CHAPTER 11: THE SAVIOUR AND THE LOVERS' DESPAIR

Tayomi opened her eyes and cringed, as she felt pain overtake her body. She saw Kiseida lying beside her and a girl with light brown hair and piercing blue eyes standing in front of her. The girl wore a sleeveless black silk top and loose pants of the same material, with a crimson sash tied around her waist and a black cloak around her like that of a grim reaper. She wore fingerless gloves that were reinforced by what Tayomi assumed to be an indestructible metal, hidden below the gloves themselves. Tayomi stared up at the mysterious girl, blinking at her.

"Who are you?" Tayomi asked, her voice still weak after sustaining such serious injuries.

"I… Um… You can call me Jean." The girl spoke.

Tayomi looked down at Kiseida, before noticing that they were both bandaged up and actually breathing air. "Did you save us?"

"Yep, who are you? What were you Shinigami doing in this realm? Who attacked you and why did they attack you?"

Tayomi blinked. This girl sure was curious, but it would not hurt to tell her. Though she was a stranger to her, Tayomi spilled out every single detail of what had happened, from the special training program to how they were attacked and how their group members were massacred. Jean listened intently, nodding as Tayomi told her everything that had happened. After she managed to explain the whole chain of events, she bowed down to Jean, thanking her for saving them.

Jean frowned, which was somehow noticeable despite the fact that the cloak mostly hid her face, she was obviously a spirit as well though she gave off a very faint sense of spirit pressure, almost nothing at all. It blended into the environment, making it hard to know her exactly. "Oh! So that's what happened," she blinked, moving over with blurring speed to give Tayomi a hug. "I'm sorry for the loss of your friends, do you need your wounds treated?"

Tayomi shook her head, knowing that she would feel bad if she asked for more. After all, Jean had saved them and healed them to the bare minimum, snatching Kiseida and her from the hands of death. That alone, was already enough and more than she had asked for. Tayomi smiled at Jean, confident that they would share a close relationship. However, giving Jean a nickname proved to be hard, as she racked her brains, unable to come up with a good nickname. Tayomi sighed and hugged Jean, thanking her profusely. Just hugging her back, Jean would smile and brush off her thanks as just something that any decent person would have done, wondering if this was why it had been said that she might never be a good soul reaper - her heart was too good to make the choices at times that were needed to maintain the balance of spirits. Now she could only smile sadly as she nodded and looked over to Kiseida who was still unmoving.

"I... do have something to ask in return," she admitted, removing the hood of the cloak for a moment as she seemed far too young to be a shinigami. "I don't know if you'll agree, but..."

Tayomi looked at Jean with sincere eyes. "But?"

"... Soul Society can't know that I exist, I'm too powerful a Shinigami to them and I don't want to be under their control."

Tayomi stared at Jean. Here she was, looking at a Shinigami who did not want to be recognised as a Shinigami by Soul Society. Tayomi sighed and agreed, swearing that she would never let out Jean's secret. Keeping her little secret was probably the least she could do anyway. Just then, Kiseida moved and Tayomi rushed to her side, holding Kiseida's hand as Kiseida opened her eyes to see her best friend in front of her. She smiled at Kiseida and giggled. It was great that they were both alive, but she suddenly realised that things had gotten so complicated. They were both well-aware that their reiatsu had been completely drained and it would take a long time for it to be restored. On top of that, they were severely injured and could not open the Senkai Gate, in order to return to Soul Society. Before she passed out, she had sent an S.O.S to Soul Society and judging by their style, they were probably assumed to be dead. Tayomi thought hard and cringed. How were they to return? Who was the mysterious man who sent assassins after them and massacred the whole group under the special training program? Most importantly, what about Hitsugaya? Had he given up on her and thought she was dead as well? Tayomi threw herself back onto the bed, thoughts running through her mind like wild horses and overcrowding her brain. She knew that the only solution was time. In time, they would heal slowly and restore their reiatsu to its fullest. Then, they could return to Soul Society. Tayomi felt her pockets, wondering where her communicator was. Darn… It's probably gone. I have no idea where I am, nor do I recognise the place where the attack took place. I'm going to have to wait, because there's nothing else I can do right now…

"What should I do now…?" Tayomi whispered to herself.

Jean hesitated and bowed slightly, watching Tayomi run to Kiseida's side and pulling her cloak back over her head again, hiding her face. She knew that the Shinigami were likely going to be interrogated on their survival and without a doubt, she would be discovered sooner or later, it was best that she let Tayomi think that there was little chance of being able to return. They were still unaware of her abilites as a Shinigami and what she knew, even though she knew that it was not likely that they would be able to pose any threat to her, it was best to just keep them hidden for now.

"... Train," she replied softly, hearing Tayomi speak. "The more something is broken down, the stronger it builds itself back up. Learn your surroundings and... Um... I'm sure you know this already."

Tayomi knew she was right. She took out her Zanpakutou and hugged it, falling back to sleep. She was going to meet Inazuma Kaze and speak to her. Maybe by the time she got back, she would achieve Bankai and give Hitsugaya a surprise. However, she did not feel like training. Once she lay on the bed, she was reminded of Hitsugaya. She remembered how he let her sit on his lap and fell asleep with him on his chair. She remembered how they kissed in the rain, a few nights before her departure. She remembered how they spent their birthdays together and how he tried to kiss her, but failed to, as she fell off the railing. She could still feel his lips burning on hers and shut her eyes tightly, as memories of him flashed across her mind. She gripped the sheets of the blanket and tried to stop herself from crying. Susu-chan… I want to be with you so much right now…

She fell asleep, much to Jean's relief, the young Shinigami turning away to let the two injured Shinigami rest. She moved away, phasing through a wall, knowing that she was not needed for the moment.

Hitsugaya gripped his Zanpakutou and strapped it back onto his back. He had made considerable progress today. He looked down at the sash holding his Zanpakutou, the sash that Tayomi had made for him for his birthday. Hinamori, Renji and Kira watched Hitsugaya walk back to the 10th Division's barracks, feeling nothing but worry. Ever since Tayomi's death, Hitsugaya hardly spoke and avoided everyone, keeping to himself. He had been training incessantly in the hope of achieving Bankai, wanting to have his Bankai before Tayomi returned. It had been days since that tragedy took place and Hitsugaya had become more and more withdrawn with each passing day. He never smiled, hearing him speak was rare and he was hardly spotted outside the office. Hinamori looked at Renji and Kira. It was clear to everyone that Hitsugaya was not alright and probably would not be, even after a long period of time. After all, Tayomi was his first and only love. She was irreplaceable in his heart and they spent so many happy moments together, practically joined at the hip. They promised each other to stay alive and Hitsugaya fiercely believed her, knowing that she was somewhere out there, trying her best to make her way back to him.

He entered his office and sat down on his chair, sighing. He rested his head on his table for a few minutes, before looking. Tayomi was there, in front of him, smiling. She waved at him and patted his head, before running behind him to hug him and kiss him on the cheek. Hitsugaya smiled and felt her lips burning on his cheek, sending a wave of elation through his body. Just as he reached out to hold her, he fell off his chair and onto the floor. He stared up at the ceiling and Tayomi appeared in front of him again. She smiled at him, before bending down to kiss him on his lips. Hitsugaya tried to hold her again and stroke her hair, but he felt nothing but air. Just then, Hinamori, Renji and Kira all walked into his office and saw him lying on the floor.

"Hitsugaya-kun!" Kira cried. "Are you alright?"

Hitsugaya felt tears streaming down his face uncontrollably and covered his face with his arms. His heart ached as images of Tayomi continued surfacing in his mind, reminding him of the fact that she was not around to comfort him and hold him in her arms, or cuddle him and bury her face in his chest. He refused to believe she was dead and hated how much everyone insisted, accepted and told him she was dead. Tayomi was not dead. Her heart was still beating, somewhere out there. She would come back to him. She said she would. The video of her bloody face and her shoulder punctured by a stab wound… The sound of her desperately trying to catch her breath… The words she spoke, struggling to make her gentle, warm voice heard… Even if it was the last memory of her he had, he refused to believe that it was the last memory he had of her for the rest of his life. No, it was not their last memory. They would have many happy memories together, once she came back and returned to him, throwing herself into his embrace.

"Tayomi…" He sobbed. "Tayomi…"

Author's Note:
Introduction of a new character... JEAN! :D Jean is an OC created by my extremely close & talented friend, JazionKeera. She writes awesome stories, so go check her stories out sometime :) I wrote the dialogue between Tayomi and Jean together with her, with myself playing Tayomi and her playing Jean XD
Anyways, Hitsugaya and Tayomi are both in despair right now, without each other. Hitsugaya still firmly believes that she isn't dead (I call it the power of LOVE!). Next chapter, Tayomi and Kiseida are up and they explore the streets in their Gigai, and live their lives as normal people until their reiatsu comes back. Hitsugaya won't play a very major role in the next few chapters, so he won't be seen very much and the focus is more on Tayomi. Stay tuned for the next chapter and please keep reviewing! Thanks! ^.^