Chaper Thirty-Four: Putting the Past to Rest

The appearance of the dragon was not something that Hitsugaya had been expecting and even though expecting and even though Edward confirmed that he wasn't seeing things the Squad Ten Captain still found it hard to believe. His teal eyes remained focused on the creature as it shifted, writing through the air as it transformed. His hand reflexively closed around the hilt of his zanpaktou, his stance making it clear that he was preparing for a fight.

"I can take care of this…I'm not going to lose to him…" Edward said when he noticed that Hitsugaya seemed to be preparing to join the fray. It would probably have been the smarter move to allow the white haired captain to join in the battle but there was just something about this that was personal and Ed wanted to finish it himself.

He felt that he had to, on some level.

Al could guess just how his brother was feeling about it since he knew the grudge that the older boy felt toward the homunculus but he was worried about the outcome of this fight. Not because he doubted his brother's skills but because he knew that Envy wasn't likely to be playing fair and that was of course a cause for concern. Because all other defects aside his brother had more honor than one might expect and he didn't stoop to playing dirty in a fight.

"Brother I really wish so many people didn't wanna kill you," Al said as he came up behind them, his own gaze focused on the dragon that was envy. He too had his zanpaktou at the ready but since his powers were more in the realm of healing and less in the realm of fighting he wasn't entirely sure that there was anything he was going to be able to do.

"Are you ready to actually listen to me and harness my true potential?"

Again there was that familiar voice echoing in the back of his mind and again there was the overwhelming urge to snap at his zanpaktou and tell him to be less of an ass. Edward actually refrained from doing this however and for once managed to calm his temper enough to nod his head. "I'm ready to fight and this time we're going to win," he said, his voice filled with resolve as his grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. "Shine the light of truth upon my enemies, Hikari no Shinjitsu!"

Again a light enveloped the miniscule blade of the sword and this time around Edward tossed it into the air, watching it spin as it transformed into the staff that he was more skilled at wielding than a blade. Leaping up into the air himself he caught the staff mid-spin and landed in a crouch, his golden eyes focused on Envy. "You ready for this?" he called out, talking to the dragon as much as he was talking to his comrades in arms.

Hitsugaya was still uncertain about allowing Edward to go this one alone but it had been made abundantly clear that this was what the blond haired pain in the neck wanted so he made a decision in that moment. He was still gripping the hilt of Hyourinmaru in his hand and he was planning on joining the fight if it seemed as though Edward was in immediate danger but so long as the blond menace was able to hold his own then he would allow the fight to play out as it would.

Because he could understand a thing or two about personal grudges and the need to settle them.

"If you lose to this guy you're never going to live it down," Hitsugaya called out as he watched Edward twirling the staff that was his zanpaktou's shikai form. While it may appear as though he were trying to taunt the other boy that actually wasn't the case, he knew that Edward was fueled on in battle by anger, he had seen it enough during their little sparring matches to be intimately familiar with the way that he worked and he was attempting to add a little fuel to this flame so that Edward would stand more of a fighting chance.

Aside from that he just stood back with Alphonse and watched what was going on, an intense look in his teal eyes.

"This time we're going to do it or die trying," Edward said in a low voice as he gripped the staff in his hand, a look of determination appearing in his golden eyes.

"I really don't like that second option so you'd better be going with the first…"

"And you think I like the thought of dying? Wow, you are seriously…" Edward started to rant at his zanpaktou but then he once again remembered that the two of them were supposed to be partners. That realization, and the fact that Envy appeared on the verge of attack, served to spur him in the direction of actually focusing on what he was doing. Again the intense look appeared in his golden eyes as he watched the movements of the dragon, preparing himself for the inevitable lunge that he knew was coming.

That was the one good thing about the dragon's movements, they were at least predictable.

Forcing himself to remain calm, and exercise that patience that his infuriating zanpaktou was always trying to get from him, Edward watched the dragon's movements as Envy came toward him. Keeping his golden gaze locked in place Edward waited, having to literally force himself not to react until the timing was right. When the dragon got close enough he leapt into the air and swung the staff that he was holding, using the blade that was at the tip of it to slice the dragon across the side.

A move that gained a screech of pain from Envy.

"He may be able to pull this off…I've never actually seen him being so calm in a fight before," Hitsugaya said, sounding a mixture of shocked and perhaps a little impressed. This was certainly something that he had never witnessed during his fights with the blond haired menace to society and he was finding it hard to believe that he was actually managing it now.

But it seemed as though he was able to come through when it counted.

"Nii-san can occasionally pull it together, when he needs to," Al said quietly, his gaze also focused on the fight as his brother engaged the dragon again. There was a look of concern in his eyes as he watched the fight and he was praying the entire time that his brother would come out of it okay. He knew that his brother was skilled but he also knew that Edward wasn't invincible and he didn't want to lose him again.

This time around it may very well be permanent.

Hitsugaya just nodded his head in response to the words that Al offered and went back to watching the fight, his teal eyes following the movements of both combatants. And as the fight progressed it became more and more apparent that Edward was actually managing to work as a team with his zanpaktou. There was no needless fighting, there wasn't even any arguing, it seemed as though Ed was completely focused on what he was doing and Hikari no Shinjitsu was actually listening to his master.

It seemed the pair had truly made progress.

With one last scream of rage Edward slashed the dragon across the throat, severing a major artery and getting sprayed with blood in the process. The blood of Envy mixed with the blood from his own wounds but Edward didn't care, he was just grateful to have managed that shot. All but falling to the ground he watched as the dragon writhed around in pain for several minutes before finally going still.

"Nii-san!" Al exclaimed as he rushed over, his gaze quickly shifting over his brother's body as he took in Edward's condition. He couldn't exactly tell where the slightly older boy was injured because he was drenched in Envy's blood but after a moment he just decided that it didn't matter. Pulling out his own zanpaktou he murmured the release and then watched as Ed's wounds faded away, leaving him still bloody but now fully intact.

"Thanks Al," Ed said quietly when he felt the pain from the wounds fading.

"Maybe you aren't so useless after all," Hitsugaya said as he looked down at Edward, a bit impressed that he had managed to win that fight on his own if he were being honest about it. His teal eyes held a measure of respect for the blond youth in that moment but that certainly didn't mean that they were friends.

"And maybe you're not a complete jerk…" Edward said with a slight smirk, the blond getting to his feet and stretching as he watched his zanpaktou revert back to its sealed form. "Still can't believe it's a kitchen knife…" he muttered but at the same time he was grateful for the help that his partner had offered during that fight.

"You're hopeless," Al said with a shake of his head before looking at the two of them and adding, "Let's head back."

"Let's," Ed agreed with a nod of his head. "I could use a nap…maybe a couple days' long one…"

Al just sort of shook his head while Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, the trio once again giving one last look at what remained of their enemy before turning and walking away. It had been a long ordeal and Ed wasn't the only one that wanted to rest from it, the consensus was pretty universal from the other two as well.

Now that the threat had been taken care of hopefully things would go back to normal, or as normal as it was possible for them to be in the Soul Society. At the very least Hitsugaya was ready to get Ed out of his squad and back in Squad Five where he belonged so that he could be Kurosaki's problem and not his. HE didn't say any of that out loud however and instead just walked back a short distance behind the pair of brothers, wondering as he did so what would be in store for them next.

And hoping that it did not involve him.

A/N: The End. I know I said two more chapters but decided to wrap it up with just one. Hope that you enjoyed the ride, thanks for reading.