CHAPTER 37: INTO THE DROWNING WORLD

It was raining outside. She could hear the raindrops beating on the window panes. She could see the dark grey sky glaring at her, without a hint of sunlight shining through the thick clouds and white mist. A strong breeze blew past, causing the raindrops for form a miniature whirlwind, which swept past the rooftops. The raindrops dripped down the edges of the roof continuously and her eyes followed a raindrop's descent from the sky. For some reason, the rain seemed particularly appealing to her. Taking a deep breath, Tayomi grabbed Inazuma Kaze and her grey jacket, before heading up to the rooftop.

She put on her hood and looked up at the darkened sky, watching the raindrops fall onto her face and trail down the side of her cheeks. Gripping the hilt of Inazuma Kaze, she lay down on the ground, holding her Zanpakutou in her arms. Tayomi prepared herself mentally and closed her eyes. The rain had gotten heavier, fiercer and more cruel than ever. And Inazuma Kaze was sure to act the same way.

"Inazuma Kaze..." Tayomi spoke meekly.

Turning her head left and right, she noticed the drastic change in the environment. The water level had risen significantly and had reached up to her waist. The water was still ice cold, probably below the freezing point of water. Her legs felt numb from all the freezing conditions of the water and it was hard to move. Her hands froze up and she struggled to remove her hands from the depths of the icy, dark blue liquid. The sky was no longer like the colour of her eyes. It was now as black as her hair. Black clouds shrouded the dark sky, making it look like an approaching storm in the middle of the night. The pink flower petals were no longer pink and had dried up, turning shrivelled and khaki yellow in colour. A pale blue mist surrounded the area, making it extremely hard to observe her surroundings. Tayomi's eyes begin to change colour and turn dark blue, but she tried to resist it with all her might. She could not let her negative emotions take over her. She was the master of herself. She could not let it dominate, control and steer her down a path she refused to take.

"Thunder and lightning... The ultimate expression of the anger and fear burning inside of you and striking at your heart..." Inazuma Kaze stepped out of the mist. "The wish to protect those you love. The desire to be the one saving them, instead of having them save you all the time. You watched your brother die in front of your eyes, for the sake of protecting you. Your parents died during their work, devoured by hollows. Everyone you know... They have all passed on. You are alone, in this cold, cruel world."

Inazuma Kaze's hair had turned dark blue and her eyes were storm black. She had removed her cape, wearing a black turtleneck, sleevless shirt and a black skirt. She had painted three red stripes on her right cheek as she smirked. Tayomi knew that she was changing as well. Whenever she entered her inner world in its drowning form, everything changed. She was becoming someone else, she was succumbing to her dark side. She resisted violently, as her hair turned blonde, with black highlights. I can't step into the dark side. I won't.

"You're scared. You're scared that everyone you love will disappear from your side one day." Inazuma Kaze walked towards her slowly, smirking. "The one you fear... The one whom you would hate to lose the most is that boy, isn't it? The last thing you want to see is him, dying because of you..."

Tayomi shook her head angrily, as her blonde hair covered her face. Pushing her hair out of her face, she unsheathed her Zanpakutou and charged towards Inazuma Kaze, obviously overrun by her own emotions. Inazuma Kaze smirked, as she vanished into the mist. Tayomi jumped up and slashed at the air, disorienting the mist. She fell into the icy cold water, as the low temperatures froze the life out of her, practically suffocating her. A smiling Inazuma Kaze appeared in front of her face, forcing her deep into the depths of the icy sea. Tayomi attempted to swim up to the surface, but to no avail, under the brute force of her own Zanpakutou. Inazuma Kaze covered her master's eyes and forced her down into the water, as her master continued to struggle in her grasp. Tayomi could feel her hair sticking to her cheeks and Inazuma Kaze's palm over her eyes. She put up a violent struggle, desperately trying to push her crazed Zanpakutou's hands away from her and trying to breathe. She was suffocating. She was breathless.

She was drowning.

"Yumichika! Have you seen Tayomi-chan?" Matsumoto called out to the 5th seat of the 11th Division, who was preening in front of the mirror.

"No, I haven't..." He shook his head, not bothering to turn away from the mirror to face Matsumoto. "Why don't you ask Hitsugaya Taicho? He should know where she is..."

"But I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Ikkaku raised an eyebrow at her.

"He'll be sure to say, 'Matsumoto, why do need to find her so urgently?' or 'Matsumoto, you're coming in at the wrong time...'" She grumbled, as she tried to mimic her Captain's way of speaking.

"Yeah... And so?" Renji smirked.

"I can't tell him, 'Taicho, it's because I need her to help me with the paper work that I'm supposed to do...', can I?" Matsumoto huffed and crossed her arms.

Renji, Ikkaku and Yumichika gasped in shock, staring at what- or rather WHO was behind Matsumoto. She pouted, wondering why they were so stunned. Renji's mouth was hung agape. Yumichika covered his mouth and gasped. Ikkaku simply had his eyes shot wide open.

"I heard that..." A voice grumbled behind her.

Matsumoto turned around slowly, shaking nervously. That voice was so familiar. She knew who that voice belonged to. It could only belong to one person...

"So... That's why you've been so unusually diligent, being able to complete your paper work on time for this past week..."

"Taicho... I..."

"MATSUMOTO!" Hitsugaya screamed.

"AHHH! TAICHO! NOOOOO! DON'T KILL ME!"

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO PICK ON HER, DIDN'T I?"

"Taicho... But she offered to..." Matsumoto protested.

"You can always refuse. This is what you get for dumping your paper work on her." Hitsugaya threw a whole stack of paper work onto his Lieutenant. "I expect to see this on my desk, completed by tonight."

"NOOOO! TAICHO! DON'T DO THIS TO MEEEEEEEE!" Matsumoto cried as her Captain walked out of the room.

Hitsugaya stopped in his tracks for a moment. He wondered where Tayomi was. Ever since morning, she had disappeared. If she had gone out, she would have told him so. He had let her out of his sight for almost an hour now. She had not returned from wherever she was. Where is she? In his heart, he could feel himself panicking. Perhaps, she had gotten into trouble and needed his help? He clenched his fists, furious at himself for failing to notice that she had been gone. If she had met with a mishap, he could never ever forgive himself. After all, he swore to protect her. He swore that he would kill whoever tried to touch her. Running into his room, he reached for his phone, quickly dialling her number. He held his phone close to his ear, nervously awaiting her reply.

"Hihi! This is Tayomi Sakuri! I'm busy right now, either with work, with my friends or my dear Susu-chan! Since you're calling, you probably have something important to say, so leave your message after the beep and I'll get back to you!"

"Tayomi... Where are you?" Hitsugaya smacked his forehead, overwhelmed with worry. He had gotten her voicemail. "Where are you?"

Tayomi was still lying on the rooftop, deep inside her inner world. She clutched her Zanpakutou so tightly that her hands began to bleed. Turning her head left and right, she continued to struggle inside. She gasped for breath, as the raindrops continued to hit her forehead violently and the storm got stronger. Her hair had begun to gain blonde highlights. Her eyes were shut tight and she cringed, while she continued to battle in her inner world.

Her world was dark. It was pitch black. She could not see a thing, with Inazuma Kaze's palm still covering her eyes. Violently pushing her away, Tayomi hurriedly swam to the surface as quickly as she could, gasping for air. Her mouth opened wide and she gulped in a huge breath of air, her lungs desperate for some oxygen. The tide had gotten noticeably stronger, as she felt that the swim up to the surface had been exceptionally longer than usual. She felt a strong tug at her leg and she attempted to stay above the surface, resisting her Zanpakutou vehemently. Inazuma Kaze cackled, as she clutched Tayomi's leg with a forceful grip and tugging her master towards the depths of the icy waters. Tayomi screamed, as she continued her turbulent struggle against the brute strength of her Zanpakutou. Inazuma Kaze was completely insane. She had lost her mind. She had been fully taken over by her own negative emotions, which had built up inside of her over the seconds, minutes, hours and days.

I don't have energy left in me...

Though she attempted to keep herself above the water's surface, she eventually succumbed to Inazuma Kaze's grip, her body's energy leaving her all at once. She felt her eyelids grow heavy and close, as her hands completely relaxed. Inside, she knew that the Drowning Inazuma Kaze was smiling, smirking at her. Tayomi could feel a few air bubbles rise from her lips. No... That cannot be her last breath. She refused to let herself drown in her negative emotions and suffocate in her inner world. Tayomi tried to fight back, but her body had no energy left to struggle. The cold, freezing temperature of the water aggravated the whole situation.

Damn it...

"Tayomi?" Hitsugaya ran up to the rooftop in search of her. "Are you there?"

He noticed someone lying on the floor, with a grey hood over her face. Running up to that body, his heart continued to beat at the speed of lightning. Once he realised that it was Tayomi, he cradled her in his arms and held her close to him, tapping her cheeks.

"TAYOMI!"

Tayomi opened her eyes slowly, feeling the raindrops fall onto her face. Her blurred vision became clear again, as Hitsugaya's face appeared in front of her. A mixture of water and blood poured out from her mouth and she coughed, causing a whole flood of blood and water to spill onto the floor. She loosened her grip on Inazuma Kaze, not having the energy to move at all.

"What the hell were you doing?" He asked her agitatedly.

Tayomi tried to speak, but words failed to come out from her mouth. That trip to her inner world really did it for her. She nearly died in there. She barely made it out alive. She was completely exhausted and having anything but strength to move.

"Don't say anything." Hitsugaya covered her mouth. "I think I know what you were doing. Don't you ever do that again."

Tayomi attempted to speak and defend herself.

"I SAID DON'T SAY ANYTHING!" Hitsugaya screamed at her.

Tayomi looked at him, completely stunned. She would have blinked at his shocking response, but did not have the energy to do so. Her eyes simply continued to stay open, with her eyelids starting to get heavy. I'm safe. She closed her eyes, completely worn out from the struggle.

"Don't do that again..." Hitsugaya sighed, before gently kissing her on her unmoving lips, which were slightly stained with her blood.

With her still in his arms, he stood up and carried her back into the house, away from the storm.

"TAICHO! WHAT HAPPENED?" Matsumoto exclaimed once she spotted her Captain carrying a wet, bleeding Tayomi back into the house.

"Help me get her changed into something dry. I don't want her to catch a cold..." He replied coldly.

"Ooh... Taicho..." Matsumoto grinned cheekily. "Why don't you do it for her?"

"JUST DO IT!" Hitsugaya snapped at his Lieutenant, before thrusting Tayomi into Matsumoto's arms. Matsumoto's face turned serious and she nodded. Hitsugaya sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Tayomi... You'd better be alright...

Author's Note:
Well, that was a look into Tayomi's inner world when it's taken over by the Drowning Inazuma Kaze :D Fierce, crazy stuff...
Next chapter, Hitsugaya and Tayomi will meet one of the new Espada and run into Ichimaru... As expected, they'll engage in a full out battle with Ichimaru. Ichimaru goes Bankai on them, with disastrous consequences D:
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! XD Please review and stay tuned for Chapter 38! Thanks! ^.^ (Oh man, exams are drawing closer and closer... AND SO IS FREEDOM :D )