CHAPTER 26: BURNING WITH LITTLE TIME

Hueco Mundo was absolutely dull, nothing but black and white. The sands were white, the moon was white and the skies were black. There were little hollows crawling about the sand and everything was still and silent, except for the gentle breeze blowing through their hair. Hitsugaya hopped out of the Garganta and landed safely on the ground, with his team behind him. Out of the five of them, only Renji had been to Hueco Mundo. For the other four Shinigami, Hueco Mundo was a completely new environment for them. Yumichika grumbled at the ugliness of the place and the lack of colour. Not bothering to glare at him, Hitsugaya dashed off using Shunpo towards the large white building in the heart of Hueco Mundo.

His legs picked up speed as they moved, running towards Las Noches as quickly as he could. His subordinates found it hard to keep up with him, but knew that they could not complain or ask him to slow down. Hitsugaya was running with such haste because he wanted to save her and asking him to slow down was equivalent to asking to be killed. They were all well-aware that there was no possibility of him slowing down, as he went faster and faster, dashing towards Las Noches. Gasping for breath, Renji, Matsumoto, Yumichika and Ikkaku tried their best to keep up with Hitsugaya, practically chasing after him with every ounce of strength in their body. Hitsugaya was exhausted just running as well, but he refused to let himself stop. She was in Las Noches. She needed him. He needed her. Whether or not they were in the midst of a misunderstanding, he would still do anything for her even if it cost him his very own life force. As they ran, they bumped into several hollows and Hitsugaya unsheathed his Zanpakutou, slashing and freezing every single one that came in his path. He was unwilling to let anyone interrupt him on the most important task in his life, determined not to lose her again like he almost did decades ago.

Tayomi drifted into a conscious state again, slowly opening her eyes and remembering that she was still in Las Noches, locked away by a certain idiot. She felt something strangling her wrists and looked at them, to see heavy chains attaching her to the wall in her prison cell. Her feet were hanging in the air and she was suspended at least two metres above the ground. Struggling to free herself from the chains despite her hangover, she put up a violent fight, hoping that the chains would break. The chains still remained on her wrists, as tight as ever, making her wrists hurt and bleed as she struggled. Tayomi's eyes followed the trail of blood as it made its way down her arm, while some strayed off its path and ended up dripping onto the floor below. She watched her blood drip onto the ground, forming blots of blood on the white surface. Just then Aizen entered her prison, smiling. Tayomi looked away as Aizen came forward, forcing his lips onto hers.

"I'm sorry that I have to leave you here…" He smiled, pretending to look remorseful. "But I know that the Gotei 13 has sent a team over to save you and I want them all dead… So I'll have to kill you as well, as much as I would hate to…"

"Shut up…" Tayomi grumbled in disgust. "You bastard… You're a disgrace to us Shinigami and you destroyed the glory of the 5th Division…."

"Don't say that, Tayomi-chan…" He smirked. "I was merely meant for greater things besides being a lowly Captain of a Division. If only you agreed to join me, then you would not have to die. You could live beside me, happily ever after…"

"That's… stupid…" Tayomi spoke, beginning to lose consciousness again. "Who… would be happy… beside someone like you?"

"Goodbye, Tayomi-chan…" Aizen kissed her again, much to her horror, pulling her shirt open slightly as well, such that part of her chest was revealed to him. He walked off with Ichimaru without looking back, with a smirk of delight on his face. That… damned… pervert… Tayomi's eyes were burning with fury, as her heart was not the only thing that burned with rage. Her vision began to blur again and the smell of smoke wafted into her nose, instantly telling her that something was set on fire, with her in it...

After hours of frantic running, Hitsugaya and his team had arrived at the doorstep of Las Noches. He sent an ice dragon at the large walls, watching it freeze and crumble into pieces like fragile glass. Just then, he spotted Aizen and Ichimaru riding on a flying hollow, grinning at them. He turned his attention to Las Noches and gasped. All five of them were in shock, as they realised that the centre of the building had been set on fire. The fire was too strong, burning over too wide an area and he knew that he could not use Hyorinmaru to put the entire fire out. His heart began to panic and he turned to his team, ordering each of them to search a particular area of Las Noches for Tayomi. He warned them to get out once they had searched the area, determined not to let anyone from his team lose their lives. After a brief discussion and division of areas, the five of them dashed into the burning building and headed their separate ways to find the Captain of the 5th Division.

Matsumoto ran around her area, her heart beating quickly. After seeing Ichimaru, she had felt rather sad but she knew that now was not the time to be thinking of her childhood friend. Panting, she turned her head wildly, her strawberry blond hair swaying left and right according to the movements made by her head. She looked into every room, hoping and praying that Tayomi was in one of them. Before they left, Mayuri declared that he would open the Garganta for them in three hours time, so they had to find Tayomi and get out of Hueco Mundo before their time was up. Aware of the little time they had, she decided to go faster, frantically knocking every single door open. Whenever she looked into a room, Tayomi was nowhere in sight. Quickly taking out her communicator as she ran, she contacted her Captain to ask him on his status, but he was too focused to answer. Sighing, she called up the other Shinigami. Apparently, none of them had found her either and they were almost done with their area. Hanging up on them, Matsumoto realised that she had finished searching the area and bearing her Captain's words in mind, she reluctantly hopped out of the burning Las Noches, hoping that someone had found Tayomi. She met the others outside and they realised that the only person who was not back was Hitsugaya.

"As I expected, there's no way he would come out first…" She sighed. "He wants to find her, even if it kills him."

"I've never since Hitsugaya Taicho so motivated before…" Renji gasped.

"Well, it's absolutely beautiful to see such fierce passion between them…" Yumichika flicked his hair.

"I hope he gets out of there soon… The whole thing is burning down pretty quickly!" Ikkaku sighed.

Hitsugaya ran around his area, panting as he threw open every single door. He was fully aware that the building was burning down and the three hours were almost up, but he was still unwilling to leave. He refused to leave without her. Running up the stairs of the tallest tower where Orihime was previously held, he secretly hoped that she was inside, because that was the only room which he had not searched. With his heart beating wildly, he burst into the room and gasped.

He had finally found her, but she was not in the best state. Her wrists were bleeding, as the chains were wound so tightly that it had cut into her flesh and caused her blood to drip onto the floor. Her shirt had been pulled open and he instantly knew that someone had tried something with her. Clenching his fists in pure anger, he had a very clear idea who did it. He knew that he had to settle his score with Aizen later, as their first priority was taking her back to Soul Society. Unsheathing his Zanpakutou, he released his Bankai, freezing the flames that had caught up with him and surrounded the prison cell. He then cut her chains off, releasing her and he swooped down to catch her. She was definitely unconscious, still suffering from the hangover. Holding her close to his body, he flew out of the tower with her in his arms. His subordinates spotted him just as the Garganta opened. Everyone entered the Garganta, heaving a sigh of relief. The operation had gone smoothly and she was safe.

In the 5th Division's barracks, Tayomi lay on her bed, still a bit dizzy after her hangover. She realised that she was not staring at the ceiling, but staring at the wall opposite her. Turning her head, she saw a pair of turquoise-coloured eyes looking straight at her and felt someone's arms around her. She wondered what she should do, as Hitsugaya sat on her bed and held her tightly in his arms. Tayomi looked up at him, considering putting up some sort of struggle, but she knew she had no energy to do so. Silence was observed as she waited for him to start speaking. Instead, he simply kissed her on her forehead.

"I'm not in love with Hinamori…" He sighed. "It's just that she happened to trip and fall that day, so I caught her. Then you came in and saw it all… I told you I'd love you forever and that promise still holds."

"You don't have to keep it if you don't want to…" Tayomi looked away, trying not to blush.

"I never said I didn't want to." Hitsugaya squeezed her waist. "I want to keep that promise. And that ring wasn't for her… It was for you. You can blame it on Matsumoto for persuading me to get you something that eventually led to our misunderstanding…"

Tayomi looked down at the ring on her finger. "I won't… I'm just glad to be back here."

She lay back on him, smiling to herself. Hitsugaya kissed her again. Even though she had been gone for just two days, he had missed her so much and felt as if she had been gone for years. He wondered what had happened in Las Noches and wanted to ask her what happened there, but decided to ask her the next day. She was tired and needed to rest. He was about to get up and leave when she gripped his arms tight.

"Don't go…"

She said the exact same thing that she did the night before she left Soul Society for the Special Training Program and disappeared. He sighed and sat back down, holding her in his arms. She snuggled against him and let him hug her too sleep. Hitsugaya looked at her and stroked her hair with affection, smiling to himself. She was back in his arms again.

Author's note:
YAY alright she's back :D I couldn't split them up for too long, or else I wouldn't be able to take it lol XD
Next Chapter, Aizen and Ichimaru takes flight to the real world on a birdy hollow lol :D And thus, some people shall be sent to the LIVING WORLD! YESYESYES Ichigo and the others will be introduced to the storyline officially... SOON :D The team will settle into the Living world before going to the school in the next next chapter :D
Please review and I hope you all liked this chapter! Thanks! ^.^