HELLOOOO~! I'M BACK AGAIN AND READY FOR ACTION!
… All right, first things first: I hate school. Second: I'm hungry. Third: Does anyone have red velvet cakes? My mom is taking so long to put frosting.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara or Bleach…or else it would be horrible… or won't even exist T.T And just as I promised…
Reviewers:
Riley Lupin-Black: AHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god, that's hilarious! XD I have to say, you have a much better sense of humor than me. At least yours isn't mostly forced! X) LOVE your reviews! Today, I suddenly got lazy to continue the story since I was running out of inspiration, but because of yours and the other's reviews, it just bumped my determination back up! Thank you so much for that and for that awesome review!
Lazyslacker: O.O –stares into oblivion for a few silent minutes, until immediately running through the notes of the story- Oh my god. –looks on another paper- OH MY GOD. –looks up- OH MY GOD! THAT IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA! I SHOULD TOTALLY ADD MOMO IN IT! I guess I'll add Hollows to the story if that's what you really want~! I've been asking people if they wanted Hollows in the story, but now I finally get a straight answer! Thank you! Hmm, it's going to be difficult trying to create an inner self for Momo because she's pretty much who she wants to be, but I'll try. Also that's a good idea about the ancestor part! Hang on, peoples! Momo's coming very soon! Thank you for your suggestions and awesome review!
Ice Night: I congratulate you for being the first signed in reviewer! :D (Not talking badly about the other reviewers) I'm glad you find it interesting! Though I wish I could do better… I'll try to keep on updating as soon as possible –pause- as long as I could keep up in school… -waves hands frantically- I'm not saying I'm failing or anything, but it's just that the story is frequently on my mind, so I can't exactly focus sometimes! XD
Shiro- Thank you for your reviews! I wanted to try a different guardian character for Toshiro instead of the Guardian Character who is trying to make him more childish. "Try something new" they always say~! I personally thought that the 'cool and icy' bit that I did was a bit weird though.
Mia- -scratches head sheepishly- thanks, I'll try my best to keep it up!
Guard- Thank you~! I'm trying my best to update my writing as I go on, so your words will most likely help me in doing this! The chibi Toshiro- I kind of wished that he could've been a bit different though. They seemed too much alike for my taste. You know what? You're probably right about the necklace!
Bl- Thank you so much~! I tried my best to not make Toshiro sound so OOC or something. Any suggestions will be entirely welcome!
Chapter 5
He needed some fresh air.
Ditching his gigai after telling his mod soul to go home, to which it nodded obediently and emotionlessly, he jumped onto the soccer field the guardian and his team was using. Just as he stepped onto the ground, he noticed the sixth year guardian…Soma Kukai, stare at him. He froze, but relaxed a bit after he realized that he wasn't exactly seeing him. With the considerate amount of reiatsu he had, it wasn't that surprising that he could see him slightly. He watched Kukai shake his head, but before the boy could look again, Hitsugaya shunpoed off.
He didn't understand why the Head Captain sent him on this mission in the first place. Was it because he knew that he could probably fit in because of his, he dare say it, childish looks? What was the real purpose of the mission?
He stopped on top of a telephone pole, lost in thought, until he noticed a specific lean, tall, and navy-haired teenager (or young adult) walking down the street. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. A case was slung over his back… a violin case. He widened his eyes a fraction as the memories came crashing down. He almost forgot about the boy he saw that night during the incident. He had an adequate amount of reiatsu- as much as Soma (or Kukai). Hitsugaya bent his knees slightly, ready to follow, until a specific malicious entered his senses. His Soul Pager rang, and he flipped it open, locating the exact spot where the Hollow has appeared- the park. He cursed inwardly. Pocketing the Soul Pager, he shunpoed off towards the location, taking one last glance at the suspicious boy and memorizing his features.
~XoX~
"Urusai, Matsumoto."
Said woman continued to laugh loudly as they walked the path back to their temporary home, ignoring her captain's words for the fiftieth time. "B-but, it was s-so hilarious!"
He just wanted peace, that's all he was asking. Yet, he was here, stuck with his bouncy lieutenant, trying to get him to express his humiliation. And it was all because of the person next to him. He twitched in annoyance.
"You should have seen your face, Taicho~!" Matsumoto continued to pester him to make him break.
"No, Matsumoto I shouldn't have seen my face, but unfortunately I did, so be quiet or I will get rid of the sake that I know you hid under both of our beds," as he said this, he pointedly glared at her.
His expression broke as he blinked when his lieutenant suddenly quieted. He blinked again, and he was staring into thin air. He looked off into the distance and saw a faint cloud of dirt getting smaller and smaller by the minute.
In truth, he only guessed.
But now he knew that his prediction was correct, his lieutenant was surely going to dread the moment he sets his eyes on her once again. He sighed, rubbing his throbbing temple. She just had to behind him when he turned around after purifying the hollow who was trying to attack the innocent civilians. She just had to be moving towards him once he turned around. And she just had to be there, laughing her butt off as her superior fell to the ground after, unfortunately, bouncing off her well-endowed chest and as his face turned almost as red as a tomato. Least to say, he was not pleased.
For what seemed like ages, he walked down the dim walkway, for once not going over his mission or his duties as a Soul Reaper. He instead relished the calmness and silence of the open-air. For some reason, he didn't want to go back to the house just yet. So, he did what any other curious person would do. He explored.
Hitsugaya walked down roads, through the parks, and out to the city streets. To anyone else, he would seem like he had a destination in mind. In reality however, he was taking in the 'wonders' of the World of the Living. People everywhere chattered and bustled around him, but he paid them no heed. He looked up into the dark, starry sky. Seeing the perfectly round moon, he wanted to soar, to take to the sky and answer its calls. He wanted to feel the cool, night air against his face, to actually feel free. But he knew that it wasn't going to happen. Not in this place. His mission comes first. That's all that matters. He'll fulfill his desires once he gets back to Soul Society after he finishes his mission.
Little did he know, a certain group of Guardians were walking down the same path he was, enjoying each other's company. Amu smiled absently at the imitations Yaya was making of her teachers (not rudely of course). She was lost in her own little world with her guardians floating around her head. That is, until she bumped into someone, making her stumble back and give out a small, flustered apology.
"Sorry," the person she bumped into muttered in a familiar voice.
She froze and slowly looked up, meeting the inattentive face of Toshiro Hitsugaya (who was looking through her at the moment), "T-Toshiro-kun?"
Hitsugaya barely registered the civilian bumping into him. But he was sharply pulled out his trance by the same civilian saying his name. He inwardly twitched in annoyance when that person used his first name. Blinking away the last of his daze, he focused his attention on the person in front of him. "Hinamori," he acknowledged, feeling a bit odd as he remembered that this girl had the same name as his childhood friend.
"Hitsugaya-kun," Tadase called out once he and his group realized that Amu was left behind and went back. "What are you doing here?"
Hitsugaya stared back at them with an impassive expression. "Exploring," he simply said.
The King waited until he realized he wasn't going elaborate. "Ah, I see," Tadase said with a small sweat drop, already feeling a bit awkward. Thankfully, he was saved by a certain soccer star.
"How are you doing, soccer player?" Kukai asked, but he didn't give time for Hitsugaya to give an answer. "Nice weather isn't it?"
Hitsugaya blinked and raised an eyebrow incredulously at the teen. "Yes. Yes it is," he answered leisurely. "And, I'll be going now." He nodded to the others in acknowledgement and turned on his heel and started walking away.
"O-oy," Kukai made a half-hearted effort to stop the white-haired youth, but said 'boy' didn't stop until he was swallowed by the crowd.
The group stared at the spot where Hitsugaya once stood. "He's not exactly Mr. Social Butterfly, is he?" Kukai broke the silence.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
~XoX~
He scowled all the way out the doors of his dreaded school. There were several things that were irritating him. One, his lazy fuku-taicho was nowhere to be found since last night. Two, the Guardians were still pursuing him and trying to be 'friendly' with him. And lastly, the amount of Hollows has increased overnight. Though this may be because of the Guardian's and a select number of children's reiatsu increasing slightly every day. Before, there were barely any hollows when he was first assigned. Heck, he didn't even sense any at all until about a week after. Now, there were about 2-3 hollows appearing every other day. It wasn't something a captain or seated officer couldn't handle, but this meant that he wouldn't be able to relax more peacefully. Someone really hates him up there.
He was yet again pulled out of his thoughts when his Soul Pager beeped- signaling that there was another Hollow that appeared. He sighed. He would never admit it out loud, but he really needed a break.
~XoX~
Hitsugaya nonchalantly got in his gigai and deposited his Gikogan in the dispenser as if he hadn't just killed off a creature that could destroy someone's life/soul. He surveyed the area. No doubt that the humans would wonder what has happened; especially considering the fact that the park was adorned with newly made cracks and craters about a foot deep. Fortunately, there was no one around for the hollows to harm. He hurried to the exit of the park, hoping no one would notice his appearance in the park during the 'accident'.
His prayers weren't answered.
Just as he was about a foot away from the exit, a familiar individual rushed inside the area. He stopped immediately, identifying the intruder as Hinamori- the girl with the bubble-gum hair.
At the last moment, Amu noticed the white-haired youth. She dug her heels in the ground, screeching to a stop half a foot away from him. She wobbled like an unstable stick until she regained her balance that was lost from her rush. "T-Toshiro-kun! What are you doing here?" she asked, panting heavily, her body bent over and her hands on her knees. When he didn't answer, she looked behind him and gaped at the scene, "what happened?!"
Toshiro sighed once more when she said his first name once again. Just what he needed, another person who refuses to say his name right. He had a small theory that she does it unintentionally, though. He reached into his pocket for the memory modifier (1), but paused as another reiatsu filled his senses. Another hollow? He looked behind him and saw a Garganta open as a huge hollow poked its head through. A horrified cry made him look back towards the human. Her eyes were wide with unmistakable terror as she stared directly at the hollow. So, she was able to see huge hollows clearly?
Amu couldn't find any words that described her fear and terror as she saw an inhuman creature appear from what looked like a black hole. She couldn't believe her eyes. First of all, it was humongous. It was about twice the size of her house, with a hole through its chest where its heart should be. Its hands were about the size of a car! But what also caught her attention was the huge, white mask that covered its whole face and red, empty eyes. "N-no way," she whispered in horror. "This isn't real, this isn't real."
Ran, Miki, and Su obscured her vision, snapping her out of her horror-stricken trance. "Amu-chan! Hold yourself together!" They said in unison.
Amu looked at them, their determined faces were flashed with fear, but they were still hopeful. "You guys," Amu said, softly.
Hitsugaya however, wasn't included in the touchy scene. He was pre-occupied enough with figuring out why the Hollow disappeared. He looked around, not being able to sense anything. Wait, 'not being able to sense anything'? Sure enough, when he tried to focus on the reiatsu the girl was supposed to be emitting, he couldn't sense anything. Neither could he sense the reiatsu of her guardians around her. Did the hollow dull his way of sensing reiatsu? He reached into his pocket for his Gikogan, but then a sudden scream made him pause and swerve around, her name at the tip of his tongue. Before he could say anything however, a sudden weight slammed his body to the ground, knocking the breath out of his lungs. A clatter on his far right took his attention and when he looked, he saw his Gikogan dispenser skidding farther and farther away from their location. He cursed. How was he supposed to get out of his Gigai now?
"TOSHIRO!"
Her voice was filled with terror. Amu was just about to run towards the transfer who was being crushed, but the leviathan took one look at her and swiped her aside. She barely registered flying through the air and crashing on the ground as she froze with her expression full of agony and pain- so much more unbearable than anything she has ever experienced. She couldn't move. She just stared, her vision getting blurry, at the white haired transfer who also froze and stared at her with a shocked expression. She watched his eyes contort with sudden rage, but everywhere else was strangely calm.
Least to say, Toshiro was downright outraged. How could he be so weak right now? Because of him, one of the people he was told to protect was practically writhing inwardly in pain several feet away. He inwardly shook his head. No. He shouldn't think that way. It was true that she was in pain, but that doesn't mean that he still can't save her. Heaving in a huge lungful of air, he strained with everything he's got in his faux body to lift the huge appendage currently on him. It worked, and while the hollow was distracted, he skillfully rolled out from under the hand, stopping in a kneeled position, but immediately jumped/ran to a different area as the Hollow hit the spot where he was a second ago. He realized several attempts later to catch him that the Hollow was purposefully drawing him away from his important item that he needed.
Suddenly, the hollow stopped.
Toshiro also paused in a stance, ready to dash past the hollow to his Gikogan. Until, he noticed something important. Where was Hinamori? He looked around, making sure to not give the hollow an opening. He couldn't see her. Movement from the hollow caught his eye, so he once again focused back to the hollow. The hollow's tail whipped behind the owner, causing dirt- wait, tail? Toshiro widened his eyes a fraction. Last time he checked, the hollow didn't have a tail. A flash of pink made him fix his gaze at the tip of the extension. The hollow lifted its tail in the air, showing the now unconscious Hinamori wrapped in its grasp. He clenched his jaw.
He was cornered. He wouldn't be able to reach his Gikogan or else Hinamori would lose her life- killed by a hollow; and at such a young age at that. His eyes flashed dangerously. He was not going to allow that. No matter what, he was going to protect this human. If he couldn't protect a human and kill off a lowly hollow, he wasn't worthy enough to become a captain, and he knew it.
Being squeezed tightly, a certain Bubble-gum haired girl woke up. She drowsily opened her eyes. At first, she thought that she was imagining things, but when she realized that she was actually over ten feet in the air, she immediately widened her eyes and started struggling against the harsh grip. Her actions were sluggish due to the fact that 1) she just woke up, and 2) not too while ago she was tossed halfway across a park so she was bound to still feel at least a bit of pain. She paused, seeing Ran, Miki, and Su trying in vain to pull her free. The memories before she passed out came flooding into her brain. Amu looked around; trying to spot the person she once saw was in danger. There he was. He was just… standing? No, it looked like he was thinking. She looked closely and practically saw the gears rolling in his head. Other than small scrapes here and there, he actually seemed fine- exhausted, but fine. She inwardly sighed in relief. She hoped that they would find a way out of this mess.
Toshiro saw her wake up. He couldn't find a way out, and the hollow was starting to get a little impatient. It took a step forward and he got into a defensive stance, feeling the stare of its hostage watching him. Where was his lousy lieutenant when he needed her? He couldn't possibly protect Hinamori and have the strength to defeat a huge hollow in his current body.
"Then change."
Toshiro blinked. He sharply looked behind him, keeping the hollow in his peripheral vision, but he couldn't see anything or feel anything due to his loss of sensing reiatsu.
"From a person who doesn't have the strength to protect to a person who does, CHARACTER CHANGE!"
…What?
He couldn't ponder anymore when a small, glowing, ice-crystal necklace popped onto his neck and his body wasn't in his control anymore. Without wanting to do so, 'he' grinned and yelled out to the hollow, "COME AND GET ME YOU MORON!"
Amu gawked. That...isn't him. The Toshiro she has met doesn't give out a cocky grin in a serious situation. The Toshiro she acquainted with doesn't yell out to a monster and call him names! He might as well be trying to get himself killed!
Meanwhile, the real Toshiro was pounding for control inside his mind, wondering what the heck was going on.
The hollow lunged- Amu yelling out as the wind whipped her face.
'Toshiro' continued to grin, even as he saw the hollow roaring and leaping at him. He simply just raised a hand to his necklace, detached the diminutive ice-crystal from the necklace and held it out in front of him. "Hoarfrost screen!" his mouth moving accordingly by itself. The mineral shined a bright aqua blue as a light illuminated from it and spread a large portion in front of him. Once the light died down quickly, it showed forth a gleaming ice shield almost three times the height and width of him.
Unable to stop its mid-flight, it crashed onto the ice shield, the ice surprisingly holding its own without a single crack. It bounced off, none too gently, and collided onto the ground. Due to the harsh impact, its tail lost its grip on its hostage, and caused the tail to whip up and let go.
Amu didn't know what happened. She first saw the monster getting closer and closer to Toshiro, but then an ice shield appeared, and the next thing she knew, she was over five times the height that she woke up in, with nothing to support her. She stayed in the air with a dumb-founded expression for about a tenth of a second before she screamed as she fell at an astounding speed towards the earth. As tears came out of her eyes from hopelessness of saving herself, she saw Toshiro stare up at her. Golden-brown meeting teal, she thought that he would become serious and lose his grin. Oh, how she was so wrong. Rather, instead of that, his grin widened and he waved. She took on a stunned expression. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?! NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE WAVING!" she practically screamed at the strangely cheerful white-haired youth.
Toshiro frowned, but amusement still shone in his eyes. His hand stopped without any movement, but still stayed poised in the air. The crystal screen suddenly broke into fragments, floated in the air for a few seconds, and shot straight towards Amu.
Amu looked frantically around as the shards encircled her. "H-hey, what are you doing!?" she yelled out. The shards connected themselves together, creating a circular crystal orb. Strangely, she didn't hit the bottom of it. Instead, it was like her body defied gravity as she remained floating in the sphere. "Hey! What is this!?" She tried reaching over to bang on the inside, but it was too far from her reach. The sphere slowly started its journey to the ground.
Toshiro stared at the recovered hollow. Truthfully, he almost forgot about it. "Yo," he said, giving a little half-wave and a cocky grin.
It only roared loudly in return and once again attacked him.
Toshiro sighed and simply made a wide side-step. The hollow flew past him, scraping its fingers against the ground to stop its momentum. It didn't have a chance to stop, however, when Toshiro jumped, did a front-flip, and kicked the hollow so hard on the back (he actually heard the bones break) using his right leg- adding strength to it by taking advantage of his momentum.
The hollow roared in agony but immediately could say no more once Toshiro appeared upside-down in front of its face, drew back his fist, and punched its visage- all the way through its mask and deeper. He ripped his arm out from the Hollow and used that hand to push off the ground so he could flip back on his feet. His back was to the hollow so he didn't watch the Hollow dissipate into thin air. He turned to the awe-struck Amu, who was now neatly on the ground but still inside the sphere, and, once more, flashed a grin. Inwardly, Toshiro noted to himself that he would have to massage his jaw once he turned back… and kill the person guilty for his change. But first, he had to find out why his strength, after the change, increased to about the strength of a seated or lieutenant officer who is an expert in hakuda while he was in his faux body.
The ice-crystal orb Amu was in cracked into shards, irradiated brightly, and darted towards Toshiro in rays of blue light. Once it reached him, the beams gathered together on the necklace and solidified, once again showing a miniature ice-crystal that hummed with power, as if it was content with the release.
Amu watched as the necklace disappeared with a popping sound and a sparkling exit. The white-haired youth immediately dropped the grin and his hand, and stared wide-eyed at nothing in particular. She couldn't blame him. She, herself, was still shocked over what she experienced. The white-haired transfer shook himself out of his trance, a deeper scowl returning to his features, and turned his attention towards Amu. As he walked towards her, she gulped, dreading what was to come. She watched as he stopped in front of her, still staying silent. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could do that, he whipped something out of his pocket and sprayed it on her face. She thought no more as she once again fell into unconsciousness.
Toshiro caught the girl before she fell face-flat on the ground. He cursed inwardly about how fatigued he suddenly became, as he had a little difficulty bringing her to the side of the park and leaving her leaning against the fence. He searched the grounds until he found his Gikogan. Staring at it, he once again pondered over what happened. Why wasn't he able to control himself? How did it happen?
"Aww, don't tell me you forgot about me!" A small voice echoed in his mind.
He widened his eyes, and finally able to sense reiatsu, he located the source. Looking up, he saw a tiny figure floating a few feet above him, but it was too dark to see clearly. "What?" he questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. "Never mind. What exactly are you?"
The small figure dropped out of the sky and stopped right in front of his face. Out of caution, Toshiro took a step back and readied himself, but immediately froze once he saw the features of the tiny flier. He widened his eyes. "Y-you are," he breathed out.
The figure, or should he say Guardian Character, flapped its ice wings once as it finally registered to Toshiro of what he really was. His guardian character grinned. "Nice to finally meet you face-to-face, Capitan!"
To be continued…
I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I was a bit busy working on my other new story, "Altered Transformations". And hey, if you want to read that story about Toshiro and Ichigo being transported to the Pokemon world, knock yourselves out~! XD But anyways, so yeah, I am super-duper sorry for not updating as quickly and I'm so sorry for making everyone wait! It took a lot out of me to actually do this chapter. DX It was extremely taxing, having to make it not so over-dramatic, but I still think I made it a bit like that. So, yeah! I'll try my best to continue typing and typing because the people who are responding to my story are most inspiring! Thank you to all my reviewers! You've saved us all! :D
'Till next time~! Jaa Ne~!
-ShiraChan-Desu