Here is the eighth chapter! Things are finally beginning to wrap up. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in any way shape or form.
Hitsugaya balanced on the ledge outside of Ichigo's window, waiting for him to stand up and let him in. However, he just sat on the side of the bed, his head cradled in his hands as his entire body shook with fear and rage.
"Ichigo, let me in," Hitsugaya's voice rang out with as much authority as he could muster for being in such a groveling position. "I need to talk to you."
"Go away," Ichigo's voice was bitter and as he looked up to meet Hitsugaya's gaze, his brown eyes flashed dangerously.
"I don't want to break your window and wake up Yuzu and your dad, but if I have to I will. So just let me in, Ichigo."
Grudgingly, Ichigo stood up and walked to the window to unlock it and then slide it open. But instead of stepping back to let Hitsugaya in, he kicked him square across the chest and watched as he careened to the pavement below. Following suit, he jumped out of the window and landed lightly on the ground next to him.
"You're not setting foot inside my house," he growled.
"I just want to talk," Hitsugaya stood up and gently massaged his ribs in the place where he had been kicked, tenderly feeling if any were broken. "I'm going to Soul Society tonight to talk to Yamato-taichou. I don't know how well our conversation will go over, but I promise you that I am fighting for Karin," his voice rang sharp with conviction and his eyes dared Ichigo to contradict him.
"I'm coming with you."
"You can't. This may be out of Yamato's control; the Central 46 could be controlling Karin's fate in which case…" his voice trailed off ominously. "If you lose your temper, there could be serious consequences that make things even worse for Karin. However, I will find a way for you to come tomorrow. Trust me on this."
Ichigo turned away to look up at the stars shining brightly down upon them. When at last he spoke his voice had none of the anger from before, and instead was full of sadness and regret. "Protect her please, Hitsugaya. I can't let her go, not yet at least. She means too much…"
"I'll do my best," he replied. With those words it felt as if a weight had been placed upon his shoulders making everything, even walking, seem more strenuous. He had a commitment not only to Ichigo, but also to himself to protect Karin. Fist clenched in determination, he walked away from Ichigo and back towards Urahara's shop where he would leave for Soul Society.
Hitsugaya swept down the hallway of the first squad barracks; his posture and movements seemed to ring out his sense of purpose.
"H-Hitsugaya-taichou!" the shinigami stationed outside of the captain's quarters exclaimed as he saw the approaching figure. "Yamato-taichou told me to be ready for your arrival tomorrow. What are you doing back early?"
Hitsugaya glared at the man, his icy stare making the man regret asking about the captain's business. "I need to speak to Yamato."
"He's asleep right now, but I'm sure tomorrow because you are a captain…"
"It's urgent. Wake him, please," despite the words being so polite, the tone his voice showed his growing impatience at the man's behavior.
"I-I can't do that, Taichou. He s-said that he didn't want anyone disturbing him," his eyes flew open in fear as Hitsugaya's finger lightly traced the decorations on the handle of Hyourinmaru. But before he could say or do anything else, the captain's door slid open to reveal Yamato, his face as impassive as ever.
"Hitsugaya-taichou, you are supposed to be arriving tomorrow with the Visored."
"We need to have a captain's meeting before I do so," Hitsugaya's voice was as steady as he could manage, but he couldn't help but feel doubt creeping into his stomach. Pulling a stunt like this could have very high consequences in the shinigami world. Thinking of Karin though, his resolve tightened and his eyes narrowed in determination.
"It's the middle of the night. Is this really necessary?"
"Yes. It concerns Ichigo and the Visored. There has been a complication."
"Very well," Yamato conceded, motioning to his attendant. "Dispatch the message: captain's meeting in 15 minutes."
The man nodded, and vanished from sight.
"Shall we?" Yamato asked, turning to watch Hisugaya.
"Go ahead without me; I just need to do one thing first," he replied, before turning on his heel and hurrying down the maze of hallways towards the fifth squads barracks. He rushed into the vice captain's room, glad for once that Hinamori didn't want an attendant outside her room when she slept, and shook her shoulders to wake her.
"Shiro-chan?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What are you doing here so late?"
"I just want you to know that I might be gone for a little while. I just want you to tell Granny that I love her. And of course, you know that I love you."
"I love you, too, Shiro-chan. Where are you going?"
"I'm going to stand up for what I believe in…"
"What do you mean? Shiro, what's going on? Are you in trouble?" she asked, the grogginess in her voice evident. She struggled to sit up fully to wake herself up more.
"Everything is going to be okay, Hinamori. Don't worry," he gently comforted her, resting his hands on her shoulders to stop her from sitting up. "But I really have to go now, we have a captain's meeting and I can't be late for it," he said as he tried forcing a smile.
"Alright. Bye, Shiro-chan," she said smiling back at him.
"Bye, Hinamori," he replied, standing up to stride across the room and exit quietly. As he slid the door closed behind him, his brows furrowed. He really shouldn't have gone to visit her, but he had no idea what was going to happen at this meeting. Besides, seeing his "sister" always calmed his nerves, and he really did need to tell her loved her once more.
Hurrying back towards the main building, he saw Ukitake-taichou walking slowly across the wooden flooring. Hitsugaya quickly caught up with him, and politely smiled as he slid open the door to the captain's meeting. They entered and took their respective places.
"Now that all the captains are gathered we can begin," Captain Commander Yamato addressed the waiting captains, looking at each expectant face. "Hitsugaya-taichou is the one who has asked me to call this meeting, so I will let him speak."
All eyes turned to look at Hitsugaya, and had he not been so determined he might have blushed, especially when Mayori grumbled, "he could have picked a more convenient meeting time."
Ignoring the complaint, Hitsugaya addressed the group. "As you know, I was sent to the Real World to investigate some unusual reaitsu that had been reported by a shinigami stationed in Karakura Town. I have found that the source is a Visored; her name is Kurosaki Karin." He paused a murmur ran throughout the group. "As you can imagine, this could cause severe problems depending upon our punishment for Karin. We have already seen what Ichigo can do when he is protecting the ones he loves. For example, he stopped the execution of Kuchiki Rukia with ease. If we are to harm his sister, who is to say that he won't attack Soul Society?"
"We can take him," Kenpachi laughed, brushing off the severity of the situation. A few of the other captains nodded in agreement, but it was clear that some considered Ichigo to be a threat.
"Obviously one shinigami won't overthrow Soul Society, but he is strong enough to make his mark. Especially with the help of his father, Kurosaki Isshin, and some of his powerful friends, including Urahara Kisuke," Hitsugaya pressed.
"Two former captains and an angry teenager who is probably stronger than the both of them…" Unohana's quiet voice trailed off.
"Now we all know Ichigo would be boneheaded enough to attack Soul Society, but would Urahara and Isshin really come with him?" Soifon asked, the doubt clear in her voice.
"There is chance that both of them will come. They have their motives: obviously, Isshin to support his son and avenge his daughter; Urahara to rid himself of his guilt of betraying a young girl to Soul Society."
"They know the power of Soul Society though, so would they be willing to sacrifice their lives?"
"We won't be able to know until tomorrow. If this is a gamble that the majority of captains are willing to take then we will not differ from the original plan."
"Well what do you propose as action?" Ukitake asked.
"We could assure Ichigo that his sister will be taken into Soul Society and held in a special facility to contain the Hollow until we figure a way to get it out of her."
"Central 46 will be in charge of her punishment, so we can't make such promises to him," the Captain Commander stated.
Hitsugaya felt his stomach drop as he lost hope of reducing Karin's punishment to anything less than imprisonment for life or death. "There's nothing else we can do then, besides bring Ichigo with us tomorrow when we submit Karin before the Central 46. Hopefully, we will be able to talk him out of any reckless behavior." His brow furrowed as he thought of this alternative, unhappily acknowledging that there was nothing he could do.
"Do we know what degree of punishment the Central 46 will decide the Visored deserves?" Kyoraku asked.
"Deserves?" Hitsugaya asked quietly. He could feel the rage building in his veins: anger against Soul Society and anger against himself for not being able to do anything to stop it. "Do you really think that an innocent 12 year old girl deserves to suffer from becoming a Visored? Does she deserve to have a room full of strangers decide whether events outside of her control are serious enough to have her executed?" Hitsugaya spat bitterly.
If anyone's mind had been wandering from the conversation, their attention was suddenly brought back. It was so unlike the typically calm, reserved, and regulation upholding Hitsugaya lose his cool like this. He could feel everyone eye's watching him in surprise, but he couldn't take the words back now that he had said them.
"She killed a girl," Byuakua spoke, his voice cold and emotionless.
"It wasn't premeditative; she didn't even chose kill the girl. It was accidental and happened in her struggle to suppress the inner Hollow," Hitsugaya defended Karin, making everyone stare even harder at him, wondering what was causing him to act so out of character.
"Manslaughter," he coolly countered.
"Accusing her of manslaughter doesn't make what we are doing any more right! This isn't an eye for an eye; we are choosing to take her life! It's not right!" Hitsugaya exclaimed, regretting the words before he spoke them but was unable to stop them from tumbling out of his mouth. It was an unwritten rule as a captain to never directly criticize Soul Society, yet Hitsugaya had anyways. He could feel the eyes of all the captains upon his back, seemingly burning holes in his body. There was a long pause, and finally when he couldn't take it anymore he broke it.
"I should get back to the Real World. I need to summon Ichigo and make sure that the Visored is ready to travel," he said carefully, making sure to call Karin 'the Visored' instead of by her name.
Yamato nodded solemnly. "You are dismissed."
Before anyone else had time to say or do anything, Hitsugaya 'shunpo'ed from the room, the anger and adrenaline still running though his body. But as he moved farther away from the hall, he could feel it slowly drain to be replaced by another emotion: anxiety. With the future as uncertain as his, Ichigo's, and Karin's it was hard not to panic.
So what did you think? Leave a comment telling me what you thought! OR you can message me. Thanks!
I think that there will be two more chapters before it finishes, so look forward to that. :)