CHAPTER 22: DAGEKI INAZUMA ARASHI

Tayomi gripped her Zanpakutou's hilt and inverted it, pointing her blade downwards. The tip of her blade glowed, as five balls of lightning emerged from it. The sky had turned pitch black and the clouds were navy blue in colour. Lightning continued streaking across the sky, but the thunder failed to follow with a loud rumble and remained silent. All of the Captains at the scene gasped in awe as the newest addition to their group unleashed all of her power upon her opponent, who towered over her. Tayomi grinned and looked up, glaring at Yammy, straight in the eye.

"All lightning will wreck havoc upon evil. All thunder will crash and unleash hell upon those with a black heart."

Slowly, she raised her blade and swung it, watching the five balls of lightning fly towards Yammy. They positioned themselves around him and ejected several lightning bolts, connecting each other and forming a pyramid around him. Yammy furiously pummelled against the walls of the lightning pyramid, making a futile attempt to break it. Tayomi's pyramid of lightning was practically indestructible and she knew that Yammy would be sealed inside it. She used Shunpo and dashed to every single corner of the pyramid, firing Kidou spells at each corner. Since the pyramid had five corners, she could use any five spells, regardless if it was a binding spell or a destruction spell. She was determined to destroy Yammy and felt that she had to go all out on destruction, ultimately deciding to use only destruction spells.

"Hadou 54, Haien!"

"Hadou 91, Senju Koten Taiho!"

"Hadou 90, Kurohitsugi!"

"Hadou 63, Soren Sokatsui!"

"Hadou 88, Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!"

She jumped back to her original position and watched, as the Kidou spells seeped into the interior of the pyramid, starting to work its magic once it came into contact with Yammy's body. Shades of blue and purple blended in the lightning pyramid, attacking Yammy violently. She twirled her Zanpakutou in her hands, knowing that it was the right time to strike. Speeding towards Yammy, she jumped into the air, impaling her blade into the tip of the pyramid. Once she stabbed the lightning pyramid, it began to glow and lightning struck the center of the structure, right at Yammy. Also, the Kidou spells had exploded in the interior, with Yammy in it. The lightning pyramid then exploded, sending blood flying all over the battleground. With her head bowed down, Yammy's blood splattered at her hair. The Captains gasped once they realised that Tayomi's blade had pierced Yammy's brain. Hitsugaya smiled weakly and the other Captains seemed delighted. Tayomi pulled her Zanpakutou out of Yammy's brain, before doing a backflip and landing beside Hitsugaya. However, Yammy seemed unwilling to give up, as he tried to crush Tayomi with the last ounce of strength left in him. Hitsugaya spotted Yammy's fist coming towards Tayomi, who was completely unaware of Yammy's advance. He quickly held her in his arms and wrapped his ice wings around himself and her, defending them both from harm. He had promised to protect her and he knew he would, even at the cost of his own life. Tayomi was genuinely caught by surprise, not expecting Yammy to fight back. She could feel her legs weaken and her body lacking in energy, as she let Hitsugaya cradle her in his arms. She was aware of her spiritual energy and the fact that she had spent a lot of it in her fight with Yammy.

"Chire, Senbonzakura."

Byakuya's Zanpakutou's blade scattered, becoming a thousand pink cherry blossom petals which flew at Yammy. Once the blades sliced into Yammy's flesh, he dropped down to the ground, took his last breath and disintegrated. Yammy turned into dust and was blown away by the breeze. Hitsugaya's ice wings opened and all the Captains had returned to the battleground, aware that Aizen had escaped them again. Their attention was then steered to Hitsugaya and Tayomi. Hitsugaya's ice wings disappeared as he deactivated his Bankai, leaving him in the open air, holding Tayomi in his arms. Tayomi looked up at him weakly, before turning to Byakuya.

"Thank you… Kuchiki Taicho…" She smiled.

Byakuya nodded at her and she turned back, looking right at Hitsugaya's face. Using the little strength that was left in her body, she stroked Hitsugaya's face, smiling at him before her vision blurred and she passed out.

Tayomi awoke in the 4th Division's barracks and saw Captain Unohana smiling at her. She turned to her left and saw Hinamori smiling at her. Hinamori looked at her Captain in admiration, complimenting her on a job well done. Tayomi reached out and squeezed her hand. Yumichika, Ikkaku, Renji, Hisagi, Ukitake and Kira were smiling at her as well. Yumichika flicked his hair, Ikkaku nodded at her, Renji gave her a thumbs-up sign, Hisagi sighed in content, Kira heaved a sigh of relief and Ukitake continued to smile at her. Tayomi turned to her right and saw Hitsugaya clutching her hand tightly, fast asleep. Matsumoto stood beside him and waved at her. Tayomi waved back, delighted to see all her friends. Everyone left the room, letting the two Captains have a moment alone.

Tayomi ran her fingers through Hitsugaya's white hair and he woke up instantly, sensing that Tayomi had woken up. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Full of concern, she asked Hitsugaya how his injuries were. He nodded, telling her he was fine. She turned on her side, facing Hitsugaya. He held both of her hands, kissing them with affection before stroking her face. She sighed in content as Hitsugaya held her hands in his. Even though she was injured, it did not matter. He was here with her and that was enough. The fight with Yammy had been brutal and her body still ached all over. After all, she had crashed into everything in the area, crashed through everything in her surroundings and crashed onto the ground. The injuries she sustained before releasing Bankai were very serious and using her final attack, Dageki Inazuma Arashi, was draining on her reiatsu. It was a risky move, but she felt that it had been well worth it. Yammy was gone. Every Espada in Aizen's army had officially been eliminated.

"Susu-chan…" She giggled weakly. "How was I? How's my Bankai?"

"You were great." He replied coldly. "You should get more rest. I'll be staying with you till morning to make sure you sleep and recover quickly."

"Heh…" She laughed. "You don't really need to stay with me through the night… Do you miss me that much? You have five seconds to tell me everything!"

"Well…" Hitsugaya scratched his head. "I just can't bear to leave you right now. I'm going to hold your hand till the sun rises."

"But I want you to hold my hand forever…" Tayomi protested.

"I will…" Hitsugaya promised her. "I'll hold your hand forever and never let go."

"Yay…" Tayomi cheered weakly, as her body continued to hurt all over. "Susu-chan, come closer…"

Hitsugaya leaned in towards her, thinking that she wanted to ask him something, but had no strength to make her voice heard. Playfully, she kissed him on his lips gently, smiling at him. Hitsugaya sighed, before kissing her forehead and sitting back down on his chair. He picked up her hand and held it tight. Tayomi squeezed his hand and told him to cheer up, using her free hand to force a smile onto his face. She could feel his tears dripping onto her fingers and shot him a curious look, wondering why he was crying.

"When you fainted after the whole battle, I was so worried…" Hitsugaya admitted. "I nearly had a heart attack…"

"You idiot…" Tayomi could feel herself shed a few tears of her own as well. "Do you think I'd die that easily? I still have my reasons for living… I'm not going down without a fight… Stop crying, Susu-chan… You told me crying was for the weak. I'm a girl, so it's normal for me to cry…"

"Shut up, Sakuri…" Hitsugaya wiped away her tears. "I don't care… It doesn't matter whether you can fend for yourself or not. I still want to protect you. It's not only out of a sense of duty as your boyfriend, but it's because I love you…"

"Alright, alright…" Tayomi smiled and reached out her hand to wipe away the tears streaming down his face. "I'll let you protect me. I'll protect you too and you can't do anything about it, because I love you…"

Hitsugaya locked lips with her and held her hand tightly. No, he would never ever let go of her hand for the rest of his life. He would protect her from harm and no one would get the chance to hurt her. Yes, his love for her would definitely shield her from harm.

Author's note:
YAY now Yammy is gone :D All the Espada are dead... (I miss Ulquiorra and Grimmjow though T.T)
Next chapter is CHAPTER 23! Which means it's time for TRUTH OR DARE! :D Send me your truths and dares, I'll be including every single one that's submitted XD Remember to submit some for Tayomi too lol ^.^ I can't start Chapter 23 unless I get some truths/dares... After a serious battle, we should let Soul Society have some FUN :D
I hope you all liked this chapter! Please review! Thanks! :D