CHAPTER 48: A HEAVY RISK

Hitsugaya stared out at the entrance to the Seijotokyorin, anticipating the enemy's entrance into the venue. His forehead creased, as his heart began to beat faster, just like the footsteps of the approaching battle. Bloodshed, screams, pain... They had grown much too familiar to him. Experiencing it himself was one thing, but seeing someone else take it was so different, especially if it was her. Even though he was in the same room as her, he could not help but worry about her safety. He clenched his fists, determined to protect her at all costs. Suddenly, he felt something wrap around his waist slowly but surely. It felt warm, melting his soul almost immediately. He instantly knew who it was and could not hide his smile.

"You're supposed to be asleep, you idiot."

Tayomi looked up at him, shook her head and laughed. Somehow, her laugh seemed more serious and restrained than it usually was. He knew that she was nervous but just refused to admit it. Sighing, he subconsciously began playing with her delicate fingers. Her presence made him feel a lot at ease, made him feel less alone.

"Don't you feel it?" She asked him calmly, subconsciously tightening her grip on his waist and tiptoeing, such that she was able to rest her chin on his shoulder.

"Hm?" He blinked twice. "Feel what?"

"That strange reiatsu."

Hitsugaya closed his eyes, trying to sense what she felt.

"Yeah. It's coming closer."

Ichigo seemed to have sensed it too, as he stood up and began to stare at the door. He slowly undid the bandages around Zangetsu, all ready to unleash his Bankai. Hitsugaya glanced at her with a sort of worried look in the depths of his turquoise eyes. Tayomi smiled back at him, kissing him gently on the lips.

"I'll be okay..." She assured him.

"You will..." Hitsugaya faced the entrance of the Seijotokyorin and stood in front of her, unsheathing his Zanpakutou. "Because I'll be there to protect you... Every step of the way."

Hisagi and Kira nodded at each other. They were about to take the riskiest step they had ever taken in battle. Usually, they would have strongly gone against the idea of taking risks in battle, but in this case, they simply had to give it a go. Their knowledge of their own power and their Zanpakutous could partially assure them that their plan would be a success, yet it partially discouraged them as it could end in a failure as well. Hoping for the best, they shot each other a look and started. Kira placed his palm against Wabisuke and used Hado 11, Tsuzuri Raiden, on it, enveloping his blade in lightning. Hisagi did the same thing to Kazeshini, watching the bolts of lightning travel along the black chains onto the two scythes. Kira moved quickly and Hisagi prepared himself, as Kira swung Wabisuke and let it clash against the two scythes twice. Hisagi tried not to cringe, as the weight of his weapon became four times heavier. Though its weight had increased drastically, he believed he could carry it off, with resolve burning in his eyes. Adjusting and determining the angle in which he needed to swing the two scythes in with speed, he quickly waved his arms violently, sending the two huge black scythes flying downwards, straight at Arana and Finner. With its increased speed and power, Finner and Arana were clearly taken aback as they watched themselves be pierced in the gut by the blades of the scythes.

"How can this..."

"You should be smart enough to figure it out yourself, Arrancar." Hisagi replied coldly.

"Increased weight being thrown with greater force... It brings about greater power and speed. With that, we were able to catch you both unguarded." Kira nodded.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Arana screamed. "HOW CAN YOUR BLADE'S WEIGHT INCREASE?"

"My Zanpakutou, Wabisuke, doubles the weight of anything it touches... I touched Hisagi's scythes twice, multiplying the weight of his scythes by four. Since you both are closer to the ground than us, this also increases the weight of his scythes further, as gravity helps pull his scythes towards you with increased weight..."

Hisagi pulled out the two scythes from the Arrancars' bodies, by simply jerking his arm backwards. He allowed his Zanpakutou to return to its unreleased form and sighed, while he watched blood fly out from the wounds sustained by Finner and Arana. The two Arrancar's groaned in pain, but still appeared unwilling to give up. With despair in his eyes and a frown on his face, Kira raised his palm and used Hado 54, Haien, against both Finner and Arana, effectively finishing them off. Finner smirked and closed his eyes, with sacarsm still present in his features. Arana was clearly full of anger and disbelief as he attempted to rise to his feet, but failed miserably. With curses and vulgarities hanging on the edge of his tongue, his life force faded, with discontent still in his hardened heart. Kira shook his head sadly and sighed, before looking up at Hisagi.

"Holding onto something you can never have... Only brings despair." Kira spoke softly and looked back down at his slain opponents.

"Yeah. It really... Brings nothing but despair." Hisagi sighed and looked up. "What shall we do now?"

"Captain Hitsugaya said we should survey the area and keep our eyes open. If there's a need to, we'll lend aid in battle and help our fellow Shinigami."

"Alright. Let's stay in this area, just in case another Arrancar decides to sneak in on Soul Society."

Kira nodded at Hisagi and the two kept their eyes wide open, sensitive to any approaching enemies.

Tayomi watched a tall man approach them. He had unusually pale skin, long black hair reaching up to his shoulders and deep green eyes. His hair has grown longer... Tayomi instantly recognised him. It was the Primera New Espada, Viquierra Cifer. She gulped, but continued to show no fear on her face. Instead, she simply tightened her grip on Hitsugaya's hand, interlocking her fingers with his. He felt her squeeze his hand and glanced at her, feeling her fear. Squeezing her hand back, they let go of each other's hand and raised their Zanpakutou, along with Ichigo.

"BANKAI!" Ichigo shouted. "TENSA ZANGETSU!"

Tayomi raised her eyebrow. It was just like Ichigo to release his Bankai so easily, even before getting to know the enemy. However, his actions were completely understandable. With the New Espada having greater strength and powers than their predecessors, a Bankai would be greatly needed. The battle could end up with all three of them releasing their Bankai. However, both Hitsugaya and Tayomi had decided against immediately releasing their Bankai, lest they run out of energy to retain their Bankai. Suddenly, Tayomi realised that Viquierra had yet to unsheathe his Zanpakutou. She held back from releasing Inazuma Kaze, unaware that Hitsugaya had already released Hyorinmaru. Viquierra seems to be holding back... Maybe it would be better if we held our fire too. Tayomi was hesitant in releasing her Zanpakutou. She did not know why herself, but she could feel a sense of desperation and loneliness in Viquierra's eyes, just like the sense of emptiness that Ichigo claimed was present in Ulquiorra's eyes. It was that quality that held her back and made her all the more reluctant to attack the man who was supposed to be her enemy. Unlike Aizen, she knew that Viquierra could not possibly be completely evil and immoral. Behind that emotionless expression, there had to be something... Something he hid deep in his beating heart.

"The weakness in your heart will lead to your ruin."

Tayomi's eyes shot wide open as she felt something pierce through her stomach. She heard Hitsugaya scream and Ichigo gasp and her hand subconsciously touched the area where she had been stabbed, staining her palms with her own blood. It's way too early in the battle... I can't let myself fall like this! Ichigo charged forward at Viquierra, sending Getsuga Tenshou flying at the Primera New Espada. Viquierra showed no sense of urgency and simply sent a pale green cero flying, countering Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou. The black wave of energy and the pale green blast tackled each other fiercely, engaging in a violent struggle as it tried to overpower the opposing force. Hitsugaya ran to catch Tayomi while Ichigo fought with Viquierra.

"Tayomi... " He whispered into her ear.

"You idiot... I'm... still... alive..." She gasped. "Put... me... down..."

"But you're bleeding!"

"I'll be fine. Put me down, or else I'm going to push you away." She tried to laugh and smile at him.

Hesitantly, Hitsugaya obeyed her. Tayomi forced herself up to her feet. Her physical durability had definitely increased, given the amount of training and physical wear and tear that she had put herself through. Blood was still pouring out of her wounds, but she decided to worry about it later. There was no way she could go down before Viquierra. She still had people, places and friends to protect. Releasing Inazuma Kaze, she faced Viquierra bravely. He raised an eyebrow, not expecting his victim to recover from such an injury, fully expecting her to lie on the ground motionless. She gripped her Zanpakutou. The more he wanted her to fall, the more she could not allow herself to fail in her duty. Gritting her teeth and doing her best to ignore the excruciating pain from her injuries, she raised her Zanpakutou and pointed it at Viquierra.

"And you were talking about the weakness in my heart?" She replied.

Tayomi... Don't push yourself too hard... With her injured, he decided to release his Bankai instantly. Tayomi could somewhat sense that both Ichigo and Hitsugaya felt that they would have to fight a lot harder, in order to protect her and defeat Viquierra. Not allowing herself to become a burden, she decided to be extremely careful in this battle and work out a solution to defeat her enemy. But of course, before she could come up with a solution, she had to know her opponent well enough...

"Bakudo 63, Sajo Subaku!"

A chain of yellow ropes bound Viquierra's arms together. Tayomi raised her hand again, hoping that that would keep Viquierra in his place long enough for her to land a hit on him.

"Hado 91, Senju Koten Taiho!"

The spears of light headed straight for Viquierra, creating a massive explosion. The three Shinigami covered their eyes and waited for the dust to clear. To their horror, not only had Viquierra managed to break out of the chain, he had also escaped in time and was merely scratched by her spell. Like her usual self, she showed no shock, no emotion whatsoever to Viquierra. If he could be expressionless, she could be expressionless as well. Remembering what her own Zanpakutou had taught her while she trained in her inner world for her Bankai, she knew that she had to stay calm. No Arrancar, even the Primera New Espada, could be perfect. Somehow, Viquierra had a weakness, a fatal flaw... And she was going to find it no matter what.

"Too slow, Shinigami."

Just as Viquierra was about to land a strike on her, Tayomi quickly reacted and raised her Zanpakutou, blocking his newly unsheathed blade.

"What was slow?" She smiled.

Forcefully pushing her blade against his, she sent Viquierra flying backwards. He landed on his feet perfectly and stared at the young Captain.

"If you expected me to roll around on the floor and scream in pain due to my injuries... Then you've got it all wrong. You've really got it all wrong."

Author's Note:
Sorry I took so long for this update T.T School...
My exams will be over by Friday YAY :D Then I'll be back to updating more often and I'll be watching more anime, and reading more manga as well XD
I might be starting some new FanFics too. I intend to collaborate with one of my friends to write a FanFiction and then as for projects of my own... I'm considering writing a pure humour FanFic. I might do other animes as well (Hitman Reborn would be one of them!)
I'm also considering writing a prelude to 'Bleach: School Days & Frostbitten Lightning', because I just realised that we know quite a bit about each Shinigami's past, but I never really explained Tayomi's past, her family and her relationship with Hisagi XD But of course the main focus will still be on this FanFic and the third part to this story...
YES, this story IS going to have a 3rd PART. The 3rd part will be shorter than this and will also be the concluding part to the whole Frostbitten Lightning saga. I sort of already planned out the ending ^.^
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review! Thanks :D