toushiro whispered and Hyourinmaru agreed to his condition.
The dragons continued flying as the sun rose waking up the earth below to the new day.
………
Rangiku woke up to a silent house for the first time in eleven years. She could not accept the idea of Toushiro being out in the forest alone going after Karin with no help and only Winter Storm as his sole ally.
"I can't keep this from Yuzu. What am I going to do?" Rangiku whispered as she stood from a restless sleep.
Looking out the window, she knew that Yuzu would be by later that day after school let out and look for Karin. She'll most likely find Masaki in the stable and Winter Storm missing. Yuzu is a smart girl and she'll know that something is up when she can't find Karin. So, Rangiku was in a pretty pickle. She couldn't tell Yuzu because the poor girl would worry far too much; and she couldn't let Yuzu come looking for her sister because this would worry her even more: first for Karin's disappearance, and second for Rangiku's lies. So no matter how you cut it, Rangiku was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
She was still thinking furiously as she dressed for the day. There may be one bright spot: it was morning and perhaps Chief Yamamoto would allow a search party to go out and look for them. Rangiku knew how dangerous these woods were. Come to think of it, it was pure lunacy to live amidst a forest infested with dragons. Rangiku stared out the window, fully dressed, toward the stable and she knew what she had to do. She would tell Yuzu and beg Yamamoto to form a search party, but if he refused then Rangiku would go out alone if she had to. Rangiku would not allow Toushiro and Karin to stay in the woods for another night.
"Okay, time to face the day." Rangiku strode out her home heading toward the stable to take care of Masaki.
"I really need a drink," Rangiku mumbled to no one so she jumped in surprise when she heard an answer right next to her.
"Well, you should have accepted my offer last night." Shunsui Kyoraku whispered to her. Out of reaction she turned and slapped him hard leaving a red hand print on his left cheek (again).
"WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT?" Kyoraku yelled rubbing his aching cheek trying to massage the sting away.
"WELL, I WOULDN'T HAVE SLAPPED YOU IF YOU DIDN'T SNEAK UP ON ME!" Rangiku yelled back to him then her eyes fell to the ground, the fire leaving her stormy eyes. Shunsui blinked for a minute at seeing this sudden change in mood with Rangiku.
"Are you alright?" Shunsui asked forgetting his cheek for the time being.
Rangiku shook her head in the negative when she looked back up to him, Shunsui saw her eyes showed defeat and she was on the verge of tears.
"Toushiro and Karin aren't back yet and Yuzu will be looking for her sister later today. I can't lie to her again, I have to tell her." Rangiku was surprised when she saw his gentle smile.
"Yeah, there's no way to keep Yuzu from knowing. And when she finds out, her father will find out, and boy will he be mad." Shunsui adjusted his straw hat on his head as he reasoned the problem they were in.
"Then knowing that Karin and Toushiro are still out in the woods; they've been gone for twenty-four hours. Everyone knows the longer someone is out in the woods alone, the slimmer the chances that person will come back alive." Shunsui contemplated as Rangiku started to lose control.
"How could I have let this happen?" Rangiku cried in her hands.
"I just let them go out and I didn't try to stop him or even go with him!" Rangiku cried even harder. Shunsui patted her on the shoulder to try and calm her some.
"You know Toushiro better than anyone. Let me ask," Shunsui waited until she was looking up to him before he continued. "Do you think he went to sleep last night without finding Karin?" Rangiku blinked up at him.
"No, he won't rest until he finds her." Rangiku answered.
"Doesn't he know these woods better than anyone in the village?" Shunsui asked again, Rangiku was calming down as he reasoned away her fears.
"Yes, that's right. He even knew where that vine came from that Masaki brought with her." Rangiku looked up at him as she started to understand.
"That's right, so he would know where to look. He would have started in the first place he knew she was located." Shunsui smiled as he watched Rangiku's tears dry up.
"He knows Karin better than anyone." Rangiku smiled as she thought of her young charge.
"Yes he does. He knows what she's thinking, right?"
"Yes, so he would know exactly where she went and he would find her." Rangiku finally stopped crying and she even started to laugh.
"That's right, so they were probably at a nice campfire having an unexpected camping trip." Shunsui explained to Rangiku as all of her fears melted away.
"You are so right, Captain Kyoraku. I don't know what I was worried about." Rangiku laughed again as she turned back toward the stable where Masaki was waiting for her breakfast.
"I'll even bet you they are on their way home right this minute." Shunsui finally stated easing all doubt and worry from Rangiku's mind for good.
"Yep, but when he gets back I am going to ground him for making me worry!" Rangiku threatened when she heard a horse whiny.
"It looks like your horse is getting agitated." Shunsui commented just as they watched a dapple gray horse trot from the forest going straight to Rangiku.
"WINTER STORM!" Rangiku ran to the horse as it stopped right in front of her.
"Where have you been? Where is Toushiro?" Rangiku asked when she noticed Winter wasn't wearing a saddle or bridle, he only had his harness with what looked like parchment securely wrapped around the fabric of the harness.
"What's this?" Rangiku pulled it from his harness when he nudged her hand with his nose. When she pulled the note from Winter, the horse walked straight to the barn where he greeted Masaki before he drank several long gulps of water.
Rangiku un-wrapped the letter and gasped when she recognized the handwriting.
"It's from Toushiro." Rangiku exclaimed as she started to read with Shunsui looking over her shoulder.
"What's it say?" Shunsui asked over her shoulder.
"It says: Rangiku, I found Karin and we are both safe. Something came up so we'll be gone longer than planned. See you when I get back. Toushiro Hitsugaya." Rangiku finished reading the note. She blinked and read the note again, and again.
"What does he mean he doesn't know when he's coming back?" Rangiku asked in surprise.
"Well at least we know he's alive and he found Karin." Shunsui brightened as he started to turn away.
"Yeah, he found Karin but now where is he?" Rangiku yelled to the paper as if it would answer her demand.
"Look, Rangiku, I'm sure he'll come back soon." Shunsui exclaimed with hope.
"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. But, I guarantee when he gets back he is going to be grounded. Do you hear me, Toushiro Hitsugaya?" Rangiku yelled up to the sky.
"When you get back here you are grounded for the rest of your life!" Rangiku screamed at the top of her lungs, both she and Shunsui were surprised when they heard her cry echo through the woods.
……………………
Flying up in the air, Toushiro sneezed.
"Are you getting a cold?" Hyourinmaru asked up to the boy.
"No, I think someone's talking about me." Toushiro exclaimed.
"What does that mean?" Zangetsu asked the humans.
"There's an old saying that when you sneeze it means someone is thinking of you." Karin happily answered.
"Well, why weren't you sneezing all day?" Zangetsu asked the girl on his back.
"What do you mean?" Karin asked him, the dragons would have slapped their foreheads if they weren't flying.
"Never mind," Zangetsu sighed to the little group so Karin simply shrugged her shoulder then an idea struck her.
"Hey, you know what, Toushiro?" Toushiro looked over at him giving her his full attention. "I'll bet that Rangiku found your note."
"Good, now she won't be so worried." Toushiro exclaimed.
"But, I'll bet she's pretty mad at you." Karin laughed a little at the thought of the boy genius getting into trouble.
"Well, I wouldn't be out here if you hadn't run away." Toushiro glared at her.
"I didn't run away, Toushiro, I ran out to kill those gargoyles that attacked my brother." Karin defended her actions.
"Besides, I wasn't planning on running into any dragons." Karin indicated the dragons they were now riding.
"And, I was planning on getting you back to Karakura before last night." Toushiro answered as the dragons began to fly toward a new mountain range.
"Hey, Zangetsu, what's that?" Karin asked pointing up to the mountains.
"That is where the dragon nest is located. Do you see that valley down there? It is called Ryu-Manako," Zangetsu pointed to a spot in between two large mountains so Karin could see. However, she forgot for a moment that she was currently flying a dragon and saw the ground very, very far away so she did the natural thing. She shrieked, squeezed her eyes shut and clung to Zangetsu's neck with more force than in the night.
"What now?" Hyourinmaru asked Karin as she hugged Zangetsu even tighter.
"I looked down." Karin spoke into Zangetsu's neck and she heard the big dragon sigh.
"I thought that you had gotten over that." Zangetsu explained.
"Yeah, well you can't see the ground in the middle of the night, but you can see it in the middle of the morning. So, yes, I was scared." Karin complained to the group.
"You are assuming that I plan on letting you fall, child." Zangetsu answered. He pretended to be hurt by her lack of trust towards his flying.
"Well no offense Zangetsu but I fell once before and that doesn't give me too much confidence that I can stay on when you fly higher." Karin explained as she continued to cling.
"Don't worry, Karin. I won't let you fall." Toushiro's words eased Karin's eyes open as she looked over at him.
"Yeah Toushiro, I can always trust you to catch me." Karin answered making Toushiro smile over to her just as she returned the smile.
"This is a very sweet moment for you humans, but we are approaching a much larger dragon den that is filled with dragons with a deep hatred of humans. Hyourinmaru, we need a plan so these two will not be attacked." Zangetsu brought everyone back to reality as the dragons hovered over the mountains.
"You are correct, Zangetsu." Hyourinmaru thought as he stared at the mountain range. The only way to enter the valley is to fly so it kept the dragon den safe from humans and any land walking gargoyles. There is a single path to the valley but it is constantly watched by the Katen sisters. They are two sister dragons from the same litter, and they are the only dragons who are telepathic. The Katen sisters are the permanent guards to the only land pass into the Ryu-Manako. They take turns guarding the gate: one sleeps the other watches the gate, and vice versa. The sisters see and attack everything that moves within the passage and not even a rabbit can pass into the valley.
So, the only safe way into the valley is by air but even there the sky is guarded. There are several guards for the valley from the air, but the most dangerous are Saru Zabimaru and Hebi Zabimaru. These two dragons are brother and sister from two different litters, Saru is the oldest and Hebi is the youngest. Hebi had just hatched when the first nest was destroyed and the young were killed. Saru has never let go of the deaths of her comrades and family so it shows in her patrols. She watches the sky day and night, sleeping very little and only when Ryuujin Jakka is out will she rest. Saru has made it her mission to kill everything that passes over the valley except for the dragons of the valley. So far, not even a Sparrow has survived the flight across the valley.
The guardians of the Ryu-Manako were certainly a threat and it would not be easy to sneak humans into the valley.
"We cannot approach by the air because one of the Zabimaru's will see the humans." Zangetsu reasoned with Hyourinmaru. Hyourinmaru simply nodded his head in agreement.
"That leaves the land passage." Hyourinmaru explained causing Zangetsu to stare at the ice dragon with his bright yellow eyes.
"The Katen sisters will kill the humans and us as well before we get even a few feet within the entrance." Zangetsu explained. While they were speaking, Karin and Toushiro were glancing between each other and the dragons hearing the worry in the dragons' voices.
"Zangetsu, do you remember how you brought the human girl into the den without our notice?" Hyourinmaru asked again, Zangetsu nodded at the memory.
"You will do the same but this time with both humans." Hyourinmaru ordered leaving very little room for argument as he led the way into one of the mountains. Zangetsu followed Hyourinmaru as he landed on a rocky out cropping with loose rocks tumbling to the ground several hundred feet below.
"Is that the passage?" Karin asked pointing down the side of the ledge.
"No, Karin." Zangetsu stated then he pointed a sharp claw to a deep ravine several hundred feet away. From where Karin sat on Zangetsu's back, she could barely see two tall smooth cliff walls with no ledge or crack along any of the surface. From her angle, she couldn't tell how deep it was but she could see it could only fit one dragon forcing multiple dragons to walk in a straight line. She could also tell there was no way a dragon could fly into or out of the path. Karin took a long gulp as she looked over the path they were supposed to take with another long look.
"How do we enter?" Toushiro asked as he too analyzed the path.
"We must start at the entrance which is at the beginning of the mountain and we must walk in single file. We should get to the entrance of the Ryu-Manako in two hours." Hyourinmaru answered just as he took off. Zangetsu followed right behind. The dragons flew to the beginning of the mountain where they landed.
"Did you say two hours?" Karin asked and Zangetsu nodded his head.
"Yes, he did."
"So, how will you sneak us in?" Toushiro asked again.
"You both are going to be hidden under Zangetsu's wings. I will go first and Zangetsu will follow. The two of you must remain quiet through the entire passage. Is that understood?" Hyourinmaru quietly ordered. Karin and Toushiro looked down the path and nodded their heads in unison.
A/N: Here is another chapter and I need your help. You know that Katen Kyokutsu (Kyoraku's zanpakto) does not have separate names so I need your help in making names for them. You guys helped me so much with Zangetsu's name so I need your help again.
Also, let me know what you think of this chapter. Please review.
This Fanfiction was inspired by the movie How To Train Your Dragon.
A/N2: Anyone who sends me a name will get a cookie or a tree of cookies depending on how much I like the name. :)
Ryu-Manako means Dragon Eye (I thought it an appropriate name for a valley filled with dragons). ;)