Fanfiction | Treading Icy Waters II
Title: Treading Icy Waters
Fandom: Bleach
Main Character: Hitsugaya Toushirou
Rating: PG13-ish
Pairings: I'm trying to keep distinct couples to a minimum in this story, so there won't be any specific pairings.
Warnings: Some language, a bit of angst, a taste of violence, plenty of spoilers, and lots of unnecessary pain
Timeline: This story follows the manga's timeline, disregarding the Bounto Arc completely. It takes place during and after the current manga arc.
A/N: Kenpachi, Yachiru, and two Arrancar. I wonder which will kill Hitsugaya first. ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own Hitsugaya or Bleach or anything else that I do not own.
Summary: Not all games are for kids. Not all puzzles are childish. At least, not when you're betting your life on the outcome.
~*~
“Truth sits upon the lips of dying men.”
Matthew Arnold
~*~
Chapter Two
Unnecessary Interaction
~*~
Ukitake-taichou dropped the pen he had been writing with, turning his head awkwardly to the side, staring wide-eyed at nothing in particular.
What had that been? It had felt faint, not because it was small or weak but because it was a ways away. Beyond Seireitei’s walls. It had not quite matched the feeling of a normal hollow nor had it been the easily recognizable signature of a shinigami, though it had been far too strong to be an average soul. And it had appeared out of nowhere. He could hardly believe what few possibilities came to his mind. None of them were rational. And none of them were pleasant. Hastily bringing himself to his feet, he headed for the door and slid it wide open. A Hell butterfly met him, jerking slightly in its flight toward his door as if it had been released suddenly and unexpectedly from its small cage to a much larger world it hadn’t quite fathomed as of yet.
He would have bet his haori that that was the case. Though not in the literal sense, of course. Gambling was strictly Kyouraku’s area of expertise.
The Thirteenth Division head mentally scolded his wandering mind. Now was not the time.
“Ukitake-taichou, you told us to report anything we found to you immediately.”
He nodded gravely as if those on the other end could see him. “Don’t tell me…” It appeared his theories hadn’t been quite as irrational as he had thought.
“We have detected the reiatsu signatures of two Arrancar and a large number of hollows gathered at the edge of Rukongai! There have been no casualties as of yet, but that is only because they didn’t arrive in a rural area. It’s only a matter of time before they get to one! Also-!”
“Ukitake-taichou!”
Said shinigami sighed at the interruption. Sure, when Yamamoto-soutaichou had asked him to take over his duties when he had decided to devote himself completely to the Central 46 and other unspoken but obvious issues, he had been just a little flattered and certainly more than willing. Now though, he understood why the soutaichou had not wanted to deal with them. It was just one thing after another….
“Yes?” he asked as the rugged shinigami ran up to his door. “What is it?”
“It’s Kenpachi-taichou! He’s … He said he felt something really good and just ran off into Rukongai!”
“That is what we were just about to tell you, Taichou,” from the ebony butterfly. “Kenpachi-taichou is currently en route toward the Arrancar.”
Ukitake didn’t need to be told. He could feel the surge in that fight-crazy man’s reiatsu, burning with excitement, as it soared through the districts of Rukongai. He frowned as he tried to assess the situation. Kenpachi was all well and good, but he lacked experience when it came to the Arrancar. He was a fairly recent addition to Gotei 13 headship, compared to how long most of the others had been stationed, and had never had the chance to gain that experience. Most of the other Division heads who might have experience in the field were immersed in their own preparations, save one who had only returned to Soul Society the day before. Perfect.
“You,” Ukitake pointed to the huffing shinigami, “Please call Hitsugaya-taichou to my office immediately.”
~*~
It was not long afterward that Hitsugaya Toushirou released himself from his shunpo directly in front of the open door to Ukitake’s office, Matsumoto Rangiku less than a second behind. The sickly taichou allowed himself the luxury of a minute grin at the sight of Hitsugaya’s fukutaichou, whom he had technically not asked to come. Seeing those two together, the love-hate relationship masking their deep loyalties, somehow reminded him of Kaien. Kaien and Rukia. Kaien…
The grin hastily shoved itself down his throat as the seriousness in his fellow taichou’s voice ground him back to reality. “You wish for me to make sure they do not reach the districts.”
It was a statement, not a question. So he had sensed them as well. It wasn’t as if they were all that unnoticeable, after all. They seemed to be making no attempts to hide their presence in the forests skirting the edges of the rural districts. Either they were far too cocky or they knew something he didn’t. It didn’t really matter though. He had no choice but to make absolutely sure they were obliterated with as few casualties as possible. Ukitake nodded, but he noticed Hitsugaya hesitating, something he had certainly not been doing moments before.
“Is something wrong?”
“Of course not,” the young boy replied quickly. “I was just curious. Kenpachi-taichou should be able to handle two Arrancar of that caliber single handedly. And seeing as he has veered completely off course, I assume that his fukutaichou is already with him.” The humor within his own words was entirely lost on him.
“So why exactly were you summoned?” Ukitake finished for him. “Should no longer holds any weight around here. We need to be absolutely certain that they are destroyed. Also, I must admit I am not entirely set upon placing my full faith in his renegade reiatsu.” A hint of a smile lit his features before it was bowed away by a cough.
Hitsugaya nodded once his superior’s fit had calmed, though he still seemed the slightest bit reluctant. Ukitake wondered whether it had to do with something more than Zaraki’s involvement. He resigned himself though, to merely call out a simple warning as the Tenth Division head began taking his leave.
“It may be wise not to appear before Kenpachi-taichou until absolutely necessary.”
Hitsugaya couldn’t suppress a grimly amused sneer as he and Matsumoto hastily soared into Rukongai. Let Kenpachi realize he had been sent back up? Now, that was something he would never do willingly.
~*~
Despite Kenpachi’s detour, he arrived at about the same time as Hitsugaya and Matsumoto. The two of them quickly alighted in two separate trees, thankful for the leafy cover. It would provide the same advantage for the hollows, but at least they would be safe from one monster in particular.
Rangiku looked down at said monster as he charged through the hordes of hollows, blowing away anything that escaped his zanpakutou simply with his infamous reiatsu levels. She had to admit, it was a lot of hollows. Even as Kenpachi-taichou obliterated them two or three at a time, more seemed to be constantly arriving. Perhaps the portal was still open somewhere. That did not bode well. But that aside, she was surprised at how weak they were. Any shinigami, even fresh from the academy, would have been able to defeat one or two of them on his/her own. If Aizen was really behind this all, she wondered skeptically, why would he put so much effort into placing quantity over quality when he had accumulated enough Espada to contend with nearly all of the 13 Division heads?
She debated whether or not to point this out to her taichou, but decided that he had probably already considered it. Pushing away the foliage just enough, she turned her attention away from Zaraki and the hollows and on to Hitsugaya. His expression troubled her. He looked perturbed by something, oceanic eyes flitting frantically across the battlefield below, the rest of his body eerily still. It took her a moment to realize what he was searching for, but when she did her eyes widened, jaw slightly askew. Hastily she too turned back to the hollows. Kenpachi, with Yachiru on his back yelling some sort of blissful, gory chant, surrounded by row after row of hollows.
Then, where…?
Where were the Arrancar?
~*~
Hitsugaya had felt uncomfortable since Kenpachi had come so close. He was making no attempts to hold back any of his reiatsu, and that was messing with the younger taichou’s senses. It was as if the Arrancar had disappeared. He couldn’t see them anywhere, and try as he might to filter through Kenpachi’s reiatsu, he had yet to sense them.
Kenpachi’s fukutaichou wasn’t helping his concentration any. She was shouting at the top of her lungs, one arm waving in the air, for all the world sounding like a kindergartener cheering on her dad during a father-daughter sports outing. “Kill ‘em, Ken-chan! Murder ‘em good! Kill, kill, kill, kill! Kill, kill, kill, kill!” And when she got tired of that, it moved on to blood, beat their brains out, slimy guts, chop them into itty, bitty pieces, various other internal organs, and now, something about little, dirty birdie feet. He had no idea where that last one came from.
She just wouldn’t quit. In fact, she only seemed to get louder, faster, and higher pitched the further she got through the unimaginative but very gory lyrics. He could literally feel the vein bursting in his forehead. He grit his teeth, grinding them together painfully in an attempt to keep his mind off her aggravatingly repetitive chants.
“You look … annoyed.”
Hitsugaya could feel his shoulders tense, but he did not move. He did not even turn around to face the Arrancar that he was absolutely positive had just jumped up onto the branch behind him. He allowed the feel of the creature to leak through his senses, and he confirmed what he had believed when he had first sensed the two Arancar’s presence. They couldn’t be much more powerful than Shawlong Qufang had been. That meant that even a fukutaichou should be able to defeat at least one of them easily. But it also meant they should be strong enough to understand the difference in strength, as Shawlong had so clearly been able to do. The young taichou’s frown hardened.
“Mildly,” he answered levelly.
The Arrancar chuckled a little. Hitsugaya ignored it to the best of his abilities, allowing his eyes to gravitate toward Matsumoto. She was gripping Haineko’s hilt as if her very life depended on it, staring at him determinedly, daring him to ask her to charge. It didn’t look like the Arrancar had noticed her, and he did not want it to. When she acknowledged his gaze, he shifted it pointedly down at Kenpachi and the rest of the hollows. Frowning unapprovingly, she reluctantly let go of her blade and returned to searching for the second Arrancar, though he could still feel her steal a meaningful glance in his direction. When the white crowned taichou was sure his fukutaichou would not make a move, he finally turned around.
The Arrancar was not exactly what he had been expecting. He had yet to meet a female one and had begun to wonder whether they even existed, and yet here, right before his eyes, she stood. Her strange, white uniform was form fitting and tight, with a fair many well placed rips and tears along her joints as well as some less strategically placed ones revealing about as much of her chest as Matsumoto did when she wanted a stranger to buy her another round of drinks. In fact, Hitsugaya had to wonder whether even Matsumoto would be hard pressed to show so much skin unless she had a chance to be rid of paperwork forever. All in all, it wasn’t a very positive first impression.
“You’re really interesting. I think I like you,” she (He supposed he couldn’t refer to her as an “it.” Not after seeing that chest.) spoke up with a hint of her earlier chuckle remaining. “You’re a whole lot cuter than that lunatic and his little, pink pet down there.”
He couldn’t help it. He twitched. “I. Am. Not. Cute.”
Yet another chuckle. “Aw. Don’t deny it. It’ll only stress you out more. And too much stress’ll give you lots of ugly wrinkles.”
He took a deep breath, standing up from his crouch. The effect wasn’t quite as dramatic as he had hoped it would be. “Why are you here? Who sent you?”
“Right to business, then,” the Arrancar grumbled, hands on her hips. “You may be cute, but you’re no fun at all.”
Hitsugaya did his best to stay perfectly calm, to not let anything slip. Nothing at all. Something was not right. One word was all it would take, and his bankai would finish her in seconds. She must know that. She must have been able to see that from the very beginning. Yet she was so informal. There was not the slightest trace of fear or even concern in her mannerisms. His icy glare bored into her irritated lavender. He would not destroy her until he got some real answers. Finally, she gave in.
“Well, if you’re gonna be so rude about it, I’m here as a messenger on behalf of Tatsujin-sama.”
The Tenth Division head had absolutely no idea who “Tatsujin-sama” was. None of the past Arrancar he had faced had referred to Aizen in that manner. But he would leave that question for later. For now: “And what message were you sent here to deliver?”
The playful smile that had adorned her lips morphed into a very familiar, very deranged smirk.
“‘Welcome back to Soul Society. Don’t go dyin’ too soon now. P.S. Look out for your pretty fukutaichou-san.
Jamata, for now, Juubun-taichou-san.’”
Hitsugaya’s eyes widened considerably and his complexion paled. There was no more question about it. There was only one man he knew who addressed him in that way, only one man who harbored such a carefree kansai accent used so antagonistically. He knew exactly who had sent these Arrancar. And he did not like the odds this information presented. Especially when it came to that P.S.
Then, as if on cue, the reiatsu of the second Arrancar suddenly became crystal clear. It was nearly on top of Matsumoto. This was no time to worry about exposing himself to Kenpachi. Stealth was no longer an option.
“Matsumoto!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, charging past the female Arrancar toward his second-in-command. “Get down! Now!”
~*~
As soon as the very first syllable of her name had been pronounced, Matsumoto had become alert to the new presence. Unlike the first Arrancar, this one was male. He was lithe and lanky, his standard uniform flying behind him in fringe-like wisps as he lustfully jumped down to meet her, zanpakutou clashing with zanpakutou. Sparks flew and, with a grave smirk, she pushed Haineko forward, propelling herself backward until she fell directly in line with her taichou.
Both landed forcefully on the ground below, not ten feet from Kenpachi-taichou.
Matsumoto could hear Yachiru finally break in her singing as she jumped up from Zaraki’s back to the top of his head and pointed enthusiastically in their direction. “Mite, mite! Look, Ken-chan! It’s Chibi-chan and Ookii Ookii!”
Kenpachi’s gaze shot menacingly in their direction as she gave a rather sheepish wave. Hitsugaya didn’t even turn to acknowledge him. Instead, he continued to glare the other way as the two Arrancar hopped down to meet them. Matsumoto sighed. She had a bad feeling she knew what was coming.
“You little runt!” the Eleventh Division head shouted angrily at her taichou. “You stole my targets from me!” And without wasting a second of time, he abandoned the hollows and ran, zanpakutou ready, at Hitsugaya. The young boy was just as quick as he was though, jumping into the air to avoid the downward swing and landing to the raging man’s side.
“Kenpachi! If you want to kill me, do it later! After the Arrancar are destroyed!” he scolded, the bitterness in his voice only strengthened by its coldness.
“He’s right, you know. It’s no fun if you fight each other. Than what was the point of our coming here in the first place, ne?” The female Arrancar’s lips had molded back into their former mischievous grin, that playful smirk that told Matsumoto she knew something that they didn’t.
She did not like that grin. And she was doubly bothered by how it seemed to affect her taichou. Did that Arrancar tell him something? Did he know what was going on? If that perturbed expression on Hitsugaya’s face had anything to say about what was happening, Matsumoto knew it would not be a pleasant evening.
~*~
Hitsugaya needed a way out of this mess. Zaraki was a good ally to have in this sort of situation, but that kind of advantage was currently being hindered by his anger at having been sent help. Hitsugaya was not particularly thrilled at the aspect of having another man on his list of people out to slaughter him. Did everyone in this sorry world want him dead? No, he told himself, the irony of it all almost too much for him to handle. Not everyone. Just all the ones strong (or insane) enough to actually go through with it.
“Kenpachi,” he heard himself whisper gratingly, “I want this over with as fast as possible. Truce?”
“Only if I get him,” Zaraki answered firmly, gesturing toward the Arrancar who had yet to say a word but whose blood-shot eyes, shark-like incisors, and Kurosaki-sized zanpakutou Hitsugaya guessed had sparked his fellow taichou’s morbid curiosity.
Just before Hitsugaya could agree to his terms though, the female took a step forward. “Nuh-uh. We can’t have you doing that just yet. You big, scary shinigami outnumber us two to four! First, we need a level playing field.”
And with that, the Arrancar’s companion put his fingers to his lips and whistled. Hitsugaya had never heard a sound like it, save one. The halting cry of a hollow. A hollow calling other hollows to it. His body tensed as he whirled around, vaguely noticing the others do so as well before the hordes of hollows all converged on one spot. Theirs.
He had no time to call the name of his zanpakutou before they were on top of him. In fact, he barely had the time to draw Hyourinmaru from his sheath. It was fairly easy to fend them off at first, but he lacked Kenpachi’s untouchable reiatsu and therefore had nothing to keep the slowly rising numbers at bay but his blade. Therefore, calling on his shikai or bankai would leave him vulnerable, if even for an instant. He didn’t want that as long as the Arrancar were unaccounted for. If he could just find one of them through Kenpachi’s radiating bloodlusts, he would end this nonsense. He had no time to deal with this; he had much more pressing matters on his mind at the moment.
Like why he had sent these messengers. There must be a deeper reason. The message itself sounded as if it was only there to be the icing on the cake. It had only warned him of the second Arrancar. It hadn’t given any pertinent or lasting information except who was behind this mess. And all that information did was leave him wanting more.
Hyourinmaru lashed out again and again, almost automatically now, as Hitsugaya’s sight fluttered constantly to and away from the battle at hand, jumping this way and that to avoid the hollows in front only to meet others behind. This wasn’t exactly the best choice of strategy, but with the others as well as the Arrancar out of sight, he could think of no other way. Soaring back into the tree cover, he entered shunpo in order to cover more ground faster. There was Kenpachi, that one wasn’t hard to sense. Yachiru was still a minute blotch on top of him. That left Matsumoto… She was a short ways ahead.
“Looking for your girlfriend?”
Two hollows, three, hour, five. None of them were small. More were following him. This aimless running was getting him nowhere. But now, at least, he had time enough to call upon his blade. A sardonic smile adorning his lips, he held out his zanpakutou.
“Set upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!”
~*~
A sideswipe, a frontal thrust, a jump into the air punctuated by a clean cut through a bleached mask before a soft landing in yet another tree. That was three more down, but they just kept multiplying. Hitsugaya wasn’t sure how long he had been doing this. It felt like ages, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. This was grunt work. It only took a single swipe to finish them two, three at a time.
Then, as if to mock his very thoughts, one of them, a particularly ugly thing with a flat head composed of almost nothing but mouth, jumped onto his back, clawing at his haori. Angry at his lack of attention, he hastily tore off the traditional clothing, hollow and all, and tossed it out of the tree. The hollow immediately let go, looking for something to break its fall. With an indifferent grunt, Hitsugaya launched himself after it, thrusting Hyourinmaru into its skull in midair before landing.
He landed well enough as any skilled shinigami could. It was not the landing that was the problem. The problem was what landed on him.
“Miss me, cutie?”
He felt the sudden pressure on his shoulders right as his face met dirt. Apparently not as up to wasting time as she had been before, the female Arrancar was just able to thrust something sharp and painful into his back before he could force her off. She landed lightly to his left as he stood up straight, wincing slightly.
He had no doubts that the scorpion-like tail protruding from just above her posterior was the released state of her zanpakutou.
“What was that?” he breathed, teeth clenched.
There was that awful chuckle again. “A gift.”
Hitsugaya felt his throat constrict. It wasn’t from his wounds. “From who?”
“From Tatsujin-sama, of course.” Her widening grin only served to confirm what he already knew to be true. “From Gin-sama.”
He had already figured it out from the message. He had already known. But actually hearing the name finally sparked the match he had been so meticulously keeping under lock and key. There was no turning back now. The match was aflame.
“Bankai!”
He flew forward, aiming Hyourinmaru directly at the Arrancar’s stomach. But if he had been expecting any reaction from her, it was most definitely not what he received. As he closed in, inches from her stomach, she was laughing.
She was laughing.
“Ryuusenka!”
Blood spewed from the wound as her upper body lunged forward from the pain he knew her to be experiencing. A pain he intended for her to experience. The unrelenting, unforgiving ice flowed from Hyourinmaru, instantly encasing her before she shattered into a thousand frozen shards before him.
Slowly, stiffly, he released his bankai and sheathed Hyourinmaru. In the same steady fashion he bent down to pick up his haori. He winced at the slight rush of pain that shot through his backside as he did so, but caught himself before he did it again when he stood back up.
He looked over at the spot where the Arrancar had been obliterated, still littered with the bloody fragments. He felt the unrealness of the entire situation wash over him like a wave. The Tenth Division head sat down rigidly, still staring unseeing at the vacant spot before him.
She was laughing.
~*~
Fandom: Bleach
Main Character: Hitsugaya Toushirou
Rating: PG13-ish
Pairings: I'm trying to keep distinct couples to a minimum in this story, so there won't be any specific pairings.
Warnings: Some language, a bit of angst, a taste of violence, plenty of spoilers, and lots of unnecessary pain
Timeline: This story follows the manga's timeline, disregarding the Bounto Arc completely. It takes place during and after the current manga arc.
A/N: Kenpachi, Yachiru, and two Arrancar. I wonder which will kill Hitsugaya first. ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own Hitsugaya or Bleach or anything else that I do not own.
Summary: Not all games are for kids. Not all puzzles are childish. At least, not when you're betting your life on the outcome.
~*~
“Truth sits upon the lips of dying men.”
Matthew Arnold
~*~
Chapter Two
Unnecessary Interaction
~*~
Ukitake-taichou dropped the pen he had been writing with, turning his head awkwardly to the side, staring wide-eyed at nothing in particular.
What had that been? It had felt faint, not because it was small or weak but because it was a ways away. Beyond Seireitei’s walls. It had not quite matched the feeling of a normal hollow nor had it been the easily recognizable signature of a shinigami, though it had been far too strong to be an average soul. And it had appeared out of nowhere. He could hardly believe what few possibilities came to his mind. None of them were rational. And none of them were pleasant. Hastily bringing himself to his feet, he headed for the door and slid it wide open. A Hell butterfly met him, jerking slightly in its flight toward his door as if it had been released suddenly and unexpectedly from its small cage to a much larger world it hadn’t quite fathomed as of yet.
He would have bet his haori that that was the case. Though not in the literal sense, of course. Gambling was strictly Kyouraku’s area of expertise.
The Thirteenth Division head mentally scolded his wandering mind. Now was not the time.
“Ukitake-taichou, you told us to report anything we found to you immediately.”
He nodded gravely as if those on the other end could see him. “Don’t tell me…” It appeared his theories hadn’t been quite as irrational as he had thought.
“We have detected the reiatsu signatures of two Arrancar and a large number of hollows gathered at the edge of Rukongai! There have been no casualties as of yet, but that is only because they didn’t arrive in a rural area. It’s only a matter of time before they get to one! Also-!”
“Ukitake-taichou!”
Said shinigami sighed at the interruption. Sure, when Yamamoto-soutaichou had asked him to take over his duties when he had decided to devote himself completely to the Central 46 and other unspoken but obvious issues, he had been just a little flattered and certainly more than willing. Now though, he understood why the soutaichou had not wanted to deal with them. It was just one thing after another….
“Yes?” he asked as the rugged shinigami ran up to his door. “What is it?”
“It’s Kenpachi-taichou! He’s … He said he felt something really good and just ran off into Rukongai!”
“That is what we were just about to tell you, Taichou,” from the ebony butterfly. “Kenpachi-taichou is currently en route toward the Arrancar.”
Ukitake didn’t need to be told. He could feel the surge in that fight-crazy man’s reiatsu, burning with excitement, as it soared through the districts of Rukongai. He frowned as he tried to assess the situation. Kenpachi was all well and good, but he lacked experience when it came to the Arrancar. He was a fairly recent addition to Gotei 13 headship, compared to how long most of the others had been stationed, and had never had the chance to gain that experience. Most of the other Division heads who might have experience in the field were immersed in their own preparations, save one who had only returned to Soul Society the day before. Perfect.
“You,” Ukitake pointed to the huffing shinigami, “Please call Hitsugaya-taichou to my office immediately.”
~*~
It was not long afterward that Hitsugaya Toushirou released himself from his shunpo directly in front of the open door to Ukitake’s office, Matsumoto Rangiku less than a second behind. The sickly taichou allowed himself the luxury of a minute grin at the sight of Hitsugaya’s fukutaichou, whom he had technically not asked to come. Seeing those two together, the love-hate relationship masking their deep loyalties, somehow reminded him of Kaien. Kaien and Rukia. Kaien…
The grin hastily shoved itself down his throat as the seriousness in his fellow taichou’s voice ground him back to reality. “You wish for me to make sure they do not reach the districts.”
It was a statement, not a question. So he had sensed them as well. It wasn’t as if they were all that unnoticeable, after all. They seemed to be making no attempts to hide their presence in the forests skirting the edges of the rural districts. Either they were far too cocky or they knew something he didn’t. It didn’t really matter though. He had no choice but to make absolutely sure they were obliterated with as few casualties as possible. Ukitake nodded, but he noticed Hitsugaya hesitating, something he had certainly not been doing moments before.
“Is something wrong?”
“Of course not,” the young boy replied quickly. “I was just curious. Kenpachi-taichou should be able to handle two Arrancar of that caliber single handedly. And seeing as he has veered completely off course, I assume that his fukutaichou is already with him.” The humor within his own words was entirely lost on him.
“So why exactly were you summoned?” Ukitake finished for him. “Should no longer holds any weight around here. We need to be absolutely certain that they are destroyed. Also, I must admit I am not entirely set upon placing my full faith in his renegade reiatsu.” A hint of a smile lit his features before it was bowed away by a cough.
Hitsugaya nodded once his superior’s fit had calmed, though he still seemed the slightest bit reluctant. Ukitake wondered whether it had to do with something more than Zaraki’s involvement. He resigned himself though, to merely call out a simple warning as the Tenth Division head began taking his leave.
“It may be wise not to appear before Kenpachi-taichou until absolutely necessary.”
Hitsugaya couldn’t suppress a grimly amused sneer as he and Matsumoto hastily soared into Rukongai. Let Kenpachi realize he had been sent back up? Now, that was something he would never do willingly.
~*~
Despite Kenpachi’s detour, he arrived at about the same time as Hitsugaya and Matsumoto. The two of them quickly alighted in two separate trees, thankful for the leafy cover. It would provide the same advantage for the hollows, but at least they would be safe from one monster in particular.
Rangiku looked down at said monster as he charged through the hordes of hollows, blowing away anything that escaped his zanpakutou simply with his infamous reiatsu levels. She had to admit, it was a lot of hollows. Even as Kenpachi-taichou obliterated them two or three at a time, more seemed to be constantly arriving. Perhaps the portal was still open somewhere. That did not bode well. But that aside, she was surprised at how weak they were. Any shinigami, even fresh from the academy, would have been able to defeat one or two of them on his/her own. If Aizen was really behind this all, she wondered skeptically, why would he put so much effort into placing quantity over quality when he had accumulated enough Espada to contend with nearly all of the 13 Division heads?
She debated whether or not to point this out to her taichou, but decided that he had probably already considered it. Pushing away the foliage just enough, she turned her attention away from Zaraki and the hollows and on to Hitsugaya. His expression troubled her. He looked perturbed by something, oceanic eyes flitting frantically across the battlefield below, the rest of his body eerily still. It took her a moment to realize what he was searching for, but when she did her eyes widened, jaw slightly askew. Hastily she too turned back to the hollows. Kenpachi, with Yachiru on his back yelling some sort of blissful, gory chant, surrounded by row after row of hollows.
Then, where…?
Where were the Arrancar?
~*~
Hitsugaya had felt uncomfortable since Kenpachi had come so close. He was making no attempts to hold back any of his reiatsu, and that was messing with the younger taichou’s senses. It was as if the Arrancar had disappeared. He couldn’t see them anywhere, and try as he might to filter through Kenpachi’s reiatsu, he had yet to sense them.
Kenpachi’s fukutaichou wasn’t helping his concentration any. She was shouting at the top of her lungs, one arm waving in the air, for all the world sounding like a kindergartener cheering on her dad during a father-daughter sports outing. “Kill ‘em, Ken-chan! Murder ‘em good! Kill, kill, kill, kill! Kill, kill, kill, kill!” And when she got tired of that, it moved on to blood, beat their brains out, slimy guts, chop them into itty, bitty pieces, various other internal organs, and now, something about little, dirty birdie feet. He had no idea where that last one came from.
She just wouldn’t quit. In fact, she only seemed to get louder, faster, and higher pitched the further she got through the unimaginative but very gory lyrics. He could literally feel the vein bursting in his forehead. He grit his teeth, grinding them together painfully in an attempt to keep his mind off her aggravatingly repetitive chants.
“You look … annoyed.”
Hitsugaya could feel his shoulders tense, but he did not move. He did not even turn around to face the Arrancar that he was absolutely positive had just jumped up onto the branch behind him. He allowed the feel of the creature to leak through his senses, and he confirmed what he had believed when he had first sensed the two Arancar’s presence. They couldn’t be much more powerful than Shawlong Qufang had been. That meant that even a fukutaichou should be able to defeat at least one of them easily. But it also meant they should be strong enough to understand the difference in strength, as Shawlong had so clearly been able to do. The young taichou’s frown hardened.
“Mildly,” he answered levelly.
The Arrancar chuckled a little. Hitsugaya ignored it to the best of his abilities, allowing his eyes to gravitate toward Matsumoto. She was gripping Haineko’s hilt as if her very life depended on it, staring at him determinedly, daring him to ask her to charge. It didn’t look like the Arrancar had noticed her, and he did not want it to. When she acknowledged his gaze, he shifted it pointedly down at Kenpachi and the rest of the hollows. Frowning unapprovingly, she reluctantly let go of her blade and returned to searching for the second Arrancar, though he could still feel her steal a meaningful glance in his direction. When the white crowned taichou was sure his fukutaichou would not make a move, he finally turned around.
The Arrancar was not exactly what he had been expecting. He had yet to meet a female one and had begun to wonder whether they even existed, and yet here, right before his eyes, she stood. Her strange, white uniform was form fitting and tight, with a fair many well placed rips and tears along her joints as well as some less strategically placed ones revealing about as much of her chest as Matsumoto did when she wanted a stranger to buy her another round of drinks. In fact, Hitsugaya had to wonder whether even Matsumoto would be hard pressed to show so much skin unless she had a chance to be rid of paperwork forever. All in all, it wasn’t a very positive first impression.
“You’re really interesting. I think I like you,” she (He supposed he couldn’t refer to her as an “it.” Not after seeing that chest.) spoke up with a hint of her earlier chuckle remaining. “You’re a whole lot cuter than that lunatic and his little, pink pet down there.”
He couldn’t help it. He twitched. “I. Am. Not. Cute.”
Yet another chuckle. “Aw. Don’t deny it. It’ll only stress you out more. And too much stress’ll give you lots of ugly wrinkles.”
He took a deep breath, standing up from his crouch. The effect wasn’t quite as dramatic as he had hoped it would be. “Why are you here? Who sent you?”
“Right to business, then,” the Arrancar grumbled, hands on her hips. “You may be cute, but you’re no fun at all.”
Hitsugaya did his best to stay perfectly calm, to not let anything slip. Nothing at all. Something was not right. One word was all it would take, and his bankai would finish her in seconds. She must know that. She must have been able to see that from the very beginning. Yet she was so informal. There was not the slightest trace of fear or even concern in her mannerisms. His icy glare bored into her irritated lavender. He would not destroy her until he got some real answers. Finally, she gave in.
“Well, if you’re gonna be so rude about it, I’m here as a messenger on behalf of Tatsujin-sama.”
The Tenth Division head had absolutely no idea who “Tatsujin-sama” was. None of the past Arrancar he had faced had referred to Aizen in that manner. But he would leave that question for later. For now: “And what message were you sent here to deliver?”
The playful smile that had adorned her lips morphed into a very familiar, very deranged smirk.
“‘Welcome back to Soul Society. Don’t go dyin’ too soon now. P.S. Look out for your pretty fukutaichou-san.
Jamata, for now, Juubun-taichou-san.’”
Hitsugaya’s eyes widened considerably and his complexion paled. There was no more question about it. There was only one man he knew who addressed him in that way, only one man who harbored such a carefree kansai accent used so antagonistically. He knew exactly who had sent these Arrancar. And he did not like the odds this information presented. Especially when it came to that P.S.
Then, as if on cue, the reiatsu of the second Arrancar suddenly became crystal clear. It was nearly on top of Matsumoto. This was no time to worry about exposing himself to Kenpachi. Stealth was no longer an option.
“Matsumoto!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, charging past the female Arrancar toward his second-in-command. “Get down! Now!”
~*~
As soon as the very first syllable of her name had been pronounced, Matsumoto had become alert to the new presence. Unlike the first Arrancar, this one was male. He was lithe and lanky, his standard uniform flying behind him in fringe-like wisps as he lustfully jumped down to meet her, zanpakutou clashing with zanpakutou. Sparks flew and, with a grave smirk, she pushed Haineko forward, propelling herself backward until she fell directly in line with her taichou.
Both landed forcefully on the ground below, not ten feet from Kenpachi-taichou.
Matsumoto could hear Yachiru finally break in her singing as she jumped up from Zaraki’s back to the top of his head and pointed enthusiastically in their direction. “Mite, mite! Look, Ken-chan! It’s Chibi-chan and Ookii Ookii!”
Kenpachi’s gaze shot menacingly in their direction as she gave a rather sheepish wave. Hitsugaya didn’t even turn to acknowledge him. Instead, he continued to glare the other way as the two Arrancar hopped down to meet them. Matsumoto sighed. She had a bad feeling she knew what was coming.
“You little runt!” the Eleventh Division head shouted angrily at her taichou. “You stole my targets from me!” And without wasting a second of time, he abandoned the hollows and ran, zanpakutou ready, at Hitsugaya. The young boy was just as quick as he was though, jumping into the air to avoid the downward swing and landing to the raging man’s side.
“Kenpachi! If you want to kill me, do it later! After the Arrancar are destroyed!” he scolded, the bitterness in his voice only strengthened by its coldness.
“He’s right, you know. It’s no fun if you fight each other. Than what was the point of our coming here in the first place, ne?” The female Arrancar’s lips had molded back into their former mischievous grin, that playful smirk that told Matsumoto she knew something that they didn’t.
She did not like that grin. And she was doubly bothered by how it seemed to affect her taichou. Did that Arrancar tell him something? Did he know what was going on? If that perturbed expression on Hitsugaya’s face had anything to say about what was happening, Matsumoto knew it would not be a pleasant evening.
~*~
Hitsugaya needed a way out of this mess. Zaraki was a good ally to have in this sort of situation, but that kind of advantage was currently being hindered by his anger at having been sent help. Hitsugaya was not particularly thrilled at the aspect of having another man on his list of people out to slaughter him. Did everyone in this sorry world want him dead? No, he told himself, the irony of it all almost too much for him to handle. Not everyone. Just all the ones strong (or insane) enough to actually go through with it.
“Kenpachi,” he heard himself whisper gratingly, “I want this over with as fast as possible. Truce?”
“Only if I get him,” Zaraki answered firmly, gesturing toward the Arrancar who had yet to say a word but whose blood-shot eyes, shark-like incisors, and Kurosaki-sized zanpakutou Hitsugaya guessed had sparked his fellow taichou’s morbid curiosity.
Just before Hitsugaya could agree to his terms though, the female took a step forward. “Nuh-uh. We can’t have you doing that just yet. You big, scary shinigami outnumber us two to four! First, we need a level playing field.”
And with that, the Arrancar’s companion put his fingers to his lips and whistled. Hitsugaya had never heard a sound like it, save one. The halting cry of a hollow. A hollow calling other hollows to it. His body tensed as he whirled around, vaguely noticing the others do so as well before the hordes of hollows all converged on one spot. Theirs.
He had no time to call the name of his zanpakutou before they were on top of him. In fact, he barely had the time to draw Hyourinmaru from his sheath. It was fairly easy to fend them off at first, but he lacked Kenpachi’s untouchable reiatsu and therefore had nothing to keep the slowly rising numbers at bay but his blade. Therefore, calling on his shikai or bankai would leave him vulnerable, if even for an instant. He didn’t want that as long as the Arrancar were unaccounted for. If he could just find one of them through Kenpachi’s radiating bloodlusts, he would end this nonsense. He had no time to deal with this; he had much more pressing matters on his mind at the moment.
Like why he had sent these messengers. There must be a deeper reason. The message itself sounded as if it was only there to be the icing on the cake. It had only warned him of the second Arrancar. It hadn’t given any pertinent or lasting information except who was behind this mess. And all that information did was leave him wanting more.
Hyourinmaru lashed out again and again, almost automatically now, as Hitsugaya’s sight fluttered constantly to and away from the battle at hand, jumping this way and that to avoid the hollows in front only to meet others behind. This wasn’t exactly the best choice of strategy, but with the others as well as the Arrancar out of sight, he could think of no other way. Soaring back into the tree cover, he entered shunpo in order to cover more ground faster. There was Kenpachi, that one wasn’t hard to sense. Yachiru was still a minute blotch on top of him. That left Matsumoto… She was a short ways ahead.
“Looking for your girlfriend?”
Two hollows, three, hour, five. None of them were small. More were following him. This aimless running was getting him nowhere. But now, at least, he had time enough to call upon his blade. A sardonic smile adorning his lips, he held out his zanpakutou.
“Set upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!”
~*~
A sideswipe, a frontal thrust, a jump into the air punctuated by a clean cut through a bleached mask before a soft landing in yet another tree. That was three more down, but they just kept multiplying. Hitsugaya wasn’t sure how long he had been doing this. It felt like ages, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. This was grunt work. It only took a single swipe to finish them two, three at a time.
Then, as if to mock his very thoughts, one of them, a particularly ugly thing with a flat head composed of almost nothing but mouth, jumped onto his back, clawing at his haori. Angry at his lack of attention, he hastily tore off the traditional clothing, hollow and all, and tossed it out of the tree. The hollow immediately let go, looking for something to break its fall. With an indifferent grunt, Hitsugaya launched himself after it, thrusting Hyourinmaru into its skull in midair before landing.
He landed well enough as any skilled shinigami could. It was not the landing that was the problem. The problem was what landed on him.
“Miss me, cutie?”
He felt the sudden pressure on his shoulders right as his face met dirt. Apparently not as up to wasting time as she had been before, the female Arrancar was just able to thrust something sharp and painful into his back before he could force her off. She landed lightly to his left as he stood up straight, wincing slightly.
He had no doubts that the scorpion-like tail protruding from just above her posterior was the released state of her zanpakutou.
“What was that?” he breathed, teeth clenched.
There was that awful chuckle again. “A gift.”
Hitsugaya felt his throat constrict. It wasn’t from his wounds. “From who?”
“From Tatsujin-sama, of course.” Her widening grin only served to confirm what he already knew to be true. “From Gin-sama.”
He had already figured it out from the message. He had already known. But actually hearing the name finally sparked the match he had been so meticulously keeping under lock and key. There was no turning back now. The match was aflame.
“Bankai!”
He flew forward, aiming Hyourinmaru directly at the Arrancar’s stomach. But if he had been expecting any reaction from her, it was most definitely not what he received. As he closed in, inches from her stomach, she was laughing.
She was laughing.
“Ryuusenka!”
Blood spewed from the wound as her upper body lunged forward from the pain he knew her to be experiencing. A pain he intended for her to experience. The unrelenting, unforgiving ice flowed from Hyourinmaru, instantly encasing her before she shattered into a thousand frozen shards before him.
Slowly, stiffly, he released his bankai and sheathed Hyourinmaru. In the same steady fashion he bent down to pick up his haori. He winced at the slight rush of pain that shot through his backside as he did so, but caught himself before he did it again when he stood back up.
He looked over at the spot where the Arrancar had been obliterated, still littered with the bloody fragments. He felt the unrealness of the entire situation wash over him like a wave. The Tenth Division head sat down rigidly, still staring unseeing at the vacant spot before him.
She was laughing.
~*~