CHAPTER 44: THE COMING BATTLE

Tayomi lay on the bed, staring right up at the ceiling blankly. Ichimaru's words echoed out in her brain repeatedly, as she wondered what Aizen had up his sleeve. His actions appeared absolutely dumb to her, like it usually did, but it definitely meant that he was confident of a victory this time round. We've beaten him before... Surely we can do it again... Tayomi tried to shove all negative thoughts out of her head, but failed to do so. After all, Aizen's Zanpakutou had the ability to take control of their five senses and mess with their minds. That alone was enough to pose a threat. If they were unable to distinguish illusions from reality, the outcome of the battle would be anything but good.

Suddenly, she felt a hand ruffle her hair. Tayomi glanced to her right and smiled at Hitsugaya, who was lying down beside her. She could tell that he was worried about the outcome of the battle. As much as they both hated to admit it, Aizen was a strong adversary. A small mistake could result in a heavy price to pay. Ever since Aizen's return, there was hardly a day when he would just smile. He had been keeping all his worries, all his fears inside of him. Tayomi could sense the anger and fear embedded deep within his turquoise eyes. She turned over to face him and tried to smile, hoping that it would cheer him up. Hitsugaya tried to smile back at her as well, but he knew that she was worried, just like him. He knew that she feared watching her friends lose their lives in front of her very eyes and that she feared losing him the most. Reaching out to hold her hand, he silently swore to himself that such a thing would never happen. They would both stay alive for each other's sakes and once everything was over, they would lead a peaceful, happy life together. Things would turn out the way they wanted it. Things had to turn out the way they wanted it.

"You're scared." He muttered under his breath.

"No..." Tayomi shook her head. "I was never afraid of you from the start."

"I wasn't referring to myself."

Tayomi look down at his hand, which was tightly wrapped around hers. She sighed, fully aware that he had just read her mind again. Not bothering to say anything else, she proceeded to bury her face in his chest and closed her eyes, hugging him tightly. Hitsugaya gave a sigh of content and shook his head. There she was again. Whenever she realised that he knew what was on her mind, she would always do that. Tayomi felt his arms around her and his breath blowing gently at her hair, as she smiled and snuggled in his embrace. Hitsugaya held her close to him, determined to keep her safe in his arms forever.

Ichimaru lay out five pictures on the ground. Tayomi instantly recognised three of them. According to Ichigo, they were spitting images of Starrk, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. The other two were unfamiliar to her, until Renji pointed out that the purple-haired Arrancar resembled Syazel, the eighth Espada. Hitsugaya choked when he realised that the man in the fifth picture looked exactly like a male version of the Espada he fought, Halibel. Tayomi had to calm him down and hug him tightly before he finally got a hold on himself. Every single member of the New Espada and the members of Aizen's Espada looked exactly alike. Ichimaru sighed, explaining that Aizen had decided to cut down the number of members in the Espada, as he was confident that five members would be more than enough to take down Soul Society's Gotei 13. Tayomi rolled her eyes. Aizen could not be more obstinate.

"I've never really seen any of the five Espada fight... But I'm sure that they are definitely strong. Aizen handpicked at least two hundred Arrancars with potential and power ta be part of his Espada. Then, he had them fight each other ta the death until the dust had cleared and only five were left standing. So, the New Espada that ya are looking at, these five managed to survive continuous violent attacks and rampages from a hundred and ninety-five other Arrancars, all who possessed terrifying powers of their own." Ichimaru spoke seriously.

"That's expected." Hitsugaya sighed. "If Aizen would decrease the numbers in his army, it's not surprising that he's confident of a victory."

"Though I have ta say, the number of Fraccion involved in the battle had increased slightly. Aizen also divided up the Fraccion. Now there are about twenty Fraccions and they have been divided inta two groups. One group specialises in direct combat and the other specialises in Kidou-type attacks. Both groups are pretty strong for Fraccions."

"I expect there will be some sort of hierarchy in the New Espada as well?" Tayomi raised an eyebrow.

"Spot on, Tayomi-chan. This time, the Espada with black hair, the one who looks depressed..." Ichimaru pointed to the Espada who resembled Ulquiorra. "He's the leader of the New Espada. Viquierra Cifer. Brother of Ulquiorra Cifer. And that one... The purple-haired one is second. His name is Heryanaa Apporo Granz, stepbrother of Syazel Apporo Granz, Espada Eight. I never really see 'im around, but I gotta admit that he's pretty strong. He fought off fifty Arrancar while he was still injured..."

"Wow... That's strong." Ikkaku gasped.

"An' following them is Geneva Jacquerain, cousin of Grimmjow, the only girl in this New Espada. Then it's Wolffe Barrk and Kiiyaa Halibel. In short, they're all relatives of Aizen's Espada, which makes their power completely self-explanatory. Runs in the family, huh?"

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded. "But we're going to defeat them again."

"That's easier said than done." Rukia snapped.

"Urahara agreed to let us use his underground training area. I'll see all of you there at eight o'clock in the morning." Tayomi smiled. "We're going to train and get stronger... And let Aizen taste defeat all over again!"

"EIGHT O'CLOCK?" Ichigo shrieked and fell backwards in shock.

"Yes, eight o'clock." Hitsugaya nodded seriously. "Whoever is late will suffer the dire consequences. Tayomi and I will decide your fate, SO COME EARLY."

"Yes..." Tayomi smiled. "Unless you intend to die by Susu-chan's hand!"

"Don't call me that."

"SUSU-CHAN SUSU-CHAN SUSU-CHAN!"

Tayomi pounced onto Hitsugaya from the back and hugged his neck tightly. He sighed and shook his head, reaching out his hand to pat her head. She giggled as she forced a smile onto his face using her fingers, causing him to grumble. Matsumoto began to laugh, while she watched the two little Captains play around with each other. She knew that as much as her Captain seemed irritated, she knew that he was secretly enjoying this attention from the Captain of the 5th Division. Ichimaru grinned as well and put his arm around Matsumoto's neck.

"They're really playful, don't ya think?" He laughed.

"They're always like that..." Matsumoto sighed in content. Everything felt right at last.

An hour later, Tayomi rustled from her sleep, slowly opening her eyes. Hitsugaya was still fast asleep beside her and she decided not to wake him up. The day's events had undoubtedly left him exhausted and she slowly lifted his arm up, escaping from his embrace. Grabbing her comb and combing her hair, she walked to the study and fished out a piece of paper. She yawned and stretched, before reaching out to take her pen and drafting out a rough plan of what they would do tomorrow. There was much to do within such a short period of time. Aizen was close by, in the same vicinity as them. That made training more vital than ever. In order to ensure a victory, they would have to overpower Aizen before he could play his usual dirty tricks. She twirled her pen in her fingers and rested her head on the desk, wondering what they could do. Other than communicating with their Zanpakutou, they had to work on the four basic Shinigami Arts, though she deeply hated Hakuda. Also, they would have to train their physical strength. There was so much to do and so little time to do it.

According to Urahara, the Vizards would be doing training of their own, leaving her slightly relieved. She knew that the Vizards would be able to take care of themselves and she had complete faith in their abilities. As tempted as she was so ask Ichimaru for help, she knew that he had just been reunited with Matsumoto and they had lots to catch up on. It's better not the disturb the two of them... Tayomi forced herself up and saw Hitsugaya staring at her, scratching his head. She wondered what he was about to say, as she had ignored his instructions. She ignored the fact that he had told her to wake him up. Oh no. He's going to kill me for this.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" He was staring at her, right in the eyes.

"You were sleepy..." Tayomi tried to avoid his gaze, but was trapped in it. "I was going to wake you up like... An hour later."

"Speak for yourself. You're sleepy too."

He picked up her hand and pulled her up.

"There isn't point doing work when you're sleepy."

"Huh, but you always do your paper work even though you're sleepy."

"That's different." He snapped, before tugging on her arm. "Go back to your room and sleep."

"No." She shook her head, feeling playful.

"Alright then." He sighed. "You leave me no choice."

Hitsugaya quickly put his arms around her and picked her up, carrying her in his arms. She squealed, causing all the other Shinigami in the house to wonder what had happened. They watched in shock as Hitsugaya came out of the study, carrying Tayomi to their room. Matsumoto giggled and Renji was left speechless.

"AHHHHH!" She laughed. "Don't do that!"

He did not say anything. Tayomi snuggled in his arms and hid her face in his chest, under his chin. Hitsugaya smiled, kissing her on the forehead. She's sleepy. I knew it. He placed her on her bed and covered her up with her pink blanket, kissing her gently on the lips and holding her hand. Tayomi smiled at him, then closed her eyes and listened to his orders for once, falling asleep almost instantly.

Aizen kicked up his feet and placed them on his desk. Ichimaru had left his side and defected back to Soul Society. With a smirk on his face, he knew that the possibilities of him ever being forgiven were zero. Nothing was wrong. With or without Ichimaru, he would proceed with his plans. With or without Ichimaru, he was more than able to defeat the Gotei 13 and emerge victorious again. Viquierra remained as stoic as he usually was, Heryanaa had a smug look on his face, Geneva simply slumped in her chair and crossed her legs, Wolffe yawned sleepily and Kiiya had an expressionless look on his face. Victory... Victory would be theirs for sure.

Author's Note:
Wheeeee... And impending battle is in sight! The fight between the New Espada and Gotei 13 is about to start soon! XD
But before that... We shall look into their training at Urahara's training facility :D
4 weeks to my exams. Oh gosh T.T But after that, I can spam chapters lol ^.^
I hope you all liked this chapter! Please review! Thanks! :D