CHAPTER 67: YOU

The skies around the Fifth Division barracks darkened all of a sudden, and lightning began to streak across it. It was so blinding, that even those within the area had difficulty seeing clearly. Ichigo had just entered Sereitei with the intention of visiting Tayomi, but he was not expecting to be greeted by such a phenomenon.

"Rukia! Renji!" Ichigo shouted, competing with the deafening crashes made by the thunder. "What's going on? What's with that?"

"It's right above the Fifth Division's headquarters… Is Tayomi Taicho in trouble?" Rukia asked.

"Well, we'd better head over there now!" Renji nodded, before proceeding to run towards the source of the lightning.

"Don't get tired on me now, Tayomi."

Inazuma Kaze grinned as the water level in her inner world began to rise. The waters were dark, cold and almost suffocating. Tayomi gripped the hilt of her zanpakutou tightly, determined not to drown in her inner world and wake up from her slumber. Her coma had probably caused a lot of worry, and she refused to make them worry about her again. She dashed towards Inazuma Kaze, striking her quickly.

"I will conquer you, no matter how long it takes."

"Oh?" Inazuma Kaze sneered, blocking her blow effortlessly. "What if by then, they decide to pull the plug on you and proceed with your funeral? Preparations for it are already underway."

"And how would you know that?"

Tayomi grabbed Inazuma Kaze's hand.

"Hado 58, Tenran!"

Tayomi was about to pull away from Inazuma Kaze in order to avoid the impact of her own spell, when Inazuma Kaze grabbed her free hand.

"You're in pain, Tayomi… Why don't you just continue sleeping?"

"TAYOMI!"

Hitsugaya stood outside Tayomi's room, as the rain poured down on him. Hinamori and some of the other Captains had gathered outside as well, wondering what was going on. The lightning continued to rage on, and water began to leak out through the doors and the windows. Hitsugaya recognised the phenomenon instantly.

"It's the drowning form of her zanpakutou… It definitely is."

"But why, Taicho?" Matsumoto asked.

"I've never seen a zanpakutou stifle its own master like this…" Shusui sighed.

"I think her zanpakutou feels her pain… And wishes to end her pain with death…" Ukitake said. "Since Tayomi has yet to bring her second Shikai under control, we can only assume that her second Shikai is going berserk…"

"But Tayomi-chan is too weak to be in her inner world now!" Hinamori cried. "She can't possibly fight the drowning form of her zanpakutou like this!"

"Then… I'll go in."

Hitsugaya's declaration left everyone shocked.

"What do you intend to do, Toshiro?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm going to go in and get her out of her inner world."

"But how will you do that, Hitsugaya Taicho?" Renji asked.

"I'm going to infiltrate her inner world."

Hitsugaya turned to Matsumoto.

"If I don't emerge within 30 minutes, I want you to strike down her room and try your best to contain the waters that will flood out."

"Yes, Taicho!"

"Alright then, I'll go now."

He pointed Hyorinmaru at the door of her room.

"Soten ni zase*, Hyorinmaru. Ryusenka**!"

Using his attack, Hitsugaya shot himself through the door leading to her room, sealing the entrance with ice and preventing anyone from interfering with him. The water level was higher than he had expected, reaching up the the middle of the windows. Diving underwater, he headed straight for Tayomi, noticing that she was holding onto her zanpakutou.

"You haven't been able to rest well, haven't you?" He thought to himself, before holding his Zanpakutou and hers together.

"I'm coming for you, Tayomi."

"Hmm?"

Inazuma Kaze turned her head towards her right, noticing the presence of foreigners in her world. Her eyes widened once she realised who it was, her mouth hanging agape.

"Hyorinmaru… Why are you here?"

"I'm here to accompany my master," Hyorinmaru replied curtly. "Stop this madness. This isn't the real you."

Inazuma Kaze held Tayomi by the hand, as Tayomi gripped the wound that had been inflicted on her abdomen. Hitsugaya ran towards her, before Hyorinmaru stopped him.

"Tayomi…"

"Susu-chan…"

"Don't come any nearer! I don't know how you got in, but I won't let my master suffer again!"

"Likewise, I won't let Tayomi suffer again."

Inazuma Kaze stared hard at him.

"HOW WOULD I KNOW IF-"

"STOP IT!" Tayomi shouted.

Inazuma Kaze was taken aback, as Tayomi had never raised her voice at her, regardless of whether or not she was in her usual or drowning state. She felt her fingers loosen its grip on her hand, as her master's gaze softened.

"It's alright…" Tayomi shook her head, looking up at Inazuma Kaze. "I understand that you've had enough of my suffering… But I'm okay with it, because you were with me all the way, ever since the day I almost got abducted… Right?"

Tayomi hugged Inazuma Kaze tightly.

"I know you're drowning… Drowning in anger and hatred… And I don't want to reject that part of myself. It's true that I feel pain and I've suffered… But I'll embrace it and fight it as long as I know you're with me too."

Inazuma Kaze hugged her back, tears falling from her eyes. The water level began to lower in the inner world and the lightning was less rampant, signalling that everything was back to normal.

"Well then, if you ever get too angry again, you can call forth this extra strength… At your beck and call."

"Does it mean that… I can now fully control the drowning version of her?"

"Yeah, it does," Inazuma Kaze smiled. "Go crazy whenever you want… Within your own control. The time limit still applies though, because we both know you don't stay negative for long."

"The same applies to you, huh?" Hyorinmaru chuckled, as he approached Inazuma Kaze and ran his fingers through her hair.

Hitsugaya and Tayomi stared at each other, both shocked by what they were seeing.

"Uh well… I did tell you to introduce me to his zanpakutou, right?" Inazuma Kaze grinned.

Tayomi giggled to herself, amused that her zanpakutou appeared to have fallen for Hyorinmaru. The feelings seemed quite mutual as well.

"Hey, stop staring at them."

Tayomi turned around with her arms outstretched towards Hitsugaya, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you what was going on…"

"It's alright, I understand. As long as you're okay."

"How did you get into my inner world though?"

"Hyorinmaru. For some reason, he was able to establish a connection to your zanpakutou."

"Inazuma Kaze? Well… She did have a curiously strange crush on him…"

"And he seems to like her back as well…"

Tayomi tightened her grip around him and buried her face in his chest.

"Sounds just like us, doesn't it?"

Hitsugaya smiled.

"Yeah, it sure does."

"It's been almost thirty minutes now…" Matsumoto muttered to herself.

Everyone gathered outside Tayomi's room were about to knock the doors down when the lightning stopped. White and yellow beams of light shot into the center of the dark skies, disintegrating the clouds to reveal the blue sky once again. Water stopped flowing from under the door, as everyone waited in anticipation, wondering what had happened. At that moment, Hitsugaya emerged from the doors, one arm holding Tayomi's hand and the other wrapped around her waist, supporting her as she walked down the steps.

"YOMI-CHAN!" Hinamori cried, as she wept tears of joy and rushed towards her Captain.

"Tayomi-chan! Taicho!" Matsumoto exclaimed, running towards the both of them.

Tayomi smiled weakly, having just regained consciousness after a long slumber. She looked up at the Captains and her friends surrounding the place, smiling at all of them.

"Everyone… I'm so sorry for worrying all of you…"

"It's alright, Tayomi," Ichigo shook his head. "As long as you're okay!"

"I'm glad you're back with us, Tayomi-chan!" Ukitake beamed.

"Welcome back, Tayomi Taicho," Ichimaru grinned.

"Ugh but Taicho, what's with you?" Matsumoto reprimanded Hitsugaya. "You didn't carry her out the way I expected you to! You should've carried her bridal style! You already-"

"SHUT UP MATSUMOTO!" Hitsugaya shouted, glancing at Ukitake for a moment.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto arrived at the scene, glancing at both Hitsugaya and Tayomi. Hinamori quickly took hold of her Captain and everyone bowed their heads, in respect of the Captain-Commander.

"Tayomi Taicho, did you just come to?" He asked.

"Yes, Captain-Commander," Tayomi replied. "I apologise deeply for worrying you and the rest of the Gotei 13."

"Please recuperate well and see me tomorrow morning in my office, Tayomi Taicho. I have something to discuss with you."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto looked at Hitsugaya and her, before nodding.

"Why are the both of you standing apart? The battle with Aizen is already over."

As Yamamoto left, Shunsui shook his head in exasperation.

"You heard Yama-jii," he laughed. "The battle is over. He won't stop the both of you from being together anymore."

Tayomi smiled and looked at Hitsugaya. Letting go of Hinamori slowly, she took hold of his hand and held it firmly.

"Thank you for coming to get me."

"Well, it was you, after all. I'll always come to get you, no matter what."

He was just about to take her into his arms when Matsumoto interrupted him.

"OHHHHHHHH TAICHO! THAT'S THE SPIRIT! ARE YOU GONNA K-"

"MATSUMOTO!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Yay she's awake again! Next chapter, we'll find out what Yamamoto has in store for her. Tayomi's going to have to make a decision and so will Hitsugaya :)

Thank you for reading this chapter! Do tell me how you feel about the chapters and the story so far if you'd like :) The story is about to come to a close in about 2-3 chapters! It's been a long journey and I never thought I'd be able to finish the story, especially after the long hiatus I took due to personal matters going on at home :( Thank you for sticking around and do look forward to the next chapter! :D