Betrayal

BETRAYAL -------------

Here the plot of "Bleach" is a bit changed.

Gin and Matsumoto are captain and vice-captain for 3rd division, Hitsugaya and Hinamori are captain and vice-captain for 10th Division and had an excellent synchrony with each other. Aizen and Kira are captain and vice-captain again for the 5th division. The set up of Hinamori going against Hitsugaya is the same but here, Aizen was a foster father/ mentor to Hinamori as well as her secret love .The betrayal of Aizen, Tousen and Gin are all th e sam e. H itsu gay a doesn ’t kn ow Matsumoto that much here, in fact, they have never actually spoken to each other. The scenario at the beginning of this story is the aftermath of the escape of the traitor trio from Seireitei. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matsumoto blinked. She was looking outside her window seated on a chair, hand on cheek, her dreamily blue eyes gazing at something faraway in the sky invisible to the eye. She remained behind. Nothing was there that had held her back but then again why? Why had she stayed behind? She knew the answer. She knew that despite her personality, she had a very strong sense of justice and she had always lived on her own terms. She knew that had she left, in retrospect, she would always, always regret following him. Time had taught her she would not rise in his regard no matter what she did and that she could not live with herself if she was compelled to commit deeds that were plain right wrong even if it involved letting go o f the m a n she loved forever. “ Forever?”, she thought. “Forever”, she sa id. She sig hed. She heard a footstep behind. She turned. It was Shuuhei Hisagi. He was looking at her with concerned eyes. “W hat‟s w ith the look ?”, M atsumoto demanded with drawn eye-brows. He looked down for a m om ent an d sa id look ing up, “let‟s drink , M atsum oto -sa n”. H er eyes so ftened a bit w hen she tho ught Shuuhei was in the same position as her. Almost. Two hours later, Matsumoto was bawling expletives on the traitor-taichous and Shuuhei was loudly agreeing. “Tsunimase, Matsumoto-fukataichou”.

“Eh?”, M atsum oto drunk enly turn ed around. “Yam am oto -sama has requested your audience, M a‟am ”, a su bordinate sh in iga m i bo w ed. “Eh?”, M atsum oto b link ed, “D am n”. *** “M atsum oto -san, it has been confirmed that you had no inkling of the plot in which your ex-taichou w as involved in an d neither w ere you privy to h is a nd his com rades‟ unla w fu l actions a nd discussions. I hereby declare you have been cleared of all suspicions of being involved in any way against Seireitei” “G lad to be notified o f that, sir” “ H ow ever, m ig ht I count o n your loyalty so as to return to active duty at th is m om ent?” “I am honored to do so, sir” “W ith your consent, I w ou ld lik e to a ppo int you fukataichou of the 10th division” “I-I beg your pardon, sir” “You w ou ld be acting as the w ork ing capta in o f the 3 rd Division and perform all the duties as an acting captain but by designation, you would be the vice-captain of 10th Division, you would also be reporting to the 10 th D ivisio n capta in” “B ut-but… .ho w abo ut the 9 th division vice-capta in?” “I do not see th is matter to be o f your concern, you m ay leave no w ” “I- … please excuse m e” *** O utside, M atsum oto w as in tow ering rage. “Such hum iliation!”, her blue eyes blazed in fury and she stared at her tight fist. “M atsum oto -sa n” “H ave you heard about yourself from the General?” “Ah-… yes” Shuuhei rep lied in a sm all vo ice, look ing sidew ays. “Even, you have not been prom oted, have you?”

“W ell no, I have been m ad e vice-captain of 13th Division though I would be performing all duties of the 9th D ivision capta in”, he exp lained . Matsumoto raised an eye-brow thinking to herself,” I am surprised that Ukitake-taichou would agree to this” but saying o ut alo ud, “K now w hat th is m eans?” “yes” “It m ea ns w e both w ill be in co nstant supervision but w ill not atten d the captains‟ m eetings p lus tak e all the workload of our Division along with extras from the other” “w ell, I ca n hard ly b lam e him for still being susp icio us o f us” “W ell, why the hell not???” “M atsum oto, have you seen how deep and expa nsive the w ho le thing has been? M enos G rande actually penetrating Seireitei?? It has been planned all too grandly for us the most probable witnesses to actually miss all of it? 3 Divisions loosing their captains and 2 their vice-captains, and could they actually believe , both o f us betw een a ll these w ere in nocent and pu re?” Matsumoto actually felt a little overwhelmed with the sense his explanation made and was silent for a moment. “I guess Ukitake-taichou and Hitsugaya-taichou saved our asses a bit when they agreed to supervise us”, Shuuhei mentioned. “Uh, so that‟s w hy Ukitake-taichou might have assented to take you as his vice-captain?” “I think so too, though I have no idea what the alternative might have been; but I think, it could have been w orse” “H ow abo ut K ira, H inam ori an d the 5 th D ivision?” “K ira is on trial for follo w ing his capta in‟s orders and H inam ori is on tria l for not follow ing her captain‟s orders as w ell as go ing aga inst him while the 5th Division will come directly under the G eneral” “Q uite the d ictator, isn‟t he?” “Shhh, please don‟t get us m ore involved than the m ess w e already are in!!” “ So the subord inates pay for the m aster‟s sins, rig ht?” “H m m (nod)” “So w e w ont be ab le to be invo lved in the first hand discussions aga inst the traitors”

“Nope, most probably we will get the filtered information though but with Ukitake-taichou whom I have k now n for a w h ile, I guess I w ill be ab le to be a bit m ore active” “My case is pretty d ire in com parison. I don‟t k now whether or when would I get a break at actual captaincy or the-as-of-now-number-one-priority mission in Seireitei” “I don‟t think you have to w ait for long since it seem s H itsugaya -taichou might actually hold you in som e respect” “??… for saving his fukataichou? Hmmm, I also heard she is his childhood friend. You might just be right” “W ell, that a lso b ut that‟s not the reason I say this” “Then pray tell m e w hy?” “B ecause, I th ink , though this mode of handling us was devised by Ukitake-taichou , it was Hitsugaya-taichou who recommended your name for his vice-capta incy positio n.” “W H A T???” ***

“T h en p ray tell m e w h y ? ” “B ecause, I th in k th ough th is m od e of h an dlin g us w as devised b y Ukitake-taichou , Hitsugaya-taichou recommended your name for his vice-cap tain cy p osition .” “W H A T ? ? ? ” For some reason, these words kept coming back to her as she walked towards the 10th Division headquarters. She didn‟t k now w hether it w as a boo n or curse. If the taichou w as gratefu l to her for saving his lieutenant-cum-childhood-buddy, it was just pure „chance‟. She remembered that night; the dark sky with a strange blue light, frozen ice all around and G in‟s sw ord p iercing through it out of no where towards a sprawled figure apparently unconscious and defenseless. Her instinct caught on and she faced Gin defending Hinamori with her Haineko. She saw how his face fell and she defiantly faced him, all the rumors that she heard ringing true suddenly. She felt an unknown strength to deal with the matter at hand at that moment. Unthinkingly, she had given back control to her mind for the first time with Gin in front of her. Thinking back now, she wondered how she could have actually reacted at all. Before , Gin had been dissuading her in missions all along keeping her away from himself and a bug had crept into her mind then. But her thoughts and heart were waging a war inside her. She gave control to her heart all the time, the trust that she had given him, all those years. She thought that the starving boy who had the kindness of saving a dying girl

with his last morsel of bread could not be all that bad. She heard a person whose eyes you could not see, who wore a smiling mask always, who spoke in a suspicious accent was not trustworthy. She would m enta lly scream “Chh igao! you don‟t k now him lik e I do, he just looks so. But inside, he is actually very kind.” She often thought he enjoyed looking like the bad guy. she smirked . “At least, the one w ho look s lik e your total op posite is the boss of th e bastard s. “ She believed it w as nature‟s irony. Som ehow , now , it turned out everyone was right and she was wrong. Even G in w asn‟t wrong. She never questioned him but expected him to tell it all from himself. Does that mean she could have prevented him it, prevented him? “Since w hen d id I lose control of m yself? … M aybe I haven‟t been in contro l o f m yself? M aybe it is I who is to be blamed..” She stopped mid-way. Somehow, all the blame, all of it seem to come on her shoulders. She m urm ured, “ G in, w hy? W h y? What eluded you that you took this measure? Do you want what Aizen w a nts? W hat do you w ant? W hy d id n‟t you ever tell m e? W hat h in dered you? W hy did you betray m e? Us, a ll o f us! To th ink I trusted yo u… If I cou ldn‟t tru st you, w ho could I trust?.... what is trust now ?..” She closed her eyes and ran the fingers of both her hands through her luxurious hair as if trying to hold in her exploding brain as she closed her eyes and breathed face down standing on the street. She sig hed deep ly, again. “ To think , it has been m ore than a m onth an d I still can‟t understand your reasons. I so m ehow ho ped that it w ou ld a ll be a lie and you w ou ld return… it seems trusting you has been my greatest weakness, the reason I still have a hard time getting myself together… .Trust, no m ore”. She opened her eyes and felt the coo l sp irit breeze . “ Trust no m ore”, she decided. “That‟s m y k ey now ”. She continued walking towards the headquarters of the 10 th division. About five yards behind, a pair of emerald-green eyes had been watching the female shinigami for sometime. They seemed to have read her thought process through her body lan guage. “Tcheh!” *** Toushirou Hitsugaya had not planned to make Rangiku Matsumoto his vice-captain from the start. About a week ago, Ukitake Jushirou called upon him late one night when Hitsugaya was returning from his visit to Hinamori. Ukitake: “Sh irou -k un, I have so m e new s to give a nd a proposition to m ak e” “w hat is it?”, the 10 th Division captain looked quizzically. U: “W ell, Yam am oto -sama has finally reached a decision about the three Divisions that were captained by the traitor-trio”

Toushirou: “ I haven‟t heard it in the last captains‟ m eeting, have they had a n im prom ptu one this night?” U: “It seem s that since w e captains do n‟t belong to those d ivisions so our opinions wont be entertained” T:“That so und s lik e th is decision to be executed w ill be a bsolute and m aybe pretty drastic” U: “W ell, it is. They have decided to dissolve a ll three d ivision s” “W H A T???”, the green -eyes widened and it seemed that the gems in them quivered. T: “W hat a bout the tw o lieutena nts not cou nting K ira, and all the first 20s o f a ll three squads?” U: “They w ou ld all be d isarm ed for now and facing at least a verification and interrogation before they could re-form or even join other squads which with the present state of matters might not be for a long long tim e” T: “W ou ld the G enera l consider prom oting at least the tw o lieutena nts to captaincy tho ugh it m ight be risk y?” “M y thoughts exactly!!” , interjected Uk itak e. “H uh ?”, Toushirou raised an eye-brow. U: “I w as think ing perhaps they cou ld w ork as capta ins for their respective d ivisions un der supervision” T: “Su pervision? W ho w ill supervise?” U: “W hy, u s , of course!” T: “W hat? M ean ing you a nd m e?” U: “W e-ll, yes!” T: “A cap tain over another D ivision‟s capta in?” U: “Not qu ite, both o f them haven‟t achieved their B ank a i as yet so at least designation -wise, they will not count as captains in front of Yamamoto-sam a” T:“B ut w hy us?” U: “W e are the only captains that don‟t have an y lieutenants at this moment so we can take them under our w ings”

“hm m m , w hy are you being so benevolent to them ? A nd for all w e k no w , there m ig ht be som e traitors left behind implanted in any of the three Divisions. Moreover, are you willing to replace Shiba-san so easily?”, H itsugaya dem anded. A shadow crept into Uk itak e‟s face. H itsugaya instantly regretted his prodding but the other expla ined,“ No one can replace him and I doubt anyone can rep lace anyon e but I can‟t stand to watch 3 old Divisions destroyed simply because of the greedy ambitions of three immoral men of power. I have to hand over this position to someone someday and I know both Shuuhei and M atsum oto are very capab le sh in igam is. B esides, don‟t you ow e M atsum oto a fa vor?” Toushirou blushed an d Uk itak e grinned. “ I have to say I w o uld prefer M atsu m oto in m y tea m . There seems to be a dearth of pretty women in my team and her presence could instill some action in my m en!” Toush irou scow led at the old m a n‟s jok e and gravely replied, “I still ha ve Momo-san as my vicecaptain and as you know, one captain and one vice-capta in is m ore than eno ug h for a squa d ”. “Uh-abo ut that.. I have been w ondering ho w I w o uld broach the sub ject.”, the Uk itak e qu ietly continued,” you do realize that Yam am oto -sama would not allow a lieutenant who has betrayed her ow n capta in to stay alive let alo ne return to d uty. Your best cha nces m ight be to strik e a deal” T: “Strik e a deal?” U: “H m m . Since the one w ho cou ld tak e her responsib ility has fled and betrayed, the next p erson would be you- her captain/childhood friend. You could promise that you would make sure that she wont betray Soul Society or do anything like she has done now and keep her at guard or out of m isch ief, she cou ld at least be k ept a live” T: “ W hat m ak es you th ink the G eneral w ou ld tak e m y w ord for it?” U: “ The G eneral isn‟t as hard -hearted as you would think and I bet he is waiting for you to make a move. He has his soft spot for the child and disregard he may have for your age but to keep her safe, the old m an k no w s he ca n count upon yo u” Toush irou coug hed. Uk itak e sm iled, “ W ell w orth a try, don‟t you th ink ?” T: “That aside, how m any peop le‟s respon sibilities do you expect m e to tak e?” U: “Just tw o at the m om ent, the o ne you ho ld dear and the one w ho saves yo ur dear one‟s life” *** “H m m m m m ”, the w rink les seem to crease threefold as the old General pondered over the proposition from the two captains.

Yamamoto: “I expect you have spok en to the tw o vice -captains about this” “Never, sire, not without your consent”, Uk itak e cheerfu lly adm itted. Toushiro u began to feel a little nauseous at the other capta in‟s obvious „b uttering‟. Y: “Very w ell, since you tw o are w ithout lieutenants, the w ork load on them m ight k eep them busy for a while also and keep them out of m ischief so to say. ” “Sir, I have another req uest”, To ush irou bo w ed an d the G eneral ra ised h is eyeb row s. “… about Hinamori-sa n” After relating the request, the General agreed on the condition placed and another condition of his own. For her own good, her powers were to be sealed. Toush irou protested, “B ut sir, she a lm ost d ied, for her safety, … ” “… w h ich no w is your respo nsibility.”, the G eneral fin ished and turned to leave the m eeting room . “Uh! I th ink that w ent pretty w ell”, Uk itak e w h ispered to a k nitte d-brow Hitsugaya when the General turned to them again and sa id, “B y the w ay, since I w ill be m ak ing the appointm ents an d summoning the vice-capta ins . Your choices are… ?” “M atsum oto”, H itsugaya m um bled absentm inded ly a nd then look ed up surprised him self to the two other surprised m en in the room . “… -sa n” “M y, m y, w hat fam iliarity” tho ught the other taicho u before cheerfu lly replying , “Shuu hei H isagi” ***

TRUST ------------Matsumoto felt she towered over the child captain as he had to really look up to her. It would have registered as a little comical situation but the thought was pushed to the back of her mind when she saw the determined look on his face and the set jaw which suggested strength of character. She would have lowered her eyes but the clarity of his eyes struck her. She could barely stop staring when she noticed for the first time how really green his eyes were and wide and so clear. It occurred to her then she had n‟t actually seen h im th is close beca use, perhaps she never really bothe red to. She wondered why. Matsumoto was brought back to the present situation with the sound of his voice. “I see that you have received the G enera l‟s orders for your a ppo intment. From today onwards, I shall be your captain. As you know, I am Toushirou Hitsugaya. You may call me Hitsugaya-Taichou or sim p ly ta ichou. W hat m ay I ca ll you?” “?” “Sorry, I d idn‟t get that” “M atsum oto” Toushirou remembered the incident in the meeting room with Ukitake and Yamamoto and turned around before he could show her his flushed face. “Let m e sho w you arou nd” *** “ You m ay leave now ”, Toush irou sa id w ithout look ing at her. “Eh?” “You have been staring at the paper in fro nt o f you for the last 15 m inutes w ith a blank look ” It was almost 9 pm but not quite. The so-called office hours was till 10pm and even all night in any division depending on the workload and on the nature of the Division or rather how the captains and vice-captains kept their respective headquarters.

“H e has been w atch ing m e”, she tho ught, “ So this is m y su pervision”. M istrust crept into her. She felt a strangling sensation which passed. She resigned to the thought with the slackening of her shoulders and gave way. “H ai, I sha ll tak e m y leave then” She stood up and left under the watch of her new captain. Once, outside the door of the building, she heaved a sigh of relief. It was the third day and all these three last days, Hitsugaya Toushirou and Matsumoto Rangiku spent 12 hours working on adjacent tables wordlessly not looking at each other. Occasionally, Matsumoto would steal a glance at her new taichou and observe him working seriously and oblivious to her existence. It pissed her, it puzzled her. Then there were times when she felt he was looking at her but every time she would look up to find him buried in his papers. ** “W hat‟s your verd ict?” “ M ore honest than your m ea ns o f supervision, I sho uld say. H ow lo ng w ere you stand ing there, Ukitake? No work at the 13 th D ivisio n? ” Ukitake scratched the back of his head with his hand with an embarrassed sm ile. “O h, m y! You k new !” It was 9 pm in the 10 th D ivisio n capta in‟s o ffice. “She isn‟t herself, I see”, Uk itak e continued. H itsugaya gave Uk itak e an accu sing look as if to say, “ And you think it‟s m e! ” Uk itak e rolled h is eyes, “Erm , at least stony silence wins no good impressions. You do need her to cooperate, she being your new fukataichou” “W agatta, you don‟t have to tell m e!” , To ush irou fo lded his han ds in protest. “O oo -k ay, I shall leave then”, Uk itak e alm ost scam pered off but stopped at the door, “And Lord o f W inter,..”he said w ithout look ing arou nd. “H uh?” “… B reak the ice!” ***

It was a full moon night. Matsumoto could not sleep. She was sitting on the roof top of her new quarters, unusual for her and staring at the moon. “The m oo n is really b ig ton ite”. It w as a Friday n ight, norm a lly she w ou ld have been o ff to have sak e w ith R enji, K ira, an d Shuu hei a nd… G in. The tho ught o f him not being there sort of cured her o f drinking. “H ow ironic”, she thoug ht. “H ow id iotic”, she sa id a loud. “W hat is?” The sudden rough boyish-but-almost-womanly voice made her almost fall of the roof and she turned around ha lf a fraid, m ore surprised. It w asn‟t, w as it? Toushirou stood looking at her, the moonlight reflecting on his young sculpted features. Under the heavenly light, his hair seemed really silver and made him look unearthly almost as much as his presence made her feel. “T-taicho u??!” “Naniosh tereno?” (ho pefu lly it m eans “ W hat are you doing?” ) Matsumoto gulped and replied without thinking still wide-eyed, “Th at‟s the m ost personal question you have ask ed m e till date.” Hitsugaya almost winced at her sarcasm. Toush irou m anaged to cover it w ith, “Ahem , m ay I sit here?” “Um -O f course… … taichou”, M atsum oto w a s still gogg le -eyed, wondering whether she was indeed drunk? Chatty after almost 3 days of silence. It was past 12 midnight. “Ahem , um … .ho w are you find ing w ork ?” M : “… ” T: “..I-I mean, do you think its too much for you? Do you mind the conditions? Is there anything you don‟t lik e about it?” Matsumoto suddenly understood. This boy had trouble talking or rather fraternizing. He could deal with work level conversations but friend level, so to say, was probably made out of scope due to his early breaking into captaincy. It amazed her how it explained so many things. And how she could understand all this just now and so quickly. She felt a little embarrassed that she had completely overlooked his age in a way with all her mistrust building up.

“Com e to th ink o f it”, she thought, “she had m et G in w hen they both w ere older than Hitsugaya was now. She still believed that back then, Gin was still good and unadulterated from all the sins that had ravaged his current adult self.” She felt saddened. “ W ill th is ch ild a lso be capa ble o f such deceit?”, she though t. “ Everyo ne is betrayed once in a w h ile by the one they tru st the m o st” “H -how did you… .?” “You had a pained look in yo ur face. I heard you k new G in for a lo ng tim e an d actually started o ff together. ” Matsumoto looked away. “I th ink I can understan d your pa in.” Matsum oto w as surprised once again. “Is he trying to conso le m e?”, she though t. “I am sorry b ut I needed to tell you th is.”, he said look ing at the m oon sh in ing over them , “Arigato” “Thank you for saving H inam ori san‟s life” She thought she could hear his voice tremble a bit. She felt the genuineness of his gratitude. But she did n‟t feel that w hat she did w as a b ig th ing a fter the incident at the center o f Seireitei. She hadn‟t heard the details but she thought the gist was pretty horrifying. “It w as noth ing. I am sorry for her current condition. Both of you were attacked again and were alm ost k illed, I heard” “I th ink you m ig ht have been k ept in the dark about the incident. H ow m uch d o you k now ?” She related that after going against her ex-captain, he did not openly punish her as she did save him from being an openly witnessed murderer but she became a fukataichou in name only. She was surprised how much of herself she gave away while relating the past incidents. She wondered why was she giving away her trust so easily on her third day to her new taichou!! In a way, Hitsugaya seemed to understand her position and repaid with equal amount of information about what had actually happened in the central 46 chambers. Matsumoto begun to understand how deeply the plot ran. How deeply betrayed both Hinamori and Hitsugaya were and she felt a bit of a loss at how Hinamori and Hitsugaya were so close as friends but ho w m uch they d id n‟t un derstand each other. It hit her how much similar in a way it was with her and Gin, supposedly close and yet she knew so little of him. She then realized Hitsugaya must have kept a distance between himself and his ex-vice

captain more for the reason for protecting her while in her own case itself, it was for hiding his traitorous deeds or w as it… .to protect her? She shook her head at her own thoughts. “ You don‟t have to decide on the reason s no w , you k now ” She jum ped into a defensive posture .It w as eerie how easily her tho ughts w ere read. “Scary k id!”, she thought. He lowered his eyelids and looked at her with folded hands and a scowl,“ You think too m uch” *** “Yaw n”. M atsum oto rub bed her eyes. As she got ready for her day at w ork , she pondered over the last n ight‟s conversation an d felt a b it sk eptical a bout that actually ha ppen ing. “ You‟re late!” H itsugaya rem ark ed at her while handing a paper to a subordinate standing beside his table, as she entered the 10th Division head office. The accusation seemed to be given in a less pointed manner and more in a sort of frigid irritable way. Matsumoto felt she could settle down with a puppy-eyed look , “ B ut ta ichou, you k ept m e aw ak e a ll night!” Hitsugaya was speechless and all red as much as the poor shinigami beside him was, who quickly excused himself and escaped. “O i, M atsu m oto!” “Mou taichouuuu! I w asn‟t lying, w as I?” ***

Days passed, weeks passed, a few months passed. Matsumoto settled in the 10th Division so smoothly after her third day that even the other squads began to sense that their partnership went amazingly well. His permanent scowl and steadfast manner and her light spirit and playful manner seemed to complement each other. Unbeknownst to Hitsugaya, many were thankful to him that Matsumoto seemed to return to her old cheerful and pleasant self. Shunsui Kyouraku commented over his choko o f sak e to Uk itak e, “ There‟s nothing lik e youth to cure the ailm ents o f the heart. W hat say you, friend?”

Uk itak e replied, “ I guess I unexpectedly made a wise choice and … .” “… a great couple (Uk itak e: “Erm ..”)”, finished Shun su i, “ the boy needed some humor in his bones and the lady needed an anchor- Yes!” It seem ed everyth ing w ent w ell in other peop le‟s op in ion b ut H itsugaya stead ily began to regret h is „giving w ay‟ to his fuk ata ichou. She slack ened on her paperw ork , started „resting‟ on the couch during office hours and would often disappear for hours to revel with her drinking buddies who gathered courage again to pursue and accompany her in drinking. These things along with her new found tease, snaring him with her ample, overtly exposed bosom (which he very soon steeled himself to) seemed to add to his distress. But an unspoken bond had also developed. She seemed to understand what he wanted her to do at a blink of an eye or raise of an eyebrow. She appeared at a m om ent‟s notice w henever he needed her for an official task and unquestioningly abided him to the letter for any mission bestowed on her. Her practical moments at these times surprised Hitsugaya at first but it soon became second nature to both of them to regard each other to be always there without question or doubt. For all her faults, even with his short period of experience, Hitsugaya k new he w on‟t m eet another lieutenant w ho w as as loya l to him as her. So he k ept up his tolerance to her „m isch ief‟. Matsumoto, on her side was surprised how much he had actually valued her decisions and role in all his official deeds. She began to understand why those green wide eyes seemed so clear and m esm erizing w hen they first m et. They seem ed to say, “ I have nothing to hide. I am your command ing o fficer and I w ill protect you w ith a ll the support you w ill give m e”. She tho ught ha d h e been the captain of a ship, he would actually be the last one to leave a sinking ship, such is his dignity and pride in his duty even though he will never say the exact words throughout his life. She wondered where he got his character from and what drove him but she felt, wherever that came from, she could not help giving out her loyalty whole-heartedly to him. Especially, when she saw how hard he was trying to learn from his mistakes. He was taking care to make sure his current fukataichou is completely aware and a part of all the 10th D ivision‟s as well as the 3rd D ivision‟s processes. She never felt so close to a superior as much as she felt to him. Their perfect coordination during battles seemed to strengthen her opinion. The first tim e she really sa w her Ta ichou‟s B ank a i w as abo ut a m o nth a fter she joined 10 th Division as vice-captain. He had offered to train her to get her to the Bankai level but his words were “I need to com plete the fina l release o f m y zan pak utou” . She cou ldn‟t help feeling that h e w anted to coach her to take the reins of the 3rd Division. She did get a bit cold feet when she thought she would face Hyourinmaru in all his fury. But when her captain blazed with his reiatsu and Hyourinmaru appeared in all his glory, the dragon god of water and ice bathing his bearer and himself with a heavenly blue light, she believed the whispers that she had heard so much when he first appeared in the Gotei 13.

“He must indeed be the Heavenly Guardian.”, she breathed into the frosty air. If she had any doubts about her chibi-captain‟s fig hting ab ility, they w ere la id at rest forever. D espite H itsugaya‟s rising esteem in M atsum oto‟s eyes, she cou ld not ignore the fact that he was quite a child. The first time she caught him sleeping at his desk while sneaking into the headquarters to pick up her secret stash o f sak e, she alm ost fell on him w h ile tiptoeing aroun d. “T -taichou??”, she stammered but he was too deep in slumber to notice the intruder. Her heart melted for the hardworking captain who grew up so fast and she took it upon herself that she would take care of him during these defenseless moments. She draped him with the warmest blanket she could find and made sure from henceforth, that a hot steaming cup of tea would greet him every morning. It took som etim e for H itsugaya to accept M atsum oto‟s m otherly care and concern but he grudg ing ly conceded at the end. *** The Arrancar and the Espada appeared on Earth and the Earth forces was mobilised under the command of Hitsugaya Toushirou. Qu Fong Shawlong proved to be a surprisingly strong adversary considering h e w asn‟t a part o f the Espada and Hitsugaya anticipated it would get more out of hand if Aizen decided that he would attack with more than a few Espada on earth considering he was the only one of Gotei 13 captains that was currently on Earth. As he quickly healed from his initial wounds, he felt they would strike again very soon. His sharp sense of intuition pricking him, as he reported to the headquarters. When Hitsugaya taichou, his vice-captain and Inoue heard the facts from the commander, he felt at the back of his mind, it would be soon before the Earth force would be recalled back to the soul society. He knows the Commander generally liked to deal with the enemy from his fort. “No tim e to lose”, he tho ught as he turned to fo llow h is vice -captain into briefing the specifics of the new tidings. “Just a m om ent, H itsugaya -ta ichou”, the com m ander stop ped h im , “There is som eone w ho w ishes to speak to you” Matsumoto carefully closed the door leaving a little gap to hear what was left unsaid by the General. She heard, “O m a i~ ”, H itsugaya breathed, “you… .H ina m ori” A soft vo ice beseech ing ly uttered , “ H itsuga ya-k un” She decided she w ou ld n‟t hear a nym ore. It w as not her p lace. As she left th e bu ilding, she felt a nagging sensation. She sa id to herself, “The foo l w ill forgive her”. She w on dered w hy she thought it should even be otherwise. After all, it was a misunderstanding rather than betrayal. She knew she

should feel happy for their patch-up b ut a part of her could n‟t forg ive H ina m ori for doubting her captain now that she knew him so well. She wondered had it been so on her case, how would have Hitsugaya-taichou reacted?

*** Time was at a stand still when Matsumoto was rendered helpless pinned down by the bratty-natured Luppi who claimed to be the newly appointed 6th Espada. Half of her was concerned with his threats of pricking her body full of needles and the other half with her falling captain. She felt Hyourinmaru still throbbing which allayed her thoughts soon after he fell. She had known had she followed him then, the young captain would later deal with her severely because at all his fights, he had specifically instructed beforeha nd. “ If I fa ll, do n‟t com e a fter m e. If you do, I w ill have you k ick ed out of both D ivisio ns! In the presence o f the enem y, you still fight to overthro w the enem y”. At the sig ht o f the g listen ing needles, she thoug ht, “Th is co uldn‟t be it! ” She knew her captain was preparing for another attack. But she wondered whether he would be on time to save her. Urahara unexpectedly appeared at her rescue only for her to be grabbed again by another tentacle of the vine-armed Luppi who seemed to despise her at sight. Urahara was distracted by a weird Espada who seemed to be fascinated by the form er‟s technique and Yammy rejoined the fight opposite Urahara. With Urahara‟s hands full now, Luppi returned his attention to Matsumoto who realized that she had to stall him for her captain who was almost completely revived. She was buying her time with goading comments to the hateful brat in front of her but it resulted in pushing Luppi more into his zealousness of finishing her off. When he felt his tentacles freeze with ice. “W ha~ ? W hat the hell-is this th ing??”, said a very surprised Lupp i. “ D on‟t you k no w the m ean ing o f „fo llow ing -through‟? You are pretty careless for attack ing an opponent a nd leaving it at that..”, said the w ise -beyond-his-years captain. Luppi was riveted by the fact that the chibi-captain was still alive. He had grossly underestimated him. Before he could retaliate, he was engulfed with ice. His elimination was not completed as the enemy forces unexpectedly fell back. Luppi eyed the Hitsugaya while fading to his world. “You could n‟t finish m e o ff… R em em ber m y face, boy-captain. Next tim e, I w ill k ill you” Little d id he k now , he w ou ld n‟t be ab le to k eep h is prom ise.

*** Even though the reason was not what Hitsugaya could predict but nonetheless, his forces were recalled to Seireitei. He felt a bit piqued when Byakuya and Zaraki were actually sent through to prevent protests but he knew that dealing with Ichigo Kurosaki might take all that he had at the moment and more so. He had to get stronger, he decided mentally. “Eee-no, k a?”(hopefully, it m ean s, “is th is ok ay?”), M atsum oto w orried ly enqu ired. They w ere already in the 10th Division headquarters. “For a boy w ho m oved the sou l society into sub m itting a nd recogn izing h is po w ers and abilities with such a short period of experience. He will be able to save Inoue. Besides, I am sure he has his able companions with Rukia and Abarai defin itely to join h im soon”, he replied. “H ow can you be sure?”, M atsum oto q uizzed h im . “That‟s the w ay they are” ***

THE ULTIMATE CHOICE ------------After being briefed about the state of matters, realizing Aizen was behind all this, Matsumoto felt a little apprehensive at her free moments. She would have to face Gin again. The last few months with the hectic missions and her new appointment had spared her from idle thoughts or so she thought. But now when she had begun to think about him again, she felt somewhat braver and more at peace with herself. She was surprised to realize that she had indeed begu n to heal. “ Is th is all thanks to her captain?”, she thought, “B y the w ay, w here was he??” She cam e into the o ffice on their second day back a nd w as surprised to find that he hadn‟t been in after last n ight‟s briefing. She asked around about where he could be. No one knew. Then, it came to her, “H e w as w ith her.” She felt a slight twinge and decided it w as becau se, he hadn‟t told her w here he w as. She should have known. The only tim es, he didn‟t tell her w here he w as ,w as w hen he w ent to visit H inam ori. She d id n‟t k now w hether it p issed her because, in the m idst o f a ll their hectic w ork , he still found

time to visit her or w as it because, som ehow u nk now ing ly , she herself had deigned her as the „other w om an‟. She colored up a little at the thought and hit her forehead lightly a few times to banish these thoughts. “W asn‟t it eno ugh that he reinstated the trust factor in you, yo u silly older w om a n!”, she said to herself. She stretched her hand s, “ W ell, if the captain decides to tak e som etim e o ff to visit his sw eetheart. I can fo llow suit and tak e so m etim e o ff and esca pe h is su pervision.”

** “W hen had th is trust begu n? ”, she tho ught, “Tru st no m ore, I ha d decided.” Matsumoto was sitting under a tree gazing at the peeping sunlight through the rustling leaves above , the bough gently swaying with the summer breeze. “I still don‟t trust him that m uch, do I ? a fter all,… it isn‟t m y p lace. W ith H inam ori all w ell, Yamamoto-sama just might decide to reinstate her. In that case, I will return to managing the 3 rd Division all by m yself. B ut m aybe not before facing G in once aga in” She wondered if Gin could still change his mind. Hoping against hope. So much like a weak woman in love. B lind fa ith. M aybe it w asn‟t trust. It w as pure b lind fa ith. She w ondered , she w ished that with Hinamori making up with Hitsugaya, the latter apparently readily forgiving her treachery , somehow she could have such a love-story with a bitter-sweet ending. “I don‟t w ant to be left alo ne”, she thoug ht. “O h G in, you B AK A!!!”, she said aloud in a frustrated voice but in her mind, the pain had lessened. It was easier to think of him, say his name with lesser heartache. “W hat‟s w ith you catch ing a na p u nder a tree w ith a ll the paperw ork p iling up?” M atsum oto ju m ped. “O M G ! Ta ichou! You w ere here?!” Her bosom rippled with the impact, and she was about to hastily drop an off-colour remark but the experienced H itsugaya stop ped her w ith a bark , “O ff to the head quarters! Loads to get done in a short tim e!” , it was a bit malicious in tone. Matsumoto opened and closed her mouth and moodily stomped off like a child caught red-handed. “H e heard, didn‟t he? Is he going to th ink I m ight sw ay in the other d irection once G in com es in questio n?”, this thoug ht propelled her to say no m ore. “I just can ‟t leave yo u a lone, can I?”, H itsugaya m enta lly pon dered, “W hat draw s you to h im ?” . He turned around half-stricken someone else had actually suggested the latter thought to him but there

w asn‟t anyone there. It occurred to him , a stray unw a nted thought had crept into his mind unwittingly and he felt a little exposed inside. “ W hat is th is thing?”, he w o ndered. *** The truth was the same morning, Hitsugaya was woken from an unnatural dream. He had seen it many times. But this time, there was something different. He saw a smiling Aizen stabbing a shocked Hinamori. He could feel himself running with an outstretched hand towards her reaching out for her falling form. He had knelt beside her body, her eyes open and blind as death with droplets of red blood spilling from her mouth. He felt an anguish building up in his heart as he screamed out her name. He drew out his sword for battle when he heard a soft voice calling out to him. He turned around to see Matsumoto smiling sadly behind him, standing. “ M-Matsumoto?!”, he stammered. What was She doing in his dream? “ Sayonara… … … ..taichou” She seemed to sadly beckon him goodbye. Her long tresses gently floating in a breeze and her blue eyes, the liquid eyes tingling. She looked just as beautiful as she did when he first met her in the 10th Division. A pair of pale hands appeared on her shoulders cradling her face, taking possession of her. A tall figure stood behind her. “Too bad, H it-su-ga-ya taichou. You can‟t seem to hold on to your w om en.” , said the all-too-familiar hateful voice with the characteristic lisp. He watched her close her eyes in resignation and disappear into the shadow as Gin pulled her back with him. He rose from his reverie and ran after her disappearing form with an outstretched hand screaming ,. “M -mattei! -M attei!” He could feel how futile h is voice seem ed to feel. She cou ld n‟t hear him , she could n‟t. Somehow, he felt more desperate to catch up. More desperate for her to hear his voice. “ M ATSUM O TO 000 000 00!!!!” Her eyes on her fading face opened for an instant and she soundlessly mouthed something he couldn‟t hear, he couldn‟t un derstand.

He woke up with a start, his hand still outstretched, beads of sweat on his forehead, his heart still beating violently. He fisted his hand and pressed it on the left side of his naked wildly throbbing chest. His eyes looked stricken. “ W hat the hell w as that????”

*** Hinamori looked up and smiled in a hesitant manner. “H itsugaya -k un”, she greeted. The young captain sat moodily beside her. Inside, he tried to drive off the remnants of the memory of his dream. She felt thankful he forgave her. When she looked into his eyes, there was no malice, no accusation, it was just the w ay he alw ays look ed at her. B ut there w as som eth ing else toda y that she hadn‟t seen before. A veil. She became a bit anxious for a second but kept it to herself. She tried to engage in a little light conversation and gelled with Shirou-kun in the way she always had before. Nothing seemed to have changed. But the veil in his eyes, the distance… … … . or was it an unfamiliarity that she could see in his eyes. It w a sn‟t som eth ing she ha d seen before. “H itsugaya -k un, you have cha nged.” “H itsugaya -Ta ichou! An d in w hat w ay?”, he en qu ired levelly. “ You have changed but I don‟t k now how ”, she stub b ornly stated. “It‟s just your im ag ination”, he d ism issed her observation casua lly. She d id n‟t say anyth ing a fter that but just w atched h im . *** Matsumoto splattered herself on the table. The captain seemed to be in a really piqued mood today and loaded her down with all the paperwork he could get his hands on not letting her rest for a change. Whenever she tried to weasel out to the tempting couch beside, his bark would keep her movements in check.

“Is it just m y im ag ination, or is the ta ichou being a w ee bit too m alicio us tod ay?” , she thought, “ I w onder w hat ha ppened today?” Hitsugaya was extremely peeved with himself. The two reasons that instantly popped into his head added to fuel his immense irritation. One was the dream that he had that morning, the unnatural ending w h ich had n‟t happened before and the secon d w as even m ore unacceptable but still try as he m ight, he couldn‟t ig nore h is annoya nce at hearing “G in” from her lips. “She still thought a bout h im ” Why, why was this thought so vexing to him? They have a history together, they might have been very close friends, … ..lovers even. H e a lm ost gnashed h is teeth at the m ental unrest it w as cau sing him. “Aits O m na”(hopefully, it m eans “that w o m an”) “Taicho u, daijob k a?” ( hopefully, it m eans “Ca ptain, are you ok ay?”), M atsum oto look ing pu zzled standing right beside his chair. “W hen d id she~ ?”, the capta in w on dered. He seemed to not have noticed her creeping right beside him. Matsumoto perked up visibly after catching her captain in surprise, it was rare to find him a bit off guard. She smiled mischievously and went on to massage his shoulders. “O i M atsum oto!!”, the captain ind ignantly protested but M atsu m oto w o uld not b e deterred. “Taicho u is a bit low -down today. Let me make you relax. D on‟t you w orry! I am very good in massaging. It has health benefits” The scene m ig ht have a little b it hilarious w ith a M atsu m oto gleefu lly „m anha ndling‟ her protesting taichou, his arms flaying in all directions. But to Hinamori observing the scenario, outside the window, it seemed to her as if her heart had stopped for a moment and her tears seemed to glaze her eyes. She grabbed on to something tightly close to chest. It looked like a small black purse.

*** “H is shou lders aren‟t as th in as I im ag ined them to be.” She smiled to herself as if feeling proud at how m uch her “ little brother” had gro w n u p. “B efore long ta ichou, you w ill have left m e beh ind.”, she sighed look ing u p to the nig ht sk y.

There was no moon in the night sky. The sky looked like it was covered with a dark blanket studded with shimmering jewels. She was sitting on the rooftop once again. It was good news that she received late at night. Ichigo and his friends have returned from Hueco Mundo bringing back Inoue with them. She felt extremely relieved and a bit happier. She wished she could sit and talk with someone. “M atsum oto -saaaaaaaaan” She heard a voice from below. It was Abarai Renji. Behind him stood Shuuhei Hisagi, Madarame Ikkaku, Tetsuzaemon Iba and Izuru Kira!! “O ccasion to celebrate! Wanna go drink ing?” She bolted up and to their horror, jumped from the roof top but landed straight in the midst of them which they hurriedly cleared, perfectly. “Let‟s go!”, she sm iled brig htly.

** “Long day, I am g lad it‟s over.” Hitsugaya sincerely hoped he would wake up happier the next day as he trudged towards his quarters. H e felt tired, very tired. As he w alk ed u nder the n ight sk y, he pondered over th e day‟s events lik e he usually did. Analyzing whether he had done his due and planned for the next day. Further ahead on the street, he could see a gaggle of subordinate shinigamis presumably going for another night out drinking. “Tcheh!” H e w as g lad that he w as above th is. “H ey! W here are you guys go ing drink ing?” , he overheard one of them asking his friends. “Lets go to _ _ _ _ ! Matsumoto-san has turned up there w ith som e other lieutena nts” “O h ya aay !! Let‟s hurry or there w ont be any place left for us!” Hitsugaya was well-aware of how popular his fukataichou was among his fellow shinigamis as well as subordinates. H e w asn‟t surprised to th ink that she w ou ld invite lots o f atten tion. B ut he w as a bit unprepared for the attention they would get walking together. He drew attention for the stark contrast between his stature due to age and status and now, compounded w ith h is fuk ata ichou‟s charms, it seemed they attracted eyes wherever they went until the shinigamis actually grew familiar

at the sight of the pair and Hitsugaya found a little more peace in being less noticed than before. His lieutenant‟s dress sen se did bother him but he never wanted to bring that up lest she misunderstood it in some way or the other. He knew better than to argue with her on this point. He felt a bit curious when he heard that shinigamis would actually crowd over a drinking place based on the fact that Matsumoto was there. He felt she did in a way enjoy a mini-celebrity status in Seireitei perhaps. But so did all the captains and vice-captains but not so much for their physical charms. “H ow crude”, he o bserved. The surroundings being dark, he thought he could take the advantage of the cover it gave him to actually visit ____. Till date, he never had understood why he chose to covertly observe what she did while drinking that very night. He followed the unsuspecting men. *** “Lik e I said, Matssumo-to ssan”, K ira w h im pered look ing very pathetic, “I am sssso -ssso v-very sssoorrry” “ Ara! Ara! Let it go, K ira . I never took the fight seriously anyway”, Matsumoto cheerfully consoled him . Som eho w , it didn‟t seem to boost up his spirit and Kira gulped down some more sake. “M atsum oto -sa n, you are great! You are so forg iving” , Iba declared lo udly. B oth R en ji an d M adaram e eyed h im w ith interest. It w as no b ig secret, he w as one o f her „fervent‟ adm irers. H e w as a sharp contrast to his so-called rival, Shuuhei. Renji and Madarame looked at each other with evil smiles. “W hat are those foo ls up to? ”, the captain -in-hiding wondered. He had been standing outside in the shadow s for abou t an hour. The place w as a lm ost em pty except for the Lieutenant‟s group and two other people who sat far away. “M atsum oto -sa n!”, R enji stood up. “W hat?”, R ang ik u queried a bit surprised in her drunk en state. “I have a very im portant co n fessio n to m ak e” “W hat is it?” “Am ong all these m en inclu ding m e, there is one m an w h o is willing to give his all for you. Tell me, w ill you tak e h is ha nd?” Shuuhei winced. He seemed to be the only one who seemed to still be with his senses.

M atsum oto sm iled a nd decided “W hat the heck ! Let m e have som e fun too!” “O hh! I w ou ld love to b ut I tak e no losers. I need to see so m e proo f o f strength” She stood up on the tab le. She lou dly an nounced, “ See th is p ink scarf aroun d m y neck ? I w ill m arry any man, and I say A NY M A N w ho can tak e th is scarf o ff m e??!!” Both Iba and Shuuhei instantly sobered up. Renji and Madarame looked up at her in wonder, both think ing inside, “ She took the ba it!”. K ira w a s snoozing w ith h is m outh op en on the tab le, long knocked out. O utside, H itsugaya exclaim ed to h im self “ The D ru nk en FO O L!! Now it‟s gon na b e a riot in there!!” Hitsugaya hesitantly peeped inside. Shuuhei and Iba were looking at each other very seriously through their red-rimmed eyes. Out of nowhere, a crowd suddenly emerged ; whether they were there to watch the fight or pounce upon the prize, he could not say. All he just knew that in a way, it was the fight that was stalling everyone from actually reaching the table Matsumoto stood upon. Iba had already started brandishing his Zanpakutou which looked like a scimitar while Shuuhei raised his Katana-like Zanpak utou and sw ore, “For the protection and the honor of my lovely Rangiku-san, I will not let the likes of you touch a single strand of her hair”. “W hat do yo u m ean by the „lik es o f you‟?”, spat Iba. The evil-duo Ikkaku and Renji watched the scene like naughty gob lins grinning at each other,“ O m oshiro u”, they agreed. All eyes w ere riveted u pon the opponents. W ho w ill strik e first? The atmosphere seemed tensed. Iba suddenly thrust his long forked Zanpakutou forward while Shuuhei deftly dodged him by moving sideways. Iba rotated his weapon which almost caught onto Shuuhei with its pick-like protrusion but the latter shifted more to the side and escaped for the moment with a long thin scratch on his forearm. A trickle of blood leaked through the long thin scratch. Shu uhei d id n‟t remain stationary and w aved h is sw ord turn ing about su dden ly as if to strik e Iba‟s neck . Iba duck ed a nd Shu uhei changed the trajectory of his strike about to almost slice his head off his neck. This time Iba threw himself down to an lying position and jumped up again from the other end. R enji began to th ink that m aybe it w asn‟t a very good idea to pitch the rivals against each other. H e som ehow d idn‟t think they w ou ld get this serious about it! He turned aside to ask Madarame to help him but he was missing. Renji looked at the front again. Madarame, his blood charged with the fighting spirit jumped in headlong into the love-rivals‟ fight. The scene became pretty confusing soon as everyone decided to join in, forgetting the prize. Only two people stood apart. One was the sleep ing K ira, the other w as A barai w ho still couldn‟t q uite believe w hat it had turned into.

H e finally m anage to speak , “ W ell, M atsum oto, seem s lik e they a ll loose, you w in”. He turned around when he received no response. “M atsum oto?” , he looked at the table which was almost empty except for Kira who was drooling and almost falling to the floor. The prize was gone! *** “No, no I don‟t lik e bearded m en, b ut w ith som e free sak e… ”, M atsu m oto g iggled. “ Q uit w riggling, w ill ya?”, H itsugaya com pla ined at the creature on his b ack . H e had a b it o f clumsy time balancing a heavier being with his smaller frame. On the top of that, he was running. He thought that with a few drinks, m en behave lik e beasts. It‟s a good thing th at while being intoxicated, their brains could only hold one thought at a time. Thus, he found it easier to slip out safely with an almost toppling over Matsumoto as the whole crowd was engrossed in the fight. Fearful stuff, liquor. “O h Ta ichou. You are to o strict-”, she mumbled with her eyes closed. “W ell, sorry to be so”, Toush irou panted as he ran w ith h is heavy burden. H e d early prayed that they would meet no one on the way. “ Cou ldn‟t you be a b it m ore sw eeter?” “Sorry, that w asn‟t how I was made ”, he rolled his eyes. “M aybe, if I w as H inam ori, you w ou ld have been n icer to m e” Toushirou stopped and instantly felt a pain shooting up his ankles, he had been running for quite a w h ile. “ Lets rest” “H m m ? H m m -ok ay”, M atsu m oto agreed good -humouredly. He brought her down carefully at the side of the paved street. He looked on a head. Not far to go, he mused. Just about 5-6 minutes. He settled down beside her and caught his breath. He glanced sideways to see whether Matsumoto had indeed drifted off. “O i, M atsu m oto! D on‟t fall asleep! O i” H e shook her gently. She show ed no signs of w ak ing up.

“P shaw ! I just can‟t leave you alone, can I? what would have happened if you really were let off into the crow d w ith your current state. ” Though the night was dark, there were some street lights close by and Hitsugaya kept watch whether anyone w as nearby. H e didn‟t w a nt to expla in h is situation at present an d w anted to be spared o f any gossips. He stood up and gazed at the street. “Taicho u”, M atsu m oto m u m b led aga in. Hitsugaya watched her nodding in her sleep as he stood. “ Seem s you are trou bled by m e in your dream s a lso”, he whispered and smiled. In the dim street light, he could see the silken strands of her hair loosening from their place and falling on her face. He knelt and gently shifted them away from her face and put them behind her ear so that they didn‟t irritate her. H is hand natura lly cam e do w n to her cheek . H e strok ed the sk in on her cheek and felt how smooth it was. He was in a trance. He looked at her thoughtfully, his eyes had the softest look it could register. “ W hat am I to you, M atsum oto?”, he gently w h ispered, “ Your captain? your friend? a close one or just one you encountered on the way? a tease? a victim? A joke? A little brother?...” “ M m m p h..”, M a tsumoto moved suddenly in her seated position and swayed sideways with her back still supported by the wall. She was about to topple over and Toushirou caught off-guard tried to grab on to her but instead managed to grab on to her fabric w hich didn‟t stop her from falling sideways. Her shoulders lessened the impact but she was jarred awake by it. She opened her eyes and he looked at her anxiously worried that she had hurt herself somehow. She looked at him dazed and confused for a moment as if trying to recognise him. “Taicho u !!”, she then called brightly and he realized she was still in her inebriated state. She supported herself with her hands and seemed to be trying to get up still unsteady. Hitsugaya tried to convince her not to stand up but she stubbornly stood up. W hen she finally did, she sm iled in her sim pering w ay and H itsugaya didn‟t k now w hether to be annoyed at how foolishly she smiled and acted or concerned because she looked like she could fall down any moment. She smiled at him with both her hands behind her back and looked at him as if she knew a secret. “Tai-cho u! K now w hat?” “W hat?”, H itsugaya looking around her wondering which part of her to hold on to prevent her from falling flat on her face or rather on him.

She then moved forward and fell o n his shou lders, hugg ing h im tightly, “M atsum oto!! O i, M ATSUM O TO !!” H e began to feel thorough ly an noyed. “Taicho u” , she whispered in his ears before she fell unconscious aga in, “you w in… ” “W ha -?”, H itsugaya m um bled under her w eight w hich he cou ld ha nd le but her frame was still troubling to balance. As he held her by thrusting his arms under her shoulders, he felt a piece of a soft fabric still in his hands. In the dim light, it looked like a pink scarf.

*** [What follows is a blowing out of proportions of Bleach storyline since the plot after the escape and during the rescue of Inoue hasn’t been released in the m anga so I have to m ake up stuff from here onwards and of course, I cant take it to gigantic proportions as Kubo Tite but I will try my best.]

“ W hat am I to you, M atsum oto? ”, he gen tly w hispered, “ Y our cap tain? your frien d? a close one or just one you en countered on the w ay? a tease? a victim ? A joke? A little brother? ...” She woke up with a start. “O w w ! O w w !” , she cringed with her throbbing head and fell back. “Perhaps I had a bit too much to drink last night.” She managed to finally get up, get ready and head to the 10th division headquarters. She felt a bit chilly walking towards the building and remarked as she hugged herself, bringing her pink scarf aroun d her neck , “ Its alm ost w inter” Once in the headquarters, she was surprised to see everyone run helter-skelter around. “Am I m issing som eth ing here?”, she thought, “ I m ust ask the captain” She stepped into the main office to find out that the captain w a sn‟t there b ut h is seat w asn‟t em pty. A very thoughtful Ukitake was sitting there looking at something that looked like a letter. He looked up and sm iled w a nly, “O h! You‟re here!” “Uk itak e-taicho u??”, she said q uite surprised, “ You are he re? W here..?”

“ The Lieutenants are yet to be briefed properly but I dare say I cou ld give you a gist of w hat‟s happening. Aizen has finally begun to make his move. As you can see 4 months have passed. It is almost time when Hougyoku will awake. Aizen has sealed the entrance to H ueco M undo an d it hasn‟t been possible to enter since approximately this morning 3 am. We have however, detected that there has been a n entry b ut ho w m a ny peop le, w e don‟t k now . H ow ever, the portal ha d opened by itself… ” M atsum oto‟s heart sk ipped a beat as the capta in‟s vo ice trailed o ff. “… .it has been d iscovered H ina m ori-san has been missing but her absence could have only been detected by the o ne w ho had erected a barrier aroun d her..” M: “H -H itsugaya ta ichou … .” U: “… H as a lso been d iscovered m issing since m orn ing” Matsumoto felt alarmed, very alarmed. U: “D on‟t w orry, I am sure that your capta in hasn‟t betrayed u s but I am sure that he did go after her. The portal to Hueco Mundo opened by itself at the ____ gate for a few minutes, we might not be very w rong to assum e that H ina m ori w ent thro ugh it an d… ” “… Capta in fo llow ed her throug h”, fin ished M atsum oto. *** M atsum oto felt very un sure o f herself for the first tim e in m onths. She felt very angry that she cou ld n‟t have foreseen this. And she tho ught, “W ith the gatew ay sealed, it w ou ld be im possib le for m e by m yself to ta il them ” Anyhow, she already had orders to follow. She had to join the Earth force this time headed by four captains. Many shinigamis were headed to Karakura city which was supposed to be annihilated to resurrect the Ou-K en. Fa lling un der the so ul society‟s jurisd ictio n, they w ere responsible for its protection and at this point, existence. “H ina m ori is yo ur responsib ility. I w ash m y han ds o ff this m atter. You breached the rules and I am no m ore bou nd to you. ” She was surprised at how lenient Yamamoto-sama sounded as he delivered the final briefing. Yamamoto had specifically pointed out in the briefing to the captains which was also passed on to lieutenants that as H itsugaya‟s positio n at present w as undeterm ined, he w ould be labelled as a traitor as long as he d idn‟t return. If he did return on his o w n accord w ith im portant in form ation, then he would be judged. He seemed to have wanted to give Hitsugaya a chance. Though a part of

her was happy about the decision, a part of her wanted some harsher terms for him as he left all of them in a lurch without as much as a note. Nothing was mentioned about Hinamori. At the academy, they had been taught that once one had been appointed as an official shinigami especially as a Lieutenant or Captain, any action they take should be under orders and bound by the rules. The higher you go, the more lives you are responsible for. If one on a whim stakes these rules, they are to be marked as traitors. One of the biggest rule for the captains was not to leave Seireitei without orders during war as that left a possibility of capture and disclosing of important information. It was a sin to be captured. It was a very problematic rule. The captains cou ld n‟t step out o f sou l society w ithout orders or a prior approval or permission of Commander Yamamoto or the court or both. The breach of this rule was usually execution without trial. “H itsugaya has stak ed h is position, not to m ention his life for you Hinamori, do you understand the sacrifice? Are you worth it?”, Matsumoto said to herself as she hurried to the appointed place. *** “Tcheh!”, H itsugaya sp itted out the sand that b lew over h is face, “ W here are you, H inam ori?” He squinted and surveyed the barren waste land. The sand was very weird, almost quartz like, with it blowing all around made it seem that the world was white. He picked up a handful and felt its texture. It glistened as the coarse dust flowed out of his hand. “So th is is the la n d o f the hollo w ” He expected a hollow to rise out of the sand any moment, the wind was strong blowing sand everywhere lowering visibility. H e look ed carefu lly a nd presently rea lized that the p lace w asn‟t as structure less as he ha d observed before. He thought he could see a stationary construction which had a peculiar shape. He wondered whether it might be a hollow whose size could be just as big. H e didn‟t have an y other option than to guardedly advance towards it. He bent himself to keep out of view not that he could have hid anywhere in front of it. The wind was getting stronger and the sand biting his skin. The figure grew m ore and m ore prom inent as he neared it but he still cou ldn‟t m ak e out w hat it w as. Closer, closer. It was huge. The skeleton of a hollow. He first took out his zanpakutou ready to attack but he presently realized that the thing whatever it was, was dead. He stood staring at it for a few seconds. Then he felt some movement behind, he

swung around ready to attack. A hole appeared on the ground and something slithered back in. It could see its skeletal tail. “Creatures, hollo w creatures”, he observed. That‟s right, he had heard that there were such beings Ichigo encountered on his way to save Inoue. He heard that the civilian hollows could be bigger and considered shinigami as their greatest enemy. He looked at his garb. “W ell, H inam ori. You d id n‟t give m e enough tim e to pack ” He wondered at the level of craziness that had consumed Hinamori. “ Even after a ll he has do ne, you still trust him. Where is the gravity in you, Hinamori? How can you m istrust your sig ht, ears, even log ic and still th ink he w as som ehow m isled? ” He unwittingly thought about his current Lieutenant or soon-to-be-ex Lieutenant, he thought with a wry grin. He knew she would think he had got his priorities wrong. She is really strong, that woman. She went through the same thing almost as Hinamori but she stood by her ideals. He looked up at the dark sky covering the white land. “You are stronger than m e. Look s lik e I a m not so d ifferent from H ina m ori, m yself” The strong wind was dying down now. “Eaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh hhhh hhh hhh hh” Hitsugaya turned to find a small figure running from a crowd of- were they hollows? They looked pretty comical to look like hollows but all the same they had masks on them. They seemed to be chasing the small figure who looked like a child but something was wrong with the picture. The pursuers seemed to deliberately try not to catch up. Presently, the child ran out of breath and panted on her knees. They stopped and rushed forward. “Are you ok ay?”, they ask ed crow ding arou nd her as if she w ere a precious friend or som eth ing. “H m m , they m ig ht be enem ies but I have no w ay to fin d out w here to go since I have been lost for the past few hours” “O i”, he called o ut to them lo ud ly stan ding right beh ind them . They looked at him goggle-eyed. They hadn‟t noticed him before then. The little child pointed at him a nd cried out, “ SH INIG AM I! ENEM Y! A TTA CK !” All of them lined up side by side waving their hands. “Er-! Wh-w hat is th is?”

“W hy? O ur attack position!”, the little ch ild replied looking very serious and eyeing him very suspiciously. “Look s m ore like a line-up of a circus trou pe” “ YOU look like a kid!” A vein po pped o n H itsugaya‟s forehead. “I am very sorry for that but appearances can be deceptive”, he returned levelly. H e k new he had to keep his temper in check because he needed to ask for directions and fight for them even. “I need to k now so m eth ing otherw ise I w ou ldn‟t have bothered yo ur „play‟” “You k new w e w ere „playing‟??”, the ch ild ask ed w ide -eyed. Hitsugaya was coming to think that it might be a girl, and maybe a hollow also as he took note of the mask on her head. “The sh in igam i before didn‟t have any idea a nd started attack ing m y brothers” “Shiniga m i? B rothers????”, the father m ust have had m ore tha n one w ives then, w h ich is still unlikely. Hollows with families, eh? “Ya”, the girl rep lied chattily, “Ich igo, he w as very nice sh in igam i. Saved Neru m any tim es” “Neru? Is that your na m e?”, he asked. “Yes, this is P esshe, m y b ig brother and th is is D o nchak k a, m y other b ig brother”, Neru introduced all o f them a nd then po inted at the h uge w orm saying, “Th is is our pet B aw a ba w a” . “H ollow s w ith sib lings and pets”, H itsugaya tho ught, h is head reelin g a b it and said out a loud. “ Anyway, do you know Ichigo? So were you the one that took him to Las Noches? Can you show me how to get there?” All o f them excla im ed, “You w an na go there? W hy?” H e coughed a nd decided, no use h id ing it. “ I w ant to save a frie nd of m ine” Neru ask ed, raising a bro w , “Is she a lady?” Hitsugaya raised his brows disinterestedly and nodded, affirmative. “H m m , isn‟t that the sam e lady w ho w as in there before?”, P esh he rem ark ed. “Nope, that w as O rih im e. Th is is another frien d o f m ine......O negai”, he gritted his teeth and bow ed a little. They were a bit taken aback. He was sort of begging them!

Neru replied, “ Its ok . W e w ill help you o ut. A fter all, you are a friend o f Ich igo” *** “W hy w a s your friend tak en to Las Noches?”, Neru enq uired as they rode upon Bawabawa. “ She w ent there o n her ow n free w ill” “ Then w hy are you going a fter her?” “To bring her to her senses” “Ni-saan” “Eh? W hy do you call m e that?” “B ecause, I th ink you look lik e m y brother” Hitsugaya gritted at the prospect of actually „resem b ling‟ her „brothers‟ , but he said noth ing. “Ni-san, are you strong?” “ I th ink so.” “H m m , I thoug ht I shou ld n‟t say th is b ut p lease turn back ” “ W hy?” “ B ecause they are very dangerous, there w ere five o f them an d all o f them returned, very hurt. The Onei-chan w as helping them recover but now if yo u are hurt, do you have anyo ne to heal you?” “ I do n‟t think so” “ B -but you co uld d ie!” “I dou bt that w ou ld m atter now . Now that I have left everything beh ind” “Your m other w ill cry” “D on‟t have one” “Father?” “Nope” “B rother? Sister?” Hitsugaya shook his head.

“ H ow abo ut the nei-chan you w ant to save?” “ Seeing what she is like now, I doubt she has eyes for anyone but one person, who isn‟t m e” “O oooooh! That is soooooooo sad”, Neru burst o ut crying. Hitsugaya waved his hands frantically trying to calm her do w n, “D -D on‟t cry! D on‟t cry!” “ I cant help it! Sn iff! Sn iff! You are so alone! D on‟t w orry! Neru w ill be by your side!” she rubbed her eyes and then brightened up suddenly when an idea popped into her head. “ I K NO W !!” “Err-w hat?”, he som eho w felt he w o uldn‟t lik e w hat she had in m ind. “I W ILL B E YO UR G IR L FR IEND !!”, she hugged h im tightly as he flayed h is arm s w ild ly trying to w ard her off. “W hoa! W hoa! W a i-t ! Waitaminit! How was this decided?” “Neru has no boyfrie nd but m any brothers, so you can be Neru‟s boyfriend a nd w e w ill alw ays be together!” , she surm ised hap pily. “Are you sure?”, her brothers around her ask ed anxiously b ut they didn‟t lo ok very hostile to the prospect. “W hy do yo u guys look lik e you agree?”, H itsugaya ask ed slowly with knitted brows. P esshe scratched the back of h is head and sheep ish ly a dm itted, “ W ell, yo u see in Hueco Mundo, we couldn‟t fin d som eone w orth Neru. A ll o f them look lik e death. You have a nice face to go with our cute Neru.” H itsugaya didn‟t k now w hat to say. *** Matsumoto looked around the third Division main office. It was finally open for her to visit. She heard that the officials from the investigation department found nothing that could point them to the misdeeds, no clue, no incriminating evidence. “Ya, lik e they w ou ld find som eth ing that I cou ldn‟t find.”, she thought. Why was she back here again? Just after the final briefing, she heard that the ID (Investigation Department) had finally released her former work-o ffice. She tried to ignore it but she couldn‟t press it any longer. She had to come here once more. Even though they were soon to take off to the human world.

She looked at the seat where she used to sit and where he used to sit. They seemed further apart than where she and Hitsugaya normally sat. “ I can‟t believe that I am actually com paring them both . Treacherous-Taichous! Is it just something about me they run away from?” She sighed. She knew she would be labelled with something ridicu lou s lik e “the Lieutenant that the captains left behind”. She felt lik e she had a crim inal record or so m eth ing! She tried not to stop and talk to anyone between her briefings and the tasks that she was ordered to do. She could feel all eyes looking at her, some pitying her. She tried not to imagine what the others were thinking about her. She felt too exhausted about all the things that happened from the morning. Her shoulders felt heavy for a different reason today. She looked around again, touching everything that seemed to hold a memory. Presently, she came upon G in‟s cha ir. It w as a norm a l w ooden chair w ith four legs an d heavy pa dding as the seat. She w ondered w hether she w o uld feel the G in‟s w arm th if she sat on it. She placed herself and looked at the view o f the room from the form er captain‟s point o f view . She observed, her place was pretty out of vision if one looked straight ahead. She stood up suddenly not wanting to crowd her mind with the memories that sprung up from within her. The chair fell with that impact. She turned around to pick it up and just as she held the ankles of the leg to tilt it up, she noticed something curious. One of the base of the leg was unlike the rest. It had a deep hole with diameter of a ring. She studied it and then tried to look through it. It was dark. She blew into it. It seemed like just an empty hole in the wood. She circled the rim of the hole. It was really a small one. She wondered if she should cut the leg to see what was on the end of the hole. She felt mystified. Then, she thought maybe she could put her finger through it. But what if an insect was at the other end and stung her finger. She didn‟t m ind. She felt she w as too m ixed up in her m in d to feel pa in. M aybe there m ight be a note or paper inside she thought but then the ID would have discovered it. She inserted her finger and felt the hole. It was empty but as she pressed her fingertip on the cold wooden end of the whole, she heard a click. She looked up to see a very small wooden drawer pop up from the front of the seat. In the drawer, she could see an even smaller box almost the size of the drawer, made in such a way that one could not feel that there was a hollow area in the wooden mass. ***

“Look at that ta ll bu ilding! That is Las Noches.”, Neru po inted o ut to her new „b oyfriend‟. Hitsugaya stared at the bu ild ing. H e had heard the report but it seem ed th e description cou ldn‟t suffice as to how frigid and unwelcoming it looked. He saw Neru look around as if searching for something, half-afraid. “W hat are you look ing for?”, he ask ed. From beh in d, P esshe declared, “ Brother, after this point, w e ca n‟t fo llow yo u”. Hitsugaya blushed a bit. He was really thankful that they had bothered to actually bring him here at all. “No! No! Its O K !”, Neru clu ng to H itsugaya, “ H e doesn‟t have to leave. W e can manage. We are supposed to be together” Hitsugaya smiled at the child who looked like she was about to burst into tears again. “ D on‟t w orry abo ut m e. A fter th is poin t, there is a fearsom e guard ian, isn‟t th ere? I have to deal w ith h im w ithout you getting hurt.”, he patted her head. He climbed down, much to the protests of Neru. “ After I com e back , how about you com e w ith m e to the soul society? It m ust be dangerous for pluses here, isn‟t it?”, H itsugaya said as he looked up at her, still seated on the huge worm-like pet. “Y-you k new ?”, Neru m um b led, w ide-eyed. It w asn‟t in the report but Hitsugaya could see it. He also observed that she seemed to have absorbed some hollow powers too. He smiled at her in his own way again that made him look a little bit naughty. Neru rubbed her eyes and said w ith renew ed sp irit, “ I w ill w ait for you here then. P rom ise m e that you w ill be back to tak e m e.” She struck out her little finger and bent down. Hitsugaya locked her little finger w ith h is a nd sa id , “ Yak suk u. I prom ise”. *** “Are you sure of th is?”, Uk itak e ask ed, look ing concerned. “H ai” “ D idn‟t I see so m eth ing lik e this w ith..?”

“I believe so too..” Yam am oto from behind said, “ It is very risk y but the scriptures say that such is the power..if aw ak ened” *** “You better be ok ay, H inam ori”, H itsugaya m urm ured u nder his breath as h e hurried tow ards La s Noches. He felt for certain she was alive. He felt the wind pick up as he neared the enemy fort. “ The enem y w ill a ppear” Sure enough, the sand in front of him suddenly started swelling and growing up towards the sky till it reached a gigantic height with ears, mouth, a crown shaped head and two hands appearing on the sandy mass. The hollow in between the sand giant marked him as the enemy. “I AM R UNUG ANG A I”, it spok e w ith a boom ing vo ice , “ AND TH IS IS AS NEAR TO TH E CASTLE YO U W ILL G ET!” Behind, he could hear, Neru crying out at him, being held back by her brothers. He had heard he was made of sand. He took out his sword and called out, “H YO UR INM AR U!” The Dragon of snow and ice erupted from his sword, blue heavenly light emanating from its transparent self lighting the whole place up. It slithered through the air as it charged towards Runugangai who tried to grasp it w ith both h is ha nds b ut cou ldn‟t touch the su rface as H yourinm aru transformed itself to suspended water and coiled around the sand monster. Then, instantly it froze, transforming the guardian of the enemy gate into an ice replica. As he sheathed his sword, Hitsugaya turned around to make sure they were alright. “2 seconds”, P esshe m um bled w hen he fou nd his voice. He was still staring at the ice structure in wonder as his companions were. “ H e fin ished h im off in tw o second s, Neru!!”. H e look ed up at the w orm ‟s back but Neru w as gone. She was already running towards Hitsugaya in full-speed and pounced upon him like a little ball with such force that he almost toppled over. “O i”, H itsugaya cautioned. “I LO VE YO U!!”, she said rub bing her face on his sleeve as she held on exuberantly.

***

Aizen looked up lazily from his throne. Gin was standing in front of him. “ Is she here?” The moronic smile still pasted on his lips, Gin replied, “she is” “ Com e forth, our new est m em ber” A figure appeared at the doorway and advanced towards him. Aizen smiled. “I had alw ays tho ught th is un iform w o uld su it you better”

***

Hitsugaya panted. He was bleeding from the cuts that he had incurred while fighting with the Privaron Espadas on his way to the centre of the Arrancar headquarters. He knew he was in no shape to actually face Aizen. He thought that though he had fought five ex-Espadas in a row and Godknows-how-many Números, he sensed that security was a bit lower than expected. There was no preventive barrier on the outside, only a detecting barrier which worked very weakly as defence. With the skill of the 3 ex-captains, anyone could have erected a really strong barrier. Another curious fact was though the Espadas as well as the three ex-captains might hide their reiatsu very w ell, he suspected that m ost o f them w eren‟t there. Even then, he was glad he had convinced Neru to stay beh in d. It w as, ho w ever, m ore w ith her brothers‟ help and force, h e could k eep her from coming with him. They seem to have experienced such a situation once before. H is sharp sense o f in tu ition ha d grow n w ith in the last few m o nths but h is strength didn‟t grow that considerably. He cursed his age at moments like these. Despite the fact that shinigamis aged slowly in decades and scores, he was all of his 12 years of existence and nine months to be exact. Bodily, he actually grew like human beings corresponding with human years. This was his little secret which was known to Hinamori only. When he started to notice his rapid growth, he had figured death would come just as sooner. This was what propelled him to become a shinigami and later awaken his soul-cutter to its initial and final release. He heard footsteps and braced himself for more battle.

“They just do n‟t stop com ing, do they?” This time it was Números again but they arranged themselves as soldiers with the foremost one who stood in front like the captain stepped forward and spoke, “ Sh in igam i! Are you H itsugaya Toush irou?” “ So w hat if I a m ?” “W e have been instructed to tak e you to appear be fore Aizen-sama. Please be assured, we shall use force if necessary if yo u don‟t com ply” Hitsugaya knew he had to conserve his strength and he knew better than to fight if they were taking him where he wanted to be. “P lease follo w us.” A few of them surrounded him as if he were a prized hostage and they marched towards the interior. “ Aizen, w hat are you p lan ning?” , Hitsugaya thought to himself. *** With all 10 Espadas down on earth including 15 Privaron Espadas and uncountable Números, the Gotei 13 captains of which only 4 were present consisting of Zaraki Kenpachi, Byakuya Kuchiki, Sajin Komamura and Soifon found their hands pretty full. “Aizen is nowhere to be seen and so is the other two” , reported Soifon to the General who appeared on-screen. “I see”, Yam am oto ob served, “ It is just w hat I w as a fra id o f” The latter part was delivered in a very low tone. “ W hat w as that, sir?” “ Nothing, So ifon. Tell m e, can you perceive any o f the forces falling back or returning?” “None at the m o m ent” “H ave that boy, Ichigo and a few others be prepared to follow in case there is any of them retreating. That m ig ht be the on ly chance at the m om ent o f entering the H ollow ‟s w orld” “ Yes, sir” ***

The centre of Las Noches was vast, too big for the limited number of members it supposedly housed. H itsugaya felt a little b it conscious o f his size. H e eyed the lone person seated o n the „throne‟. “Sash iburi, Tou sh irou - k un” “Ai-zen”,, H itsugaya grow led. “You seem to have grow n a bit since the last tim e I saw you. You grow up rea lly fast, unlike the kids I k now ” Hitsugaya flinched a bit. “O ops! I seem ed to have spilled out a secret”, Aizen draw led as he got up an d began to walk towards Toushirou. Hitsugaya said nothing but looked at him fiercely. “ B ut that‟s because there are no secrets betw een her an d m e”, A izen contin ued toying w ith H itsugaya, “ O f co urse, she can‟t k eep any from m e. I, on the other ha nd..” He had come quite close enough to stand beside him and place a hand on his shoulder. Hitsugaya tolerated it. He needed to see that Hinamori was safe first before he made his move. “I , on the other han d,..”, he repeated, “..fin d it so incredibly easy to fool her” Aizen adroitly dodged the blow Hitsugaya directed at him without seeming to have moved at all. “O h, m y! You have become faster. And to whom do we owe your current level of skill? Your new fukataichou perhaps ”, Aizen remarked walking past him already. W ith h is back to w ards A izen , H itsugaya ask ed betw een gritted teeth, “ w here is H inam ori?”, “ In due tim e, m y friend, in d ue tim e. B ut let m e first introd uce you to our new est m em ber” “ Cut the crap! I w ant to fight you”, H itsugaya ha lf turned aroun d “ Fig ht m e, you say. Not to day, m y frien d, not today”, A izen ventured, “ To day you fight her” He seemed to be showing someone who stood with him behind Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya turned around slowly, expectantly, fearful of the person he was to see. H e look ed at the „new est m em ber‟ starting from the her toes a nd slo w ly h is eyes traced her form u p to her face. His eyes as wide as they could be, “M a-Matsumoto?!”

***

“ D -D AD !!”, both Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryu exclaimed in synchrony, both of them already pushed by the impact, to be seated on the ground side-by-side. Then they looked at each other and pointing at each other, excla im ed together again “ That‟s your father?!!!” “Shut up, you tw o”, scolded Ish ida R yuk en in a nnoyance, “ You so und lik e tw in s” Kurosaki Isshin let out a hearty laughter. “W ell, boys, no w you k no w ” “O ya -ji, do you k now each other? About each other I m ean?”, Ichigo asked wide-eyed. “O n both professio nal levels”, R yuk en replied for Isshin. “Ich igo, you d idn‟t k no w your dad w as a -?”, Ish ida Uryu guessed. “No, did you k now a bout your-?”, Ichigo returned. Ishida Uryu pressed the nape of his glasses looking at front with his face tilting downwards. Ichigo assumed, he meant „yes‟. “Just goes to sho w ho w m uch „bon ding‟ you have w ith your ch ildren”, R yuk en rem ark ed look ing obliquely at Isshin. “H m m p h!”

***

For a moment, Hitsugaya felt the world got a bit fuzzy. “W hy? M atsum oto, w hy?” He felt something break inside him. Matsumoto was standing in front of him fully clad in white. Her trademark exposed chest was covered in skin hugging white. It seemed ironic that the colour of the garb of both sides represented the opposite colour of Justice. “D raw your Zanpak utou, ta ichou”

He looked up again and saw she had already positioned herself for combat with her Haineko, ready to strike. She was serious! “M ove aside, M atsum oto”, he com m a nded levelly, h is eyes sho w ing a dense green hue, “ I a m here to fight A izen not you” “B old w ords, very bo ld w ords, H itsugaya -k un”, Aizen sa id. H e w as w atch ing the scene w ith fo lded hands standing back a bit. He came forward, unlocked his arms. He held her shoulders and drew her back towards himself in close contact. H itsugaya‟s b lood boiled but he didn‟t let his features betray it. He, however, tensed a bit and his shoulders tightened. Th is tiny gesture didn‟t escape the eyes of Aizen who smiled and cocked his head to her ear level, “...And M atsu m oto, this garb that you w ear, it isn‟t m ere clothing. It m ea ns w ith your body and so ul, you swear eternal allegiance to me. It means that every thought that goes through your head, every pulse of your veins, every piece of your flesh, every movement that you make and every drop of blood down to the last drop that runs through this body... ”, he spoke softly into her ear but loud enough for Hitsugaya to hear, as he ran the back of his hand down the side of her face, her shoulders, the side of her chest till her w a ist w here he let his hand ho ld her, “....belongs to m e. Now, you have no ties w ith that boy in front o f yo u. In fact, you don‟t have to add ress him w ith respect anymore. He is now just plain Toushirou to you. Go on, address him so.” “Toush irou” , she repeated mechanically. “G ood”. H e k issed her ha ir and turned arou nd towards the exit. Toush irou‟s reiatsu had already begu n to flow dangerously since the moment Aizen touched her shoulders and anyone could see he was beginning to loose himself to blind rage. Only his eyes were hidden by a shadow. By now, his reiatsu was giving off a blinding light and the surroundings seem to darken. As Aizen left the hall, without turning back or stopping, he said to the figure leaning on the pillar hidden by the shadows, “ Tak e care of them for m e” G in rep lied, “ As you say, ta ichou”. The u nw avering grin still stuck to his face. Aizen walked out the door. G in w asn‟t sm iling anym ore no w . ***

H ina m ori pressed the porta l k ey tightly to her chest. She co uldn‟t w a it anym ore. She had finally met Aizen again after all this time and all she got to meet him for, was a few minutes. She was apprehensive at the beginning that he might stab her again. She already decided, in that event, it was better to have died than to endure living without him again. The months that took her to be recuperated, when she awoke. She felt so desolate. The only solace being Shirou-k u n w ith his visits, the only one w hose behavio ur and feelings didn‟t change. B ut even with all his care and concern, she cou ld n‟t bring herself to say it. She had discovered something left behind in her robes that she wore the night Aizen stabbed her. It looked like a purse so no one questioned as to where it came from. It even puzzled her until she discovered a thin folded paper in serted very ingeniou sly. She opened it to read Aizen‟s ha ndw riting. He wrote that he was sorry for taking such a drastic measure to let his ideals being known. He claimed that a sacrifice was unavoidable and that he used her because he trusted her so much, he believed she was strong enough to revive from it and show him her ultimate loyalty. She had cried happily when she first read his letter. He wrote that he hadn‟t hurt anyone to kill them. The proof enough was she reading this letter and having Toushirou still by her side. He believed that the court and the king were disinterested in com m oner‟s lives and the lives o f the sh in igam is w ho w ork ed day an d n ight to k eep the bala nce. H e knew he needed greater power to overthrow them and hence his research on hollows and alliance with them was for the purpose of building a stronger army. He ended the letter with the footnote that he was waiting for her to join him in his kingdom. The portal key appeared to be a leathery item with a flap. When the flap was lifted, there was a hole on the other face, through which if she and only she inserted her finger and pressed it, the doorway to Hueco Mundo would open up even if it were sealed from inside or outside. She was scared to try it, but she kept it with her all the time. She felt that maybe if she could convince everyone that A izen w as right then perha ps, a ll w ou ld com e back to norm al. She d idn‟t understand neither felt supportive nor interested about whether the king or the court was good or bad. She only thought, “Anything! O h, anyth ing to k eep him close!” She thought she would try to first convince her strongest ally but he was gone for so long commanding the earth force. When she heard that the Arrancar who he was fighting against was actually aligned with Aizen, she requested the General to see Toushirou. Seeing his face for the first time in months and his face looking so earnest, she remembered how she had attacked him and despite all that, how he had come visit her unconscious self regularly, took care of her, and seemed to forget how treacherous she had been. She apologized with the rush of realization. She tried to insert the request of not killing Aizen when his face darkened and she could

not bring herself to expou nd the ideas from A izen‟s letter a nd she side-tracked the issue by claiming he was perhaps misled.

All these things Hinamori had related to Aizen once she met him because, he had asked whether she had spoken about the letter to Hitsugaya. Aizen was perceptive enough to pick up the main facts that interested him. He understood that Hitsugaya, naive as he is with matters concerning Hinamori, still believed that Hinamori imagined Aizen was controlled by Gin and Tousen. He knew it w as beyond H inam ori‟s scope to realise how much she meant to Hitsugaya and how much he weighed and absorbed every word she said. The implicit bond at least from his side that was forged between them, since Toushirou was a young child was something that bounded him and perhaps will bound him forever as it is with childhood bonds. Aizen was satisfied with what he heard and had dismissed her. He was glad that he had called her at the opportune moment by making the portal key throb and thus giving her an indication that he was summoning her. “Everything is falling into place”, he smiled as he watched his hostage waiting for him, from an unobserved place behind a white curtain on the doorway. He enjoyed to make others suffer for various things but most of all, he relished to make people suffer for love. *** The fight between the ex-captain and the ex-Lieutenant were as unbalanced as they could get here. But Hitsugaya understood the message that Aizen had tried to convey loud and clear. “ D efeat your ex-vice capta in a nd then I sha ll face you” From her strikes, Hitsugaya was finally convinced Matsumoto was serious. “ Since w hen have you been a part of th is? W hy are you here? ”, he tried to ask but sh e replied with a more malicious strike. It sliced through the air and almost hit him but he jumped back and counterattacked. The zanpakutous Hyourinmaru and Haineko clashed, Hitsugaya could feel his w eapon sh udder at M atsum oto‟s force. W ith the fierceness o f her attack , he d id a ll to w ard her o ff and was extremely thankful that his captain-level skill of fighting allowed him to do so. At present, he was defensive and she was offensive. As the fight went on, Hitsugaya could feel his energy ebb and he began to be less and less quicker to counter her attacks. At this rate, he knew, he would have to retaliate soon to keep himself alive. He became more and more engrossed in the fight, when he found a loophole and struck forward. His

blade stopped about a n inch from her neck as he cam e to h is senses. She d idn‟t counterattack at the moment but simply lifted her eyes and looked into his. “ W ha t am I doing???” Gin struck from behind with the hilt of his sword and the tired captain fell to the ground, unconscious. *** H e saw a dream in flashes. Aizen‟s face tw isting in a sm ile, H inam ori scream ing o ut w ith tears stream ing dow n her face, G in‟s face with his immovable smirk, all faces circled around him. They cleared for him to see his memories as if he were an invisible being that stood beside his younger self. Momo and Shirou sitting side-by-side digging in melon pieces in the summer sun. Those were carefree days. He saw all the times he spent with her one-by-one and felt that if life were to return to the same stage, then maybe... Slowly, as one after the other, the scenes fa ded, som e new scenarios em erg ed that he didn‟t feel were a part of his memory. One was a battle scene, he could hazily see familiar faces, whose faces were these? Ichigo? that Quincy? red-hair Orihime? A big quiet guy? Abarai? Rukia? They were fighting against masked men who looked extremely strong, Espada? They were almost at their limit. But one-by-one they were winning. It looked like Earth, Karakura city. He realised that what he was envisioning was the true vision of the battle that was going on Earth to save Karakura city. But he could feel that even though the enemy was defeated one by one, the Earth force was tensed. The king of the enemy was nowhere to be found! He understood, they were looking for a gateway. He felt he had to do something. “ AR G H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H ” He felt pain shooting up through his body at the split second of consciousness and then his mind blanked. Hinamori looked at Hitsugaya unable to believe her eyes. “ B eautifu l, isn‟t he?” A izen sa id stand ing behind her. Hinamori subconsciously felt that this might be one of the adjectives she might have described the view before her if it were not happening in reality. And she realised this only after she recognised him. Initially, all she could do was stand captivated by the sheer beauty of the object before her. “W ha -w hat is th is?”

H itsugaya‟s nak ed body was floating in a giant cylindrical glass-like shelf filled with an almost transparent blue liquid which had a peculiar glow. The liquid gave an ethereal radiance to his body. The sculpted muscles, his lean face with chiselled features which looked realxed for the first time, his silver hair curving and floating with the liquid all around him gave him an almost, unrealistically angelic look. She extended a hand and touched the glass, still finding it hard to believe, it was him. “W hy? Aizen, w hy?” “D on‟t w orry, this liq uid that he is floating in isn‟t an em ba lm ing flu id. H e is not dead. In fact, he can breathe in it. Come with me and lets take a look at his back ”, Aizen beck on ed. She followed him around the glass cylinder and stood behind with him. She had downcast her eyes and at A izen‟s b id ding look ed up. She gasped. On his back was a huge dark tattoo-like mark. It was somewhat shaped like a dragon with the dragon wings forming a half circle and the dragon body it self projected as a snake between the wings.

“That m ark ! I haven‟t seen it before bu t I have seen h is bare back num erous tim es! H ow could I have missed it. This is not Shirou-k un! W here is he?”, H inam ori ask ed anxiously. “Calm do w n. Th is IS the Sh irou -kun you know! About this mark, I doubt he himself is even aware of it!”, Aizen ca lm ly exp la ined “W ha -w hat do yo u m ean?”

“You see m y dear H inam ori, there is also something else in this fluid. You can see some particles glistening in it, can‟t you?” Hinamori looked carefully and sure enough there seemed to be tiny particles glinting which she realised was what gave the liquid its strange glow and also something else. They seemed to be uniformly spaced like a network dividing the whole liquid mass into uniform sections. “W hat does th is m ean?”, sh e asked carefully with furrowed eye-brows. “Seem s lik e you have noticed. W hen I broug ht Inoue here, I gave her an im p ression that I w a nted Hougyoku revived as a whole to its foremost stage when in fact I needed it to be in particles. She did that for me thinking she had destroyed it into fine powder while in fact she had given me the same jewel broken into tiny pieces, each individually having much lesser power by itself but when suspended in a network, surpassed the powers of the jewel compacted into a ball-shape that it originally was. ” “ Th-then it...” “... w as not destroyed. It was all going perfectly according to m y plan”, Aizen com pleted her sentence. *** Matsumoto was overhearing the duo, staying out of sight by the doorway perfectly aware of the fact that Aizen definitely knew she was there. She looked at H itsugaya‟s face from afar with an inscrutable look in her eyes. “It isn‟t very nice to eavesdrop, R an”, draw led G in . “ Aizen -sa m a is defin itely con scious o f m y presence”, M atsum oto returned. “ So I see”, sm iled G in and he leaned w ith h is back to the w a ll, beside her. “ Look s lik e you w ill spell troub le for m e aga in, R an but that w hat I a lw ays lik ed about you” “ You alw ays d id have a tw isted w ay o f „lik ing‟ peop le, G in” “ Very few peop le un derstand m e the w ay you do, R an. Is that w hy you k eep co m ing back to m e?” After a m o m ent‟s thoug ht, M atsu m oto rep lied. “ You‟re right. I ju st can‟t leave you alone, can I?” *** The battle on Earth was almost over.

“ D R AT IT!” , scream ed Ich igo in a frustrated tone, “ W here the heck is Aizen?” “B eating the Espa da still doesn‟t guarantee that you can beat h im , they do n‟t just follow him around merely on a whim, you know”, Sh in ji H irak o pointed out. The Vizards had joined the battle a bit later when the shinigami were about to fall back exhausted. With them on the side of the shinigamis, the odds increased to their favour but as the commanding heads now had more time to think, an idea permeated through them, that this was somehow a ruse and something worse was still pending. Back in the Shinigami world, Ukitake exclaimed that some documents related to the Hougyoku had been skilfully removed from the others. It was done in such a way that it took them that much time to figure its existence and thus removal. Shunsui remarked that since it was found that the Ou-ken was connected to the Hougyoku, the missing information might have been something that involved the location of the former. Perhaps, even the resurrection of the former. Yamamoto heard the reports from the two ca ptains and sim p ly rep lied, “ P erh aps the ru m ours w ere true then” *** “But that doesn‟t exp lain the m ark ” , H ina m ori complained. “P atience, m y dear. O f co urse, it doesn‟t. I am not finished yet.”, Aizen contin ued, “ W hen Urahara created the Hougyoku. He thought it broke the barrier between the powers of the hollow and a shinigami but actually it broke the barrier between any coexisting sources of powers in the same body. The stronger the barrier, the more stronger the force Hougyoku must assert. I have had research carried on inserting the powers of a hollow in a shinigami but I thought, what if something stronger than either powers came into my hands. If it were too strong, it might not be possible to control it. However, it might just be possible to use its release for something else” Hinamori looked blankly. Aizen continued on for the person he knew who was still following the logic o f his exp lanation. It w asn‟t supposed to be a secret anym ore. H e, ho w ever, w ick edly, changed the course of his conversation. “ H inam ori, have you ever w ondered w hy I cho se you out o f K ira and Abarai a s m y Lieutena nt?” “ W as it not because o f m y credentia ls, m y q ualities an d m y loyalty?” Aizen looked at her with a glint in his eyes.

“ After all th is tim e, H ina m ori, do you th ink you are strong enough as either of them? Do you think you could beat either o f them in battle?” Hinamori was speechless, her lips were trembling. Her heart started sinking. “ B ut that w ould not have served any purpose to m e, anyw ays. I don‟t need a Lieute nant who could fight for m e. I ha d G in. ” Hinamori held herself lest she would fall on her weak knees. “ No, that w as not it. I sa w a g low in you. ” Hinamori brightened up for a moment. “ I w ondered to m yself, w hether you in deed ha d som ething that I needed in yo u” Hinamori looked at Aizen expectantly. “ It took me sometime to realise it was borrowed. I had you under a watch and decided wherever you went, the spark would follow. All I had to do was to lead you and you would lead him to me!” Hinamori shivered when she suddenly understood what he meant and what he would say next. “ You w ere the bait, H ina m ori a nd your little fo llow er, your Shirou -kun is the catch!” *** Matsumoto removed the portal key from her pocket and looked at it for sometime. It looked almost like the one Hinamori had except that it was brown and not black. She thought that had she not fou nd it in the box from the secret draw er in G in‟s chair ( 3 rd Division office), where would she have been? The note left in the box was so like him. “ In case you change your m ind...” She knew a bit of what Aizen was going to say to Hinamori so she left them and went on to explore the central core of Las Noches as much as she could until she found an empty corner. Looking both ways to see whether anyone was around, Matsumoto decided this was a safe place for the moment. She lifted the flap of the portal key and put out her index finger indecisive about whether it was wise to put her finger through it. “ Trying to run a w ay already”, G in w h ispered into her ear from behind. Matsumoto jumped. It was really annoying how captains had the ability to hide their reiatsu and Gin was no exception.

“ G in!” “ That‟s a one w ay k ey. It can bring you in but can‟t tak e you back ” “ I w asn‟t trying to ...” “O h -o..”, G in sm iled lo oking mildly sceptical. “ You do k now that once .. I leave everything behind, there is no turning back” “ So you say”, he look ed at her lean ing forw ard. H e w a s m uch taller than h er and rested h is fore arm above her head, on the wall. She had to push her back to the wall as she felt cornered by him. Matsumoto, for the first time with Gin, found herself uncomfortable in this position. This was a normal occurrence when they were captain and vice-captain. They were lovers then so why did she feel so awkward now? W asn‟t th is w hy she cam e here? She felt a slight tw inge as if th is close co ntact made her untrue to her heart. She turned her head away but felt his breath on her cheek and neck. “ W hat are you doing?”, she ask ed in a low tone. “R eliving o ld tim es”, he replied completely at ease with himself, not a bit fazed by her coldness. She began to feel uneasy as she felt his face coming closer and closer. She tried to hide her face with her hair. “Love-bird s!”, a female voice called out. Gin frowned and turned to the owner of the voice. It was a young girl with short hair. She looked like a normal pretty teenager except that a broken mask was covering the right side of her face. Matsumoto batted her eyes w ith a silent sigh o f relief w h ich M eno ly noted but did n‟t comment about it. G in cou ldn‟t see it as he had his back turned to her and dem anded in a dan gerously calm voice, “ W hat is it?” “ Aizen -sama wants to see you both” *** Going back a bit in time.

[ w riter’s n ote: p lease b e aw are, w h at follow s is a lo t of crap that are in no ways original and very borrowed so, I apologize for it ]

“ That can‟t be true.” H inam ori defended, “ You tried to k ill m e and then him . W hy w ou ld you do that?” She was still struggling with her feelings and her body collapsing. “ That is not the question you should ask. The question you should ask is why would I need him at all?” “ Yes! And the H ougyok u you are using is useless on him . H e has no ho llo w po w ers” “ No. H e doesn‟t. But in fact, he has something greater in him, that is harder to control and harder to manipulate but nonetheless useful in something else. Its a pity that once released, it will destroy his body.” “No.....”, H inam ori drew back in horror, “ H e- Shirou-k u n is going to d ie!!” Aizen continued without paying attention to Hinamori,“ The strongest pow ers exist are created by nature or what you might call the „heavens‟. H e has been called the „H eavenly G uardian‟ tim e and again b ut do you k now w hat it m ea ns ?” Hinamori managed to shake her head and was already sitting on her knees that had given way. “It m ean s according to these----”, he sho w ed a bunch of papers in his hand, “ that if w ith in h im lies „H eavenly pow ers‟, the pow er sho uld be gradua lly released and revealed from when he turns a teenager and onwards. It is a power that is more powerful than all other powers given to nature. After all, the „H eaven ly G uard ian‟ is to ru le over the 4 9 heaven ly sp irits a nd as he grow s an d h is power is released step by step, he would have to discover and win over them one-by-one.” Aizen paused a bit and his eyes shone as he “But the time I found him, he was too young to contain them so when he was reincarnated....” “..reincarnated??” “ Yes, he has to be a heavenly being to ho ld such po w ers and to have existed on earth, and died so young seem ed to have been h is fate. H o w ever, since he is the reincarnation o f the „H eavenly G uardian‟, he is actua lly the reincarnation o f an - ” “- Angel”, H inam ori breathed. *** Ich igo repeated, “ So w e have to w a it for..?”

“..the portal to open..”, R uk ia said b oth of them facing Yamamoto onscreen. The whole room of Shinigamis were silent wondering how long they would have to wait.

They w o uld just have to tak e the Co m m ander‟s w ord for it that it w ou ld open b y itself at all. *** “ B ut w hy try to k ill him and then ca pture h im now , a fter all this tim e?” “H e w as m uch too you ng, w hen I first discovered h im , to be tap ped at all. I needed h is hidden po w er to strengthen b ut h is barrier, w h ich w as strong as ever, to be w eak ened”, Aizen replied. Then he went closer to the glass shelf and looked at it, like a scientist proud of his creation.

“See the H o ugyok u netw ork in the liqu id a nd the cab le connected to the g lass case”, Aizen poin ted, “ The sparks that you see occasionally from the particles are actually concentrated and charged flow of spirit energy. They energize the particles to provide something like electricity to the body suspended ” Hinamori noted that to Aizen, Hitsugaya has been converted into a vessel of high power. He is no more a living being with thoughts and feelings in Aizen‟s m ind. “Shiro u -k un is su ffering, he is su ffering a lot!”, H ina m ori‟s heart cried o ut for Toush irou for the first time. “ Yes, he is. A ll the m ore to break the barrier” “B arrier?” “Since h is body is too young to hold the pow er gifted to him, his creator has provided an extremely strong barrier that can‟t be brok en all together at all. H ougyok u w ith its extrem e strength at this moment is working bit by bit to break the barrier and due to all the things that I had planned out, is succeeding in unleashing it faster than it would have, had everything gone according to his predeterm ined fate” “all the th ings that you pla nned...?” “I had to break his sp irit in the sense, his heart, m ak e him go throug h the brin k of death, m ak e him feel hopeless time and time again, fuel his depression. All of it weakening the barrier because of his w eak ened sp irit”

[w riter’s n ote: th e sp irit in th e last d ialo g u e m ean s m en tal stren g th w h ile in all fo rm er cases and further cases mean spiritual energy] Aizen contin ued in triu m ph, “ I g uess I have to thank you in break ing h im d ow n. Its a ll thank s to you..!!” “ All thank s to m e..” H ina m ori repeated.

***

Back to present time again, Aizen had gathered all the members that had remained and had not been ordered to destroy Karakura city. M atsum oto and G in entered the room w here H itsugaya‟s unconscious body was kept. Lolly and Menoly were there. Matsumoto saw Tousen and a curious looking Arrancar called Wonderwice. She looked at the latter with some interest. She was yet to see what powers he harboured as of many others but his childishness made her feel that he might be really intimidating. Margera suddenly whizzed his head around and looked into her eyes with a buck-teethed smile. A slight shiver ran through her body as she pulled her eyes back to observe the scene ahead. Hinamori was sitting on the floor. Her eyes look ed bla nk and it seem ed she co uld n‟t m ove anym ore. It was as if she had received a shock from which she could not recover. Matsumoto felt a slight pity for her then braced herself to look at him. The luminous naked figure floating in the glass case. The liquid seemed to be swirling around him giving the glass a smoky appearance with parts of Toush irou‟s body unclear. A ll the sam e, he look ed extraordinary, like an untouchable masterpiece in an Art museum. M atsum oto cou ld not breathe. “I am sorry, taichou. Th is could not be avoided.” Inside her, these words were not enough to describe what she was actually feeling. She hoped to God that it all will be over with soon, and that he will be okay at the end of it. “ The H eaven ly G uard ian is alm ost aw ak e”, Aizen a nnou nced. He meant that the power was almost on the surface. He was behind the glass shelf, he could see the dragon mark on the back of Hitsugaya was very prom inent and show ed new features. H itsugaya‟s shou lder bla des w ere show ing a sem icircular protrusion as if the power from within was trying to get out.n His tall body now shrouded the shelf that Hitsugaya was trapped in. “ The H ougyok u has alm ost broken down the barrier” Aizen studied the energy charts continuously regurgitated from the slot on the control panel behind the cylindrical glass case that Hitsugaya was entrapped in.

“The energy levels are p henom enal”, Tousen co nclu ded from beh ind. “Still, this can‟t be a ll o f it”, ob served Aizen unsatisfactorily. “H o w m a ny barriers, are there?” “ W hat is go ing on?”, M atsum oto w h ispered to G in. “ B ack -up p lan is a lready in m otion”, G in answ ered in a w h isper. “I have to act fast!!”, M atsu m oto rem inded herself but she d idn‟t k no w ho w . *** “First barrier releases by itself at 15”, Yam am oto exp lained to Uk itak e. Shun su i ask ed, “ H o w m any are there?” “Ah! That is the th ing I do n‟t rem em ber”, Yam am oto rep lied resig ned ly “W ill the first release su ffice for the resurrection?”, Uk itak e ask ed. “ It w ill be considerab le, close to the city‟s destruction, I im ag ine”, Yam a m oto said strok ing h is beard thoughtfully, “ If the boy survives it...” “If he dies..?” , Ukitake asked, worried. “ Before the end of it? We might be saved for the m om ent” Yam am oto decided, “ B ut w e loose our saviour o f the prophesized A pocalypse” *** “H e w ho holds the pow er to destroy the w orld” Aizen thought to himself. “Ah! I see. H is po w er is m uch lik e the earth. The core is protected by m any layers. W ith th e stripping off of each layer, the heat of the core is released bit by bit, coming to the surface. A layer comes off when he has mastered the heat that escapes the pores of the layer he has to strip off.” He folded his hands, and remarked to himself with a sm ile, “ Its a p ity that you w ou ld d ie before you im part all the pow er that is reserved w ith in you. I suppose it‟s a sham e also that all that po w er w ill go back w ith you to the heavens” “D on‟t die o n m e, taichou. I have to find a w ay....”, M atsum oto decided in her mind. “ W hat are the results from the hum a n w orld?”, Aizen turned around and ask ed Tousen. “ The shinigam is have alm ost fin ished the w ar. As instructed, none o f our forces have returned.”

“ H m m , that w ill do”, A izen said. *** In H itsugaya‟s m ind, “ All th is pa in, so m uch pa in from all arou nd. I can‟t th ink anym ore. W hat is ha ppen ing?” A blue fig ure m ateria lized from the dark ness. H itsugaya cou ld n‟t see it properly but guessed, “H yourin m aru?” “You have been very hasty, haven‟t you? I suppo se som e o f it is m y fa ult” “W hat do yo u m ean your fau lt?” “R ealise, capta in. I am not a m ere Zanpak uto u as you are not a m ere sh in igam i-capta in” “I am not a m ere-? W hat do yo u m ean?” “H ave you ever thoug ht w hy on ly your Zan pak utou actua lly has the form o f a sacred beast and even m aterializes ?” “D on‟t play gam es w ith m e? Come to the point” “ There are no shortcuts in the path you are destined to fo llo w , even if som eone decides to cha nge your fate!” “ I-I still do n‟t k now w hat you m ean” “ I am not on ly your Zanpak uto u, I a m also your protector” “P rotector? I don‟t need a „protector‟!” “ O h yes you do. Tcheh! To th ink your character in th is life w ou ld be so w eak ! And D UM B !!!” “ You are fling ing insults w ith no clear reasons at all” “ Find your strength, chief, fin d you r reason. Fin d w hy you m ust fight an d stay alive” “ Stay alive? Am I go ing to die?” Hyourinmaru narrowed his eyes as he disappeared into the darkness, “ That‟s for you to decide” . ***

.......................................................... I am WELL-AWARE, this story has MILLIONS OF CONTRADICTIONS!! but this is my first attempt. Please comment if you want me to continue with this story which I hope to give no more than 3 parts. Please

don’t criticize me for blowing the story out of proportions or if I used too much pompous language. I will get the writer's block, you know. Damn! Its really hard writing stories! I just re-experienced this. As you will note, I actually stuck to the main story. I am mainly following the manga rather than the Bounto arc as in the anime. Many parts are repeated and are a sort of sum m ary of H itsugaya’s role in the m anga itself as much as I could allow within the scope of this setup. The anime will begin its Arrancar arc while the m anga is betw een it and H itsugaya’s role apparently has been taken out of the picture. I think Kubo Tite has som ehow toned dow n H itsugaya’s role after his rise in popularity. H e m ight have been scared that he could underm ine Ichigo at som e point of tim e, but that’s just M Y supposition. Ever note one thing, H itsugaya hasn’t m anage to kill anyone, not the Bounto he fought, not Luppi, neither Aizen nor Gin though his fights show that he fights to his limit and always always release his Bankai. I somehow think Kubo Tite may have made plans for him at the beginning but is going to cancel him to a nobody towards the end of the anime. At present, he does project Hitsugaya as the weakest of all the captains as admirable as his final release might be. The Bounto arc actually constantly pushes Ichigo to the frontal position and his attachment to Rukia. This is very dragging. I am very disappointed in Kubo Tite though I thank him for inventing Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. Lets hope we see the spark of the young captain in the next anime phase of the Arrancar as we had seen during the first phase of Seireitei.