Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry that it came out really late. Anyway, the timeline may be a bit messy but I really don't know the exact sequence of events during the Soul Society arc because of the many POV's in the manga and anime.
Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Making a Choice
Toshi buried her head deeper into the fabric she was lying on. Her head pounded almost as much as the time Rangiku (might have) accidentally spiked her tea a few years ago. She didn't even try to open her eyes just yet as the light was already blinding her when her eyes were closed. The young lady whimpered as the throbbing seemed to worsen before subsiding for the time being and saw that she was in the Third Division Office. Not sensing any danger, she slowly sat up. "Ichimaru-taichō?" she called. "Gin-san?" No one answered her calls. Her shoulders drooped when she realized she was alone in the office. She reminded herself that she would have to thank the captain for letting her rest in his office when she sees him again.
She wondered why she had a headache and felt tired since she should be used to staying up late by now. For some reason, Akaru and Yami were fairly agitated when she thought that but refused to explain when she asked. Brushing it off as compounded stress brought about by the ryoka and Aizen's murder, she made her way to the door. She was glad that she got the silver-haired captain's alibi and hoped that it was strong enough to hold if someone else questioned him.
She snuck out of the Third Division as it would raise questions she would rather not and/or didn't know how to answer if she was seen coming out of Gin's office and saw that the sky was pitch black. 'Did I really sleep that long?' She was halfway to her division when she felt the rise of a semi-familiar reiatsu from last night.
Her feet were making their way towards the source despite her brain telling her that the Quincy was near the Twelfth Division. Kurotsuchi-taichō scared her more than any other captain because he had absolutely no morals whatsoever. He was a genius but he was also a sociopath who was given far too much power. Toshi took a calming breath as she had no doubt that she would meet up with the deranged captain again tonight.
Just as she arrived in the area, a large explosion occurred. Now these were fairly uncommon but not nearly so that it was suspicious as the Twelfth Division was known for performing several dangerous and borderline illegal experiments; most of which involved some form of destructive force. However, she sped up when she heard the screams. 'What have you done now, Kurotsuchi-taichō?' she asked herself while hoping the Quincy was safe. The corridor where the commotion was coming from was right ahead of her. She saw a boy a bit older-looking than her run with his hand outstretched. She recognized him as one of the newly recruited shinigami who would practically drool whenever he saw Momo.
One minute, she was trying to recall what his name was in order to ask him what was going on; the next minute, she felt something warm and wet splash her in the face and chest as the force of the explosion sent her back a few feet. She could feel the heated air licked at her exposed skin. The metallic and sickly sweet scent of blood flooded her nose; with a shaking hand, Toshi did her best to wipe the blood off her face. The girl stood in shock before taking a hesitant step and then another towards the corridor; she pressed herself against the wall. In front of her was a thick cloud of smoke that was slowly dispersing; the Third Seat thought she could see something glowing but deemed it as non-threatening. Taking a peek on the other side of the passage, she saw the captain and vice-captain of the squad calmly observing the event. The way the captain's eyes gleamed at the moment reminded her of the night before.
Bravely, she stepped into the captain's line of sight. "Kurotsuchi-taichō," she asked in panic. "What's going on?" For once, the scientist ignored the younger shinigami in favor of something else. Against her better judgment, she took her eyes off the captain and saw that the glowing object was a triangular shield. It held up for a few minutes despite the giant cracks running through it before it shattered. She could see the black-clothed back of a boy who was comforting a teenaged girl with orange hair.
"The one who should be punished," the standing figure said, "is you!" Uryū glared at the odd-faced madman. He glanced at the other two people in the corridor. The tall doll-like shinigami standing beside the shorter hunched-over captain was most likely his lieutenant. She would be someone to look out because she would assist the man when they fought. The other looked younger than all the shinigami he and Orihime had encountered and she was covered with fresh blood, no doubt belonging to the three Twelfth Division members. He heard what she asked of Kurotsuchi and hoped that it meant she would not jump into the fight. Taking a second look while mechanically rejecting Kurotsuchi's 'generous offer' for Orihime, Uryū recognized the shinigami as the same one who tried to protect his grandfather.
"How about this!" Kurotsuchi practically yelled in excitement. "I'll give you top class special treatment." He rambled on, describing what he viewed as a good proposition which served only to make those not from the Twelfth Division sick.
"What of your men?" Toshi asked stoically. "Were they given even a fraction of what you have just offered?" Green eyes burned with rage at the inhumanity of the man before her. All eyes fell on her yet she paid no mind to anything other than the captain.
He snorted in response. "Don't be ridiculous, Hitsugaya-chan. I would never waste such privileges on those test subjects. They were useful only for this and even then they could not complete the task."
Toshi longed to draw her sword against the scientist but knew that it was against the law to attack a captain and she had a felling that Central 46 would not be as lenient as they were years ago. The boy, however, had no such restrictions; he appeared behind Kurotsuchi and had his weapon drawn. Unlike a shinigami, however, it was not the usual sword but an intricate dark blue and white bow. "Quincy…" Toshi's voice was barely heard over the crackling of the nearby torches but the young man easily read her lips.
'She remembers,' he thought. Sending a glare towards the Eleventh Division shinigami, Uryū ordered him to get Orihime to safety. The bullying coward did as he was told, not minding the girl's objections. Turning to the one he knew he could trust, the Quincy asked, "Hitsugaya-san, could you do what you can to keep my friend safe?"
She answered quickly before the captain could interrupt her. "I can't make any promises, Quincy-san." With that, she ran after the two who left. Unsaid words passed between them.
Let's talk after things calm down. Please be careful.
She had a horrible feeling that she just did something she shouldn't have when she turned her back on the Quincy but she knew it was for the best. Toshi took every shortcut she knew to get to the Eleventh Division in hopes of meeting up with Aramaki along the way.
She raced through the corridors when her instincts told her that there was danger nearby. She jumped back without a thought and escaped a punch that could have shattered her skull as easily as it smashed through the wall. Another punch came at her, forcing Toshi to dodge to the right. "I apologize but I have no time to waste, Kurotsuchi-fukutaichō."
Nemu straightened from her offensive position. "Mayuri-sama ordered me to retrieve the female ryoka for study and, if possible, you for experimentation."
"My division and several others will be less than pleased when they hear your captain's plans for me." She hated using the influence of her own position but she hated using the influence her brother and her friends had even more. Still, this was the quickest and most convenient way to avoid fighting with the Twelfth Division lieutenant.
Nemu stared blankly at the other girl. "Mayuri-sama reasoned out that confusion brought about by the ryoka would easily allow him to elude being incriminated." She slid into an offensive stance. "He means to proceed with them once he deals with the Quincy. As his lieutenant, it is my duty to capture his research subjects."
"Then why did you give Quincy-san the antidote to Ashisogi Jizō?" she whispered. She wouldn't put it past the scientist to use a surveillance system to spy on his division. After all, why else would Nemu talk about her father's plans instead of knocking her out as soon as she could?
Nemu's eyes widened at the quiet statement. She had hoped that no one would notice her slipping the bottle into the Quincy's shihakushō while everyone's attention was on the Third Seat.
It was a well-known rumor throughout Gotei 13 that the scientist's treatment of his subordinates was less than reasonable but no one could find enough evidence to truly accuse the man of anything illegal or inhumane. No one from the division would talk and he always seemed to know when there was someone observing him.
Nemu stayed silent and, for a moment, Toshi thought she could leave without engaging the stoic vice-captain. The air was knocked out of her when the taller woman buried her fist into her stomach. She was too slow to fully evade a kick to the head but backpedalled enough to escape the palm thrust to the chest. "I have to obey my captain's orders," she simply said.
Had it been anyone else, they would have thought that Nemu was nothing more than Kurotsuchi's tool. However, Toshi could tell that while she was being attacked by her fellow shinigami, the attacks were only truly destructive when they hit the wall or the tiled floor. From what she could recall from last night, the odd-faced captain wanted her for her sensing abilities so he probably wouldn't care if his test subject had broken bones for that kind of experiment.
Both girls took out their zanpakutō and began an elaborate and deadly dance. The sound of metal hitting metal was heard yet no one came to investigate. This did little to affect their performance. They silently agreed that while the victor was already decided, they couldn't risk the elder and more demented Kurotsuchi finding out that the fight was set up. Clothes were slashed and blood ran sluggishly from various wounds. Nemu was slowed slightly by a gash on her back while the cut on Toshi's shoulder was starting to bother her. The two blades met and each fighter tried to overpower the other. "It would be less difficult if you filed a complaint against him," the white-haired girl murmured.
A slight smile graced the other's face. It made her seem more human and yet that smile was full of regret and sadness. The reply was just as quiet. "He has ways of discouraging everyone from doing so. I also am unable to risk the wellbeing of those under me."
Toshi nodded in understanding as she broke the deadlock. Both prepared themselves. Using, shunpo, they rushed at each other. When one of them used a low-level Hado as a distraction and executed Hainawa, the other was defenseless. A deep non-fatal slash to the side ended the mock fight. One fell to the ground. "You fought well, Nemu-fukutaichō," she said.
A smile could be heard in her voice despite her injuries. "As did you, Toshi-san." Toshi helped the other green-eyed shinigami rest against the wall and did what she could to slow the bleeding on Nemu's side and back.
While Toshi was busy, Nemu regarded the young shinigami. She was powerful, easily somewhere between lieutenant-class and captain-class if she had to make a rough estimate. The girl's Shikai also made her curious as she heard rumors from shinigami in various divisions. It would have made her wonder why she was not requested to fill in the long empty position of the Thirteenth Division had she not known exactly how protective her brother and captain was of her. Still, it certainly would have made Ukitake-taichō happy to have her as his vice-captain.
She put those thoughts aside to discreetly check the portable surveillance monitor she had. "The ryoka made it safely out of the Twelfth Division and the Quincy won his battle but he's severely injured. There are also reports from the Sixth and Eighth Division that two heavily built ryoka were captured with somewhat serious injuries. "
Toshi thanked her for the information and made sure she was comfortable before both felt the effects of another fight, this one between two captains of Gotei 13. Exchanging a look with Nemu, Toshi gave a dejected look as she ran. As much as she wanted to make sure that Tōshirō and Gin don't kill each other, she would be more help if she were to question the female ryoka about their motives.
She snuck into the Eleventh Division easily since most of the shinigami were still recovering from their encounter with some of the ryoka. Before she could lock onto the girl's location, someone dragged her inside a room and quickly shut the door. As the young Third Seat picked herself up, she couldn't help but think, 'At least I don't have to wonder what side everyone's on.' In the room with the pair she was looking for were her close friends in the division.
"Neechan!" A blur barreled towards her and she almost made her lose her footing had she not gotten used to such greetings. Instead, she used the momentum of the pink cannonball of hyperness to spin in place before carrying her in her arms properly. "I knew Seppen-neechan would come if I brought Big Booby-neechan and Maki-Maki here!" Toshi blushed lightly at Yachiru's nickname for the girl. She was suddenly thankful for the decent nickname she got from the cute little girl.
Yumichika started fussing because of the blood she was covered in. "A beautiful young lady mustn't go around in such an ugly state," he nagged as he did his best to clean the other up. Toshi was blushing at the attention she was receiving from the people in the room. After a while, he gave it up as a bad job and started moaning over the fact that she couldn't change out of her clothes until later and began to treat her wounds. Aramaki and Ikkaku were laughing at the show the three were putting on while the captain had a wide and much less insane smile on his face.
"Konbanwa. I am the Third Seat of the Tenth Division, Hitsugaya Toshi." She was glad to finally introduce herself to the girl.
"Hajimemashite, Hitsugaya-san. I'm Inoue Orihime." Orihime was slightly anxious as she was in a room full of shinigami. Though Aramaki-san, Yachiru-chan and Ayasegawa-san seemed fairly harmless, the other two gave her the impression she was with someone involved with the yakuza. She was glad when the short, white-haired child was affectionately greeted as it broke the tension in the room and began to relax.
She gave Inoue a comforting smile. Before everything else, she told her about the Quincy's condition, as well as the detainment of two ryoka. Orihime wanted to rush to help Ishida with his injuries but Toshi managed to convince her that it was too dangerous to do that at the moment.
Toshi gave the girl time to calm down before interrogating her. "Inoue-san, I need to know why you and the others came to Seireitei and what you've done up to now." Orihime saw the worry and concern. She told the white-haired shinigami a very accurate summary of their reasons and activities, including everyone's relationship with Kuchiki-san and their meeting with the Shiba Clan.
Toshi relaxed after hearing her statements. 'At least we know they aren't responsible for Aizen-taichō's murder.' Suddenly, a jigokuchō flew into the room and announced that the date of execution would be at noon tomorrow.
Everyone wanted to help the ryoka since something was undoubtedly wrong in Seireitei and they wanted to fight. "We have to get some rest first. Besides, we need to plan to stop Kuchiki-san's execution. Whatever is going on, it ties directly to that," Toshi reasoned. Needless to say, that was quickly done, mainly because Kenpachi planned to break the ryoka out of the detainment section of the Fourth then make their way to the execution grounds on Sōkyoku Hill. With a captain so set on the 'plan' and the other shinigami supporting it, Toshi and Orihime had no real choice but to agree to it.
'It could work… After all, hardly anyone other than captain-class shinigami would dare to challenge Zaraki-taichō. And no one should expect something like this so soon,' Toshi thought. She wondered what her brother was doing right now. They weren't the type to keep grave secrets from each other and not telling him about her involvement with the ryoka was making her nervous. Still, it can't be helped; they were going through with the plan and what happens after will be for better or worse. She picked Yachiru up once more and managed to coax her into getting some sleep. The rest were already making themselves comfortable.
"You're worried 'bout tomorrow, aren't you?" Toshi nodded and Kenpachi sighed. He really was no good in comforting people but the girl beside him grew on him. "Shorty will understand once everything is over. Now get some sleep." Smiling gently at the brusque order, Toshi thanked him and soon nodded off.
He hated his superiors and wanted nothing more than to run them down with his Bankai and be rid of both of them. He lacked sleep, always had to keep his guard up and act a certain way and make sure he made no mistakes as Aizen's second-in-command and Yamamoto's spy. 'I better get a vacation if I live through this,' he bitterly thought, 'a really long vacation.'
The silver-haired man rested his head against the dark wood of the table. He didn't mind the other people occupying it and they didn't pay attention to his poor posture. After all, the dead would hardly care about that seeing as they too were slumped or leaning against something if they weren't in positions similar to the Third Division captain. Izuru, on the other hand, was resting outside the assembly hall as the blood and corpses made him uneasy.
Gin debated whether to pound his head against the table. On one hand, it might just make him listen to his often ignored common sense, which told him to either officially choose a side or just abandon both. However, banging his head would not only hurt, it would also cause his friend to panic and Aizen to suspect weakness and instability. He chose the latter as it might undo more than a hundred years of work.
"If yer bored, ya could snoop aroun' again," Shinsō suggested with a devilish grin. "We found a buncha real nice stuff last time."
His wielder's eye twitched. "I would rather not find out what else the old geezers have in their rooms and please do not refer to the closet of porn as 'real nice stuff' ever again." It was enough to embarrassing to find that; what made it worse was the fact that Aizen was with him when material after material fell on him. 'Dirty old bastards,' the fox-faced captain grumbled to himself.
He ignored his zanpakutō's cackling laughter and once more tried to see if he made any mistakes. Besides the obvious mistakes he made that would only affect his personal life, he couldn't think of anything that would affect his assignment though he had no doubt that Hitsugaya would not abandon a chance to take him down now that he threatened the naïve older sister.
"Cheer up, Aibou. At least ya getta take off part of yer mask in a few hours."
"That's true. I won't have to worry about people finding out that I'm Aizen's second-in-command so I just need to concentrate on keeping my spy status a secret." His mind drifted to what Toshi would think of him when he left Soul Society.
"Ya could talk ta her for a bit before ya gotta go," the skeletal spirit suggested.
"Too risky and we've been taking more than enough risks as it is." Shinsō tried to think of an argument before giving up. "Just be careful, Gin." he finally said before going off to rest.
He made himself comfortable; Aizen told him it would be an eventful day tomorrow. After all, the Kuchiki girl's execution is at noon and they would be leaving a bit after that.
Glossary
Aibou: partner
Bankai: second and final upgraded form of a Zanpakutō
Hado: offensive spells
Hajimemashite: "Nice to meet you"
Konbanwa: "Good evening"
Shikai: second form (or first "upgraded" form) available to a Zanpakutō
Yakuza: are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan
Kido list
Hainawa: Bakudō 4; creates an energy rope entangles the target's arms