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Past Melodies	By : shadoesong Category: Bleach > General Views: 1027 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and its characters, nor do I profit from this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 4

A week later, Aika had recovered completely. She had received word three days ago from Captain Unohana that she could go from light duties to her regular ones. Daisuke's charges had been dropped, everyone had managed to convince Central 46 that it was an accident, and he had been allowed to go to the World of the Living with Rin.

Toshiro had kept his distance, but was no longer deliberately avoiding Aika. Hinamori was now allowed visitors. The dark woman had heard from Rangiku that he had been spending a lot of time with her. He held quite a bit of guilt in regards to the 5th Lieutenant's condition, but she was glad to hear that he wasn't trying to keep his distance like he had with Aika in order to protect her..

Just as the small woman had promised Jinsoku Koshi, she was taking it easy. That is, until one of her subordinates came running into the office with a discerning report.

"Captain, 4th Seat Shidehara's report just came in," he told her. "She's requesting assistance from a Captain-class shinigami."

The presence of such a powerful hollow meant that there was definitely something wrong. Even though the scans by the 12th Division had come up with nothing, the attacks on the village were telling another story. And since Izuru was in the World of the Living for a few days, Aika would have to take care of it.

"I'll go, then," she said, standing. "Contact Squad 4 and ask for a unit to be sent to the village immediately to deal with the casualties."

"Hai!" The messenger turned and ran off to fulfill his orders. Aika grabbed her zanpakuto and left as well. She just about ran into Toshiro as she slid open the door.

"Aika... I wanted to talk," he said.

"Toshiro!" she said in surprise. "I'm sorry. My 4th Seat's report just came in. She has requested assistance." He looked at her in alarm.

"Is that wise?" he said in concern, his hand rising to cup her cheek. The short Captain paused, self-consciously, letting his arm drop to his side, instead. "Maybe someone else should go."

"My squad is my responsibility," she admonished. "Shidehara and her unit will be there to back me up."

"At least let me go with you," he offered. She hesitated only a second before nodding.

"All right. I have a feeling that we're going to find out what is actually causing these incidents," she said ominously, giving him a grateful smile. They left the division and launched into shunpo.

"Where are we headed?" Toshiro questioned the woman.

"A small village. We have regular patrols stationed there because it's so remote," she began to explain.

"Why does it require such an obvious shinigami presence?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Good question," Aika said, earning a sharp look from Toshiro. "We've been having a lot of activity in that area. Squad 12 insists that there isn't anything unusual going on. The number of reports from the locals and the shinigami posted there suggests otherwise. Unit 9 is 4th Seat Shidehara Hei's unit. She wouldn't request assistance unless a Captain-class shinigami was needed."

"Which would mean-?!" the white haired Captain growled.

If the presence of a Captain-class shinigami was needed, well, the implications could lead to some serious accusations. A hollow that powerful couldn't have been missed. Though, if it was incompetence then it would be best to know who it was in order to get rid of them for not doing their job.

"Exactly. Something that powerful could not have gone unnoticed. Either someone has seriously dropped the ball or it's being deliberately ignored," Aika finished, grimly.

Reishi leaks were common. If a hollow opened a garganta near such a leak, and was then eliminated by a shinigami, the garganta could go undetected. If the leak was big enough, it would slowly tear a larger hole and attract more hollows to it. If an Adjuchas had taken interest that meant the garganta was fairly large. In order to eliminate the leak and close the garganta, dozens of members of Squad 12 and the Kido Corps would need to be called in. Fortunately, these occurrences were rare.

"Then it's about time this situation got the attention it deserves," Toshiro said, his tone hard. He was known for not suffering fools lightly.

Like any journey out of Sereitei and into Rukongai, it took time to reach their destination. It took longer since Toshiro insisted on resting every once in a while. They had left in the morning, but by the time they reached the village it was late in the afternoon.

The battle was in between attacks by the time of their arrival. Damage had been dealt to a majority of the buildings on the northern edge of the villages. Aika could sense her subordinates in the centre of the village along with the residents, so she and Toshiro went that way.

Fourth Seat Shidehara had sensed their arrival, and had come to meet them. She was an older woman. Her remaining eye was green, and she had iron grey hair that was cut close to her head. The veteran officer wore a patch over her left eye that, also, partially covered a nasty scar that ran vertically from her forehead to her jaw. She was about Rin's height, taller than the Captains that she approached. The 4th Seat bowed to them respectfully.

"Greetings, Captain Hitsugaya, Captain Kawasuzu," the older woman said in a gravelly voice. She didn't question the presence of the Squad 10 Captain. She hadn't been expecting him, but she thought the same as her Captain. Any help was welcome.

"What's the situation, Shidehara?" the dark skinned woman asked.

"My unit and I have most of the villagers gathered in the centre of the village." She gestured to the crowd of souls. "The bastards are well organized. My guess is that it's a powerful Adjuchas or even a Vasto Lourdes in charge. Bad news is...I'm seldom wrong. We're expecting another attack, soon. I can sense them in the forest, waiting for us to let our guard down."

"They may back off now that two Captains are here," Toshiro pointed out.

"They may also launch a desperate attack to try and eliminate us immediately, too," Aika added. "Have you seen the leader?"

"Not really. The bastard likes to hang back near the trees and send the lower levelled hollows at us. Then, he tries to pick us off from a distance. The bastard throws daggers at us. We can't get close to him," Shidehara informed them.

"You mentioned most villagers. How many are missing? Do we have any casualties?"

"Not today, but the elders are doing a head count now." As if summoned, an elder Aika was familiar with walked up to them and greeted them.

"Captain Kawasuzu, I'm glad you are dealing with this personally." The elder gave her a small bow. He wore a grey yukata that reached his sandalled feet. His face was mapped in wrinkles. He looked to be in his senior years.

"I promised that we would get to the bottom of these attacks. Elder, I would like to introduce you to Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro of Squad 10." The small Captain nodded to the elder while the latter bowed in greeting. When he straightened up, he spoke.

"Everyone has been accounted for except for the group that went into the forest to gather firewood. They are mostly children with an adult to supervise. We are most anxious to see them home safe."

"We'll do what we can to ensure that happens. First, we must secure the area," Aika reassured the old man.

Once he had returned to the other villagers, she erected a barrier around them. They would be able to fight without worrying about friendly fire. The attack came when the short woman was inciting the incantation. Aika heard Shidehara release her sword.

"Diverge, Toriniti!"

Three clones of the gruff veteran were created, each attacking a separate enemy. The attack force of the unit was now almost doubled. The shinigami made short work of the hollows. The battle was over before Aika could finish the incantation for the barrier.

"Hah! They must be desperate, then. Most likely nervous now that you and Captain Hitsugaya have arrived," Shidehara deduced once the attackers were dealt with. She sealed her weapon as she walked toward her Captain. Unfortunately, the older woman had spoken too soon.

"The missing villagers! They're coming in from the west!" One of Shidehara's unit, Akira, yelled before engaging one of the hollows that were chasing the five children. Aika noticed that one of the children had tripped. A young woman had stayed to protect him.

Without hesitation, Aika and Toshiro went to their aid. Judging by the strength in the hollow's reiatsu, this was the leader. He had targeted the young woman, who had a strong presence herself. The woman's reddish brown hair caught the short woman's attention, distracting her for a moment, as Aika landed beside her.

"Run Hiro-chan!"

The girl threw the stick she had in her hand at the hollow. Aika stood in shock, staring at the girl. The small Captain, realizing that Aika was distracted, was the first to attack. His swing wounded the hollow enough to make it retreat. He looked back at the two women.

The leader took the Captain's distraction and used it to his advantage when one of the lower ranked shinigami, Kawasaki Yoshi, was knocked unconscious by one of its minions. It snatched the prone man. This prize was worth more than the girl. With its wounds and the shinigami slowing it down, the leader made a retreat. Not caring about the fate of its followers.

"Aika! If we're quick we can follow it!" he exclaimed, trying to get her attention focused on what was happening. Aika dragged her gaze from the girl to look at him. She was clearly shocked by the young woman's presence.

"Wait! I think I know where they're coming from. There's an old shrine up the mountain, northwest of here. It gives me the tingles. There's a caretaker's hut there, too," the young woman explained. She was not much taller than Aika. Her green eyes sparkled with determination and intelligence. Wisps of red hair were coming out of her braid, falling into her face.

"Here, it's our food. There's enough to last you a couple days." She handed Aika a basket of food, before picking up the frightened boy at her feet. "Be careful. Safe hunting."

"Aika! We must go! Now!" Toshiro grabbed her arm to make his point. With one last look back at the girl, she took off after the wounded hollow. He was right. This was the best chance to get her squad member back.

The two of them concealed their reiatsu while they tracked the wounded hollow. Aika could feel Toshiro's gaze upon her from time to time. She could feel him trying not to ask the questions he wanted to. She couldn't blame him. She would have a lot of questions for him if he had suddenly froze up in the middle of battle.

Toshiro could feel that they were nearing the shrine the young girl was talking about. The reiatsu that was being emitted would certainly mask a garganta opening. They paused at a small waterfall to get their bearings.

"It's slowing down. We're going to need to follow it by sight soon," Aika mentioned.

"Yeah, that leak is going to make it impossible for us to track it," the white haired Captain said in agreement.

"I don't like the idea of trying to track this thing in the dark, either. As it is, we aren't going to make it back to the village before nightfall."

Once darkness fell, the hollow's prisoner would have no chance. Neither of them voiced that thought, even though it was foremost in their minds. It did put more urgency in their steps as they continued the chase. They caught sight of it as it jumped the river below the waterfall.

It was an Adjuchas. It probably stumbled upon this area and decided the village was easy pickings. Adjuchas, like the Vasto Lourdes, rarely left Hueco Mundo, much less preyed on anything other than their fellow hollows. Only shinigami helped them grow more powerful, normal souls were fairly poor pickings.

There was something different about this hollow, though. Aika inhaled sharply, looking at her fellow Captain. He had picked up on it, too. The Adjuchas was close to evolving, explaining its decision to forgo the dangers of attacking other hollows and attacking weaker, easier prey instead.

It was definitely moving towards the old shrine. It was almost bird-like in its appearance. It's mask had a beak giving one this impression even more. It had skeletal, vestigial wings on its back. The bone like crest that continued from the edge of its mask down its spine resembled feathers.

The creature had noticed them, too. It disappeared using sonido. To Aika's relief it still had Yoshi in its grasp. The two shinigami followed the hollow.

"I'll head it off!" Aika cried.

She was the faster of the two of them. The short woman disappeared before Toshiro could say a word. He scowled, clenching his teeth. The white haired man was left scrambling to catch up.

The shrine was fashioned from the rock of the mountain it was on. Its entrance was flanked by intricately carved pillars. The Adjuchas was so very close to the garganta. It was located within the shrine. With its prize, it felt for certain that once it consumed the shinigami it would evolve.

"You will not stop me from reaching my potential, foolish Captains!" it screeched when Aika landed in front of it, cutting off its escape through the gate. Toshiro was at the entrance of the shrine, effectively trapping it.

The Adjuchas plunged its sharp beak into the young shinigami's torso and quickly devoured him. Aika and Toshiro weren't fast enough to save Yoshi.

"No!" the dark skinned woman screamed.

Its entire body began to glow, and a huge explosion of reiatsu burst from the hollow. Both Captains were sent flying back. In an attempt to eliminate it while it was at its most vulnerable, Toshiro held out his hands and yelled.

"Hado #63: Raikoho!"

The spiritual pressure caused the garganta to tear, growing even bigger. Just as the spell was completed, a shock wave burst forth from the garganta. It whipped past the white haired Captain. His eyes widened when the spell backfired on him, exploding in his face. He was able to contain most of the power, but the explosion caused him some minor burns.

"What the hell-?!" he exclaimed. He knew for sure that he was capable of using those high level spells. Why had it...? He looked at the garganta. Had the abrupt tearing that caused that shock wave also caused his spell to malfunction, somehow?

The hollow had gained a humanoid form, now that he was a Vasto Lourdes. He had lost his beak, but still had the wing like appendages on his back. On his forearms were black razor feathers that he could shoot at his enemy. He had more of those razor feathers on his back. Both his hands and feet had sharp talons on them. His hair was a wild, white feather like mane with a black feathered crest. He had orange markings around his eyes, like a raccoon. Most of his mask remained, though, covering the rest of his face.

Aika and Toshiro didn't waste any time in attacking the hollow. They both released their zanpakuto. When the Vasto Lourdes swung his arms, dozens of the razor feathers were sent hurtling towards the two Captains. Aika called a wall of lightning between them and their opponent, eliminating most of the projectiles. Two got through, with one imbedding itself in Toshiro's right side beneath his ribs and the other leaving a deep cut in Aika's leg.

When the white haired Captain fell to his knees, the hollow mistakenly thought that he was out of the fight. He turned to focus on Aika. The moment he turned his back on Toshiro, the Captain lunged. He swung his sword, and a huge ice dragon slammed into the Vasto Lourdes, encasing it in ice. Aika finished the creature off with a powerful bolt of lightning that shattered the ice and the hollow.

Toshiro was wavering on his feet. The wound he'd received had been far more serious than he thought. He used his sword to help keep himself upright. Aika rushed over to help steady him, but he collapsed into her arms instead. Both their swords clattered to the ground.

"Toshiro!" she cried.

"Everything's going...numb... Poison?" he managed. "The...garganta..."

"It's too big, we'll need to call in the Kido Corps," she told him.

Aika gently lowered him to the floor. The small woman wanted to see how bad the wound was. If the projectile had missed the major arteries she could move him to someplace warmer. The white haired man may be able to tolerate the cold, but Aika could already feel her fingers going stiff. The dark woman sighed in relief when she found the razor feather was only embedded shallowly.

She remembered passing the caretaker's hut on the way to the shrine. Since it was starting to get dark, she was sure that they would need to stay there for the night. Especially with Toshiro in such a condition. Hopefully it was stocked for the winter.

"Toshiro," the woman called to him, cupping his face with her hands. Her concern spiked when he had a hard time focusing on her.

"Yeah," he slurred.

"I have to move you. I'm going to take you somewhere warmer."

"'Kay."

Aika lifted the short man in her arms as gently as possible. Toshiro hissed in pain, but soon settled. She used shunpo to get to the hut.

The hut wasn't really a hut. The building had been hewn from the surrounding cave. Whoever built it had made it to last. The wooden structure was integrated seamlessly with the stone. All the inside needed was a quick sweep.

It was noticeably warmer inside. A fire would quickly warm the interior. A fireplace was situated against one of the stone walls. It took advantage of a natural hole in the stone that would function as a chimney. Beside the fireplace was a box full of wood.

Aika went to work building a fire once she laid Toshiro on the floor. Just as she had the fire going, the small Captain began to cough up blood. The dark woman went to his side. The poison was much more potent than she had feared.

Checking her phone, she found that the shock wave had fried it. Sure enough, the white haired Captain's was in a similar condition. She would not be able to call for help.

Ossan, I need your help, she called to her zanpakuto, unsheathing her wakizashi.

Beloved, you know I only-

Will he survive without your help? Aika pleaded.

The kirin sighed at her question. He had never healed anyone other than his Mistress. But it struck the creature that if the members of the 4th could use the patient's reiatsu to heal then maybe he could, too.

I think I may be able to help him, Beloved.

Jinsoku Koshi manifested into his humanoid form since his other form would be too bulky in the enclosed space. His appearance resembled his kirin form. His crackling mane of electricity nearly touched the ground. Two kirin horns curled back from his forehead, and his eyes glowed white with power. Iridescent blue scales trailed down the tops of his arms and shoulders, as well as his back. Rather than human feet, he had cloven hooves. His tail, which whipped about in constant motion, had the same blue scales running along its length. The tuft at the end crackled with electricity. A white pair of flowing draw-string pants were all that covered his lower half.

Kneeling at the short Captain's side, Jinsoku Koshi put his hand on his forehead. The man was burning up. Aika slid Toshiro's katana from his back while the kirin began to untie the sash holding his hakama.

"Beloved, check to see if there are linens or towels that we can use for bandages," Jinsoku ordered.

The small woman went to the cedar cabinets and drawers to rummage through them. The place was well stocked. She noted the blankets and the futon. They would need those later. In one of the drawers she found a first aide kit, of sorts. Grabbing the strips of rolled cloth, she went back to kneeling beside the prone man.

"I need you to pull the projectile out while I heal him," the kirin explained.

Toshiro was completely undressed except for his small clothes. The short man, also, had minor burns along his forearms. They looked like a bad sunburn.

"I'm ready when you are," she said, gripping the razor feather firmly with a hand wrapped in cloth. She didn't want to be sliced.

"Very well. On my mark. ...Mark!"

Aika quickly pulled out the projectile. Before the white haired man lost too much blood, Jinsoku closed the wound. Sitting Toshiro up, the two quickly wrapped the bandages around his middle. Once the Captain was lying down, the kirin continued to neutralize the poison.

Rather than hover over the kirin while he worked, the small woman decided to grab the futon and blankets from the cabinets. Just as she set down the blankets, Jinsoku Koshi looked up at her.

"I have purged the poison from his system. Now he needs rest. I'll help you move him to the futon."

The kirin stood, grabbing the futon, he began to roll it out in front of the fireplace. Once they had finished making the Captain comfortable, he turned to her. Jinsoku Koshi raised his hand to brush his Mistress' cheek.

"I am grateful that Hitsugaya Toshiro accompanied you today, Beloved. I cannot bare to think what could have happened if you had to face that monster yourself," he murmured.

"You worry too much, Ossan," Aika stated. She glanced down at the white haired man, and smiled. "Thank you for helping him." The dark woman wrapped her arms around the taller spirit's waist, resting her cheek against his soft chest.

"This one is special to you, Beloved. I approve. He is worthy of your attention." Aika pulled back, surprised that he voiced his opinion. The kirin had never done so in the past. He smirked at her while he faded away.
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Past Melodies