CHAPTER 43: CROSSING OVER
Tayomi shuddered a little, her hand tightly gripping her Zanpakutou which was pointed right at Ichimaru's neck. For the first time, Ichimaru was not smiling like he usually did. His expression was solemn and devoid of the usual joy it had. She clenched her fist, still shaking in sheer anger. Her fury was burning within her, ready to take over her body anytime. She shut her eyes tight and screamed, before using her fist to punch Ichimaru in the face. He spat blood out onto the floor after taking a devastating blow from her. Tayomi crumbled to her knees and slapped him, leaving a red hand-print on his left cheek.
"You bastard..." She grumbled in a low, fierce tone.
Ichimaru looked up at the young girl, whose features spelt nothing but pure anger. He watched her hand fly right at his face, forcing his face to turn to the opposite side over and over again. Tayomi continued to launch her fist repeatedly at his face, showing no intent of stopping. Ichimaru could feel his face burning up, aching in pain and sore from her blows. She punched and slapped him till her fists had begun to bleed, staining his face with more blood.
"Do you know..." Tayomi screamed. "Do you know that Rangiku-chan has been waiting for you all this while?"
"I..." Ichimaru tried to fend for himself.
"SHUT UP YOU BASTARD! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK! SHUT UP!"
Ichimaru kept silent and opened his eyes a little.
"I hate irresponsible guys... Guys who just leave a girl there hanging, without explaining a single thing to her. Guys who hurt a girl and never apologised for doing so. Guys who never tried to explain their circumstances to a girl and decided not to tell her anything, leaving her confused and all alone... Ichimaru Gin, I don't care what reasons you have, but you're one of those idiotic, irresponsible guys and you hurt Rangiku-chan! WHY DIDN'T YOU BOTHER EXPLAINING THINGS TO HER? SHE HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU! YOU CAN'T... YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER THERE WITHOUT TELLING HER ANYTHING! AND I DON'T CARE IF YOU APOLOGISED TO HER BEFOREHAND... BECAUSE AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE, A SIMPLE APOLOGY ISN'T GOING TO CUT IT AT ALL!"
She slammed her fist against Ichimaru's face, causing him to cringe in pain. By now, his body was sore all over and it could barely move. Tayomi's assault, along with the injuries he had sustained, was more than enough to keep him lying on the ground, unable to move. He struggled to remain conscious, expecting that Tayomi would continue to beat him up harder in order to get her words into his brain.
"You irresponsible brat... If you ran into trouble, Aizen would be the last one coming to your rescue! He doesn't treasure you as much as Soul Society... The Captains and Vice-Captains... He doesn't treasure you as much as Rangiku-san did! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON HIS SIDE?" Tayomi shouted, lunging her fist square onto his nose.
"While you were standing around, grinning to yourself and having fun poking at others, what do you think Rangiku-chan was doing? You're her friend! You mean so much to her and I know she means a lot to you too... I don't believe... I DON'T BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN'T FEEL EVEN A SLIGHTEST HINT OF PAIN FROM HER HEART!"
Tayomi got up slowly, shivering in madness.
"I'm not going to kill you..." She whispered coldly, her voice lacking emotion. "I know you went soft on me earlier on. This is your last chance, Ichimaru. If I find out that you have not tried to look for Rangiku-chan and still intend to leave her all worried sick... I will really, really let loose all of my power on you and make sure that you die right in front of my very eyes."
With that, Tayomi stood up and turned behind, walking slowly towards home. Ichimaru lay there, deep in thought as Tayomi's words echoed throughout his mind. For a young girl who acted her age, she was mature. Her words did make so much sense. He finally understood why and how she managed to gain the trust of her colleagues and subordinates. He smiled a little and struggled to stand up. From the building above him, a dark figure sighed and turned to return to wherever he came from. That's so typical of you, Sakuri... The others may not know that side of you, but I do...
Tayomi crept back into the house late at night, after having changed back into her Gigai. Sighing, she hoped that she had not caused too much of a ruckus. The house was silent and dark, with everyone fast asleep. She noticed that the lights in her room had been switched on, leading her to wonder if she had forgotten to turn it off before leaving. Gingerly opening the door and letting out a tiny yawn, she was completely blown away by shock when she saw Hitsugaya lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. She pinched herself over and over again, wondering if she had gotten so sleepy that she was dreaming while awake.
"Hitsu-chan..." Tayomi muttered to herself in shock. "Is that..."
Hitsugaya stood up and walked over to her slowly, with his hands in his pocket. Smiling slightly, he removed one of his hands from his pocket and patted her head. Tayomi blushed, still feeling shaken from the rush of emotions. She could feel Hitsugaya's eyes burning into hers and her heart beat began to pick up, beating faster and faster. It felt like the first time she looked into his eyes. It was awkward, yet very peaceful and fulfilling. She felt as if her heart had been set on fire and she could not avoid his gaze any longer. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a small squeeze, glad to have him back in her arms again. Hitsugaya gave a sigh of satisfaction, before gently kissing her on the lips. They drew back slowly, reluctantly, before Tayomi realised that her back was against the wall. Looking up at Hitsugaya, she could sense a sort of pain in his eyes as he placed his hand against the wall and leaned in closer towards her. Running the back of his hand down her face, he tilted his head and closed the distance between his lips and hers again. Tayomi was a little taken aback by his sudden gesture, but she knew that she could not possibly hate it, or bring herself to push him away. She felt Hitsugaya grab her wrists all of a sudden and hold it up.
"Tell me what you've been up to..." He whispered into her ear. "I want to hear it from you and you only."
The both of them looked down at her hands, which were covered and stained with blood. Her knuckles had not stopped bleeding and the blood has stained his face by accident, after coming into contact with her hands. Tayomi gasped and looked at her feet. She wondered how she could explain everything to him. She wondered what Hitsugaya would do when he found out that she had let Ichimaru go and gave him a chance to repent.
Hitsugaya sighed and held her bleeding hands close to his chest, before kissing her on the forehead. He looked at her, hoping that she would tell him something. Tayomi sighed as Hitsumi and Shikuri hopped onto her lap. Stroking her bunnies' fur, she spilled the details of what had happened before she entered the house. She could feel some tears on the verge of spilling over, when he wiped the tears away and held her tightly in his arms.
"It's alright. I saw everything." He replied, stroking her hair. "I... I just wanted to hear it from you, that's all."
"You... You saw it?" Tayomi looked up at him.
"Yeah." He nodded. "It's alright... I won't tell Yamamoto about it. It'll just be another little secret between us, I guess."
"Eh... Susu-chan?" Tayomi blushed again.
"Yeah?"
"Can I hug you?"
"Aren't you already doing that?"
They both looked down. Tayomi had subconsciously wrapped her arms around his waist again.
"Oh..."
"Idiot."
"What..."
"I was joking. Even if you are an idiot..." Hitsugaya smiled. "I'd still like you, no matter how crazy you are."
Just then, the doorbell rang. Matsumoto sighed and dragged her feet lazily, before pulling on the door handle. In front of her stood Ichimaru, who was not grinning like his usual self. She stood frozen, rooted to the ground. She felt like slamming the door in his face, but yet she knew she could never bring herself to do so. Ichimaru slowly reached out his hand and pulled her out of the door, suggesting that they went for a little walk while he told her something important.
Matsumoto grumbled as she walked down the walkway, next to Ichimaru. He had not let go of her hand, but she could not shake it off. He looked down at his feet with a solemn expression, before turning to her and attempting to explain himself.
"Ran-chan..."
"What?" Matsumoto pouted.
"I'm sorry."
"You've said that before."
"Tayomi-chan was right... I failed to explain things to ya... And now I'll make it up to ya by explainin' everything..."
"Tayomi-chan?"
"Yeah." Ichimaru nodded. "I joined Aizen Taicho because I... I wanted ta take back what was taken from ya... And after hearing what that lil' Captain had said, I think I mighta have done it the wrong way..."
"You got that right."
"I'm gonna leave Aizen Taicho... And go back to Ran-chan's side. And I'm never leaving Ran-chan's side again."
Matsumoto could not hold back her happy tears and hugged Ichimaru tight.
Tayomi, Hitsugaya, Renji, Ikkaku and Yumichika were sitting in the living room. Renji and Ikkaku were lazing around on the sofa, while Yumichika was preening in the windows, staring at his own reflection and flicking his hair. Tayomi had fallen asleep on the floor and Hitsugaya was watching over her, running his fingers through her hair. Matsumoto returned, with Ichimaru following behind her. To her surprise, the other Shinigami had not made a move on Ichimaru or attempt to attack him. Hitsugaya nodded and informed Matsumoto that Tayomi had explained everything to them. Ichimaru bowed before them, apologising and pledging his loyalty to them. At that exact same moment, Tayomi woke up and smiled.
"Thank ya... Tayomi-chan." Ichimaru grinned.
"It's alright." Tayomi smiled. "We could definitely use your help against Aizen..."
"I can tell ya all about the new Espada, if ya want."
"Sure."
Author's Note:
Lol I think most of you thought Tayomi would kill Gin... :D Ahhh she won't do it! I'm keeping Gin alive -DIE AIZEN DIE-
Well then, next chapter we shall learn more about the new Espada! XD And sorry for the late update, exams drawing closer and closer T.T
Hope you all liked this chapter! ^.^ Please review! Thanks! :D