Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Oh Captain! My Captain!	By : BlueDragon Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 38885 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own nor make any profit off of Bleach and its characters. That all goes to Tite Kubo and affiliates.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
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A/N:
- Movies/books quoted or manipulated*: The Incredibles; snuck in some Spirited Away lol; William Shakespeare, Macbeth; Jaws

- Suicide Forest**: this is a real thing. The Aokigahara is a real place in Japan with an eerie history. I don’t mean, in any way, to make light of the subject of suicide, but I do find the subject of this forest interesting. The fact that it is there and that there is a lot that can’t be explained with modern science is intriguing.
- I realize soul reapers aren’t exactly living and I’m pushing/blurring many boundaries in that aspect (and, yes, I know Bleach is fiction *tear drop*), but just roll with me.
- Warning: Adult+ content, including explicit details of violent crimes

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Chapter Six
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Rangiku stepped out of the clearing and sighed heavily. Her breath puffed outward in a cloudy plume and quickly dissipated. Crunching snow echoed all around as everyone in their company moved about. Despite the somber atmosphere and hushed tones, the built up layers of noise seemed harsh compared to the quiet forest.
The landscape here was actually quite beautiful. The snow was pure and white. All around the trees were weighed down by it and their fragrance beckoned one to dream of a winter wonderland. It was pretty enough to put on a Christmas card.
Except no holiday greeting contained the naked corpse of an eight year old girl.
They had all been out here for most of the day. The girl lay in the center of this picturesque snowy glade like some morbid bullseye on a target and Rangiku was reaching her limit. Everything about the situation deeply bothered her. She was just a kid. It wasn’t like she’d been in the afterlife that long.
Rangiku’s eyes scanned their surroundings and her steps faltered when she looked back at Akon and Rin. The two were crouched down in the snow and waving different instruments over and around the dead child.
They’d gotten the order to assemble a reconnaissance team early that morning.
Having spent the entire night and following day trying to find any sign of his daughter, the poor father had walked for two days out of desperation for the White Way Gate. His only hope of finding her had been to go to the Seireitei to beg for the Soul Society’s help. Central 46 didn’t care about a handful of missing children. The father’s plea was dismissed with a wave of the hand but Toshiro had stepped in and requested the Head Captain for permission to take out a search party. Despite Central’s lack of concern, he’d managed to gain the Head Captain’s interest. This father’s missing child was their first real lead. Once that was approved, they were out the door. Toshiro was, after all, the captain most familiar with the rough terrain of the forests of West Rukongai. If anyone could wrap this up quickly, it would be him.
Theoretically speaking, this should have been a pretty standard search-and-rescue mission. In any location other than the West it would have been, but the Western region was different from the other three. Nearly 60% of it was covered in a vast sea of trees, stretching out across the entire northwest and even into the furthest districts within North Rukongai. Had this death happened within any other region of the Rukongai, the girl would have likely already been found. However, this confusing labyrinth of trees made it almost impossible to carry out. Toshiro had a larger than average recon team today for that reason alone. Typically this sort of thing didn’t require more than a handful of people, but he’d gotten approval for fifty; including members from Squad Six and Twelve. At first she’d protested. She wanted to find the girl too, but asking Captain Kuchiki and Kurotsuchi for assistance seemed like overkill. Rangiku had a tiny suspicion he was exploiting the situation a bit to promote teamwork but, now that she was out here, she was glad he had made the effort. Even with some War Games deadlines looming, this place was eerie and they needed as much help as they could get.
Rangiku looked around at the trees. Every time they came out here, Toshiro gave some type of survival and safety briefing. The hazards of the Western forest were practically legendary and the primary reason for that lecture. She’d grown up in the North and even she’d heard about it. Stories of people entering and never coming back were commonplace. Rangiku used to think it was just the old-timers trying to make everyone be cautious but, once she’d started patrolling the Western districts with her Captain, she knew better.
The commoners called it the Suicide Forest**. She hated that name. Every time people referred to it as such, she thought she heard the echo of a bad omen somewhere. But it was overwhelmingly complex. It seemed to go on forever and was incredibly easy to get lost in —even for a seasoned Lieutenant like herself.
Rangiku didn’t always pay attention to Toshiro’s survival huddles but it wasn’t like she could escape years of repetition. He’d been trying to instill the importance in paying attention to her surroundings way before he had ever outranked her.
Toshiro had always been much more attuned to nature then she was. Rangiku was capable of finding a comfortable place to take a nap but she couldn’t tell you which way was north by investigating the way a fungus was growing on a rock.
Well, she supposed he had managed to hammer a few outdoorsy things into her skull. Rangiku knew to be aware of what types of trees were in the area. Most of what the Western residents lived in was a beautiful hardwood forest but the further north one went, the more inhospitable it became. The landscape was so harsh out here that almost no one ventured into its isolated depths. In fact, the last several districts on the map were completely uninhabited. The rule of thumb was the more conifers you started to see, the more you needed to turn back. The succession of trees from hardwoods to fir and spruce meant you were getting closer to the mountains.
She couldn’t think of a similar metaphor to “Out of the frying pan and into the fire” that involved this kind of landscape but, honestly, if it wasn’t the forest that was trying to kill you, it was the mountains. Located in the northern-most districts of the West, the Meishin Mountains were a cluster-like range of lofty, ragged peaks. This whole vicinity had been a hotspot for malevolent activity for hundreds of years. More people had mysteriously gone missing in this one chain of mountains than any other rural area within all four regions of the Rukongai combined.
And they weren’t even close to the district that the girl had gone missing in.
So much time had been wasted. They’d spent several hours getting nowhere in District 61. The villagers had done a pretty good job of leaving the crime scene alone as they’d searched, but had ruined any chance for the soul reapers to find anything worthwhile within a one-mile radius. The entire area was contaminated with layers upon layers of footprints in the snow and broken branches from where everyone had rushed. Add to that the fact that it had snowed several times in the last few days and it was a miracle that they’d found anything at all. The only reason they’d made any headway was on account of her analytical Captain. Squad Twelve hadn’t gotten anywhere scanning for high levels of reishi or anything else to indicate a Hollow’s presence. It wasn’t until he had asked them to recalibrate the sensors on their reishi detectors to scan for zero reishi that they got their first hit on the radar. Sure enough, deep within the remote and unpopulated District 73, a steady, non-travelling red dot had almost instantly appeared. It was far enough away to make several, even Renji, voice their doubts about the results on the scanner. The number sixty-one didn’t seem like a number that would be far from seventy-three but, when compared to the World of the Living, it was more than a few prefectures away from where she’d disappeared. Toshiro ultimately made the decision to come out here because the last dead girl had been found in District 63, not even 15 miles west of this girl’s abduction site. It was too close together to not check out the Meishin location to be sure.
She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it sooner. The report from this morning was still so fresh in her mind. She should have connected the dots. She should have remembered the previous girl had been void of all reishi.
Then again, Rangiku hadn’t allowed herself to think of any possibility other than that this girl was alive; that they still had time. Up to that point, she had remained stubbornly optimistic to keep everyone focused and working efficiently. And until Toshiro suggested what he had, she hadn’t assumed yet that the girl was connected in any way to the last one.
Now it appeared she was.
She didn’t want to see it, but for some morbid reason Rangiku glanced back down at the gaping hole in the center of the child’s sternum. Even from this distance she could see the ragged bits of bone and flesh caved inward. It looked like something had punched its way through the thoracic wall protecting her heart. However, there wasn’t a heart, or lungs, or anything inside; only a black, hollow space.
Rangiku frowned as her eyes avoided the butchered mess and moved up to the girl’s face. Her skin was dried up and the eye sockets were empty holes. Frozen tear streaks ran down her cheeks and into her short, black hair. The detail that put Rangiku most on edge was how the remaining tissues beneath her skin contorted the little girl’s open mouth and eyes into a permanent expression of pure, raw terror.
It was ghoulish, like some sort of horrible Halloween mask, and disturbed Rangiku much more than she cared to admit.
It didn’t make any sense. Hollows didn’t eat like this. They always fed upon souls like any other beast and, if given the opportunity, they ate everything. They didn’t leave behind a brittle, shriveled up, empty thing like this.
Rangiku closed her eyes and mentally reprimanded herself for referring to the adolescent like that. She was a person —not a thing— and she had a name. Cho. The girl’s father said it was Cho.
Good lord, the father... What was she supposed to tell him?
It wasn’t like she could give him any details. At this point in the investigation, they weren’t allowed to reveal any information and what she did know would haunt the poor man for the rest of his life.
Rangiku doubted he was Cho’s real father but that didn’t matter. In the Soul Society, most of the children were unclaimed or couldn’t find their families. Despite the fact that many young spirits were living in slums or destitute villages, there were still quite a few that were able to grow up in good homes regardless of what district they were in. Clearly Cho had been one of the lucky ones. This man had been raising her like she was his own.
Now Rangiku had to update him with the kind of news every parent fears the most.
Not only that... Cho was the first officially documented case that connected a kidnapper to murder. The last girl that had been discovered had been found in a similar condition, but there hadn’t been any evidence to suggest she’d been abducted. She had only been missing and then found dead.
That troubled Rangiku. The only conclusion she could make from that was that they had a rogue Hollow on their hands. Or a serial killer. Someone who preferred young girls.
God, this was a nightmare. Did that mean all the missing girls in the last several months were dead? Were the bodies a calling card?
Akon looked up and frowned at Rangiku thoughtfully and she smiled weakly in return.
She looked around and inhaled the crisp air deeply into her lungs as she watched the trees sway peacefully. At least they hadn’t needed to trek across the countryside in this miserable weather.
They’d been granted the usage of Squad Twelve’s transporters and the devices had been a serious time-saver. Instead of having to cross all those districts by foot, they’d only had to punch in the coordinates of where they wanted to go and the transporter relocated all of them in real time. The captains didn’t usually like to use them since they interfered with training regimens, but finding the girl alive had been a priority. Cho would have been their first witness.
Too bad it was all for naught.
Rangiku frowned. Well, not entirely.
Upon Toshiro’s order, she had stayed behind with a few of her squad members and the volunteers from Twelve to investigate the site where Cho was found. While he, Renji, and everyone else was off trying to scout the area for any leads, she was here managing the crime scene. They had been able to gather quite a bit of evidence from this site and the actual abduction site to give some idea of what was going on. She still didn’t know what they were dealing with specifically, but it was a start.
Toshiro had made it clear that he didn’t want a repeat of what happened to the last girl, so Rangiku was stuck here making sure Twelve was taking every precaution. Considering how notoriously strange and analytical the soul reapers in Twelve were, she thought it was an odd request. She wasn’t exactly the detail-oriented type, so she didn’t understand why he thought she would be of use.
Normally a dead body was the first to be examined and then the surroundings, but they had to do everything backwards this time. They had been given a direct order to sample and document every possible thing before Akon could lay a finger on the girl’s corpse and they couldn’t even do that until Toshiro was back and gave them the go ahead.
Rangiku started to walk away from the frozen glade again and adjusted her boobs within her clothes. A few young men from Squad Twelve blushed at her actions and she chuckled lightly to herself. It wasn’t much to go on but it improved her mood a tad and she winked at them for good measure. Some of those boys in Twelve needed to get out more.
She tucked her pink scarf down into her cleavage and adjusted it to shield her neck from the wind. She wouldn’t go far. She just needed a few minutes to clear her head.
A gust of freezing air blew her long hair around and into her face. Rangiku shivered and silently thanked her lucky stars for rummaging around her closet for winter clothes the other night.
As she dusted errant snow from her arm, she admired the bright red fabric and adjusted the material across her chest. Creamy yellow camellia flowers scattered over the scarlet fabric down by the hem and up across her shoulders and around the sleeves. The beautiful little flowers brought a small smile to her lips. They had always reminded her of Ojii-san, which was why she’d bought the kosode so many years ago. He’d always had so many different flowers out in the garden for his flower arranging, but these had always been one of her favorites.
The vibrant material was technically more appropriate for a younger woman, but she didn’t care. The inner lining insulated her body and, honestly, every girl needed at least one festive and Christmasy thing in her wardrobe.
She hadn’t needed to wear any extra layers for such a long time that she’d forgotten all about the garment. Her only issue with the kosode was that it was cut to the standard kimono length. If she was just wearing it around the Seireitei, it was fine. However, Rangiku wore it over her uniform, so it always got in the way of her legs whenever she had to do anything physical. That certainly explained why she’d boxed it up so many years ago.
She’d also never really been one to wear a haori given that traditionally they were made to be worn open. It didn’t make sense to her since that just let in all the cold air, defeating her purpose in wearing it. The whole point in bundling up in layers was to stay warm out in weather like this.
Rangiku halted to slide her Lieutenant’s badge toward her left hip and tightened the sheer, pale yellow organza obi that she’d looped it through. It wasn’t the most practical bright red, getup in the world but it helped shield her from this bitter weather. She probably stood out like a sore thumb.
Setting off again, she carefully navigated through the trees. In the last couple of days it had snowed and melted several times and, although it appeared pristine, most of the snowfall had morphed into a granular, slushy mess that hid most of the perils along the forest floor.
Trying to avoid any rocks or roots, Rangiku focused more on her foot placement than her actual destination. The time she spent mindlessly walking didn’t faze her until she noticed that it was getting darker and looked up. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the sun sneaking below the summit of the nearest western mountain. Rangiku sighed in frustration at the clear reminder. They weren’t in the Seireitei. They were down in a narrow valley of the Meishin Mountains.
She’d been so focused on the crime scene, that it never occurred to her that they wouldn’t have the same amount of daylight everyone else had this time of year. Rangiku had been expecting to see a cloud blocking the sun, not it disappearing for the day.
Even though the sky was still bright, the amount of sunlight seemed to be cut almost in half once the sun fell behind that high peak. Rangiku doubted they even had an hour before it was too dark to keep working out here.
God, she hoped Toshiro would be back soon.
At least they were almost done. Everyone had accomplished about all they could on this end and Akon was just waiting for her Captain to return so he could do his final tests. After that, all that was needed was to return to District 61 to let the father know what they’d found and then they could go home.
She sighed. Rangiku really didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news. Since she typically had the softest approach and most tact, she usually was the one to let people know when a terrible outcome like this had occurred. Perhaps Renji or Toshiro could do it this time... She didn’t know what it was about this case, but she honestly didn’t know if she could tell that man his daughter was dead.
Rangiku weaved through some fragrant, spruce trees and looked up again. The dark blue shadow was creeping down the mountain. It was nearly halfway down and already the diffusing light within the valley was making it difficult for her eyes to focus. She came to a small clearing under the leafless canopy of a large, dead tree and blinked a few times. Hearing some crunching snow from behind, Rangiku turned her head to look for her Third and Fifth seats. The two had been following from a distance since she’d left.
I guess I won’t be getting much alone-time, she thought with a sigh.
As she waited for them to catch up, a peculiar feeling had her quickly turning around to scan the woods.
Her surroundings were gradually blurring together like a hazy canvas of blue-greens and misty greys. With the light fading so rapidly, she had to squint to be able to tell the trees apart much less see anything unusual. However, the niggling in her gut put Rangiku on alert.
Something was out there.
She listened for any uncharacteristic sounds but didn’t hear any. She couldn’t feel anything; no reiatsu of any kind. Only the icy landscape stared bleakly back at her.
It was only when she noticed how still everything was that it registered how eerily silent the forest had become.
Rangiku looked around uneasily, suddenly feeling like she wasn’t safe. Toshiro’s Rule #8 popped into her head: Never isolate yourself from the group unless it’s part of the plan. Her heart lurched nervously. This was not part of the plan. Warning bells started going off in her head.
Yuri and Ichijin’s hushed voices filtered through the trees behind her and forced Rangiku to focus. Furious at herself for her momentary panic, she took a slow, steady breath. Easy, Rangiku, she thought. Easy, girl. You’re just overreacting... Everything’s fine...* This is your job. You’re a tough chick. Whatever is out there, you can handle it.
Rangiku closed her eyes and concentrated on spreading out her reiatsu in hopes of detecting something.
A wave of anger immediately washed over her. Her eyes popped open in surprise and she took a step back defensively. Rangiku knew with alarming clarity that the emotion wasn’t her own. It was as if intense hate had manifested itself somewhere out in the trees and was reaching out for her.
A muffled snap of a stick had her head jerking toward a darker section of trees about 200 feet ahead.
Third Seat Nakahara’s smooth voice greeted from behind in a friendly yet earnest grumble, “Really, Lieutenant. Captain Hitsugaya ordered all of us not to wander off.”
No shit, she thought as a nervous chill ran up her spine. Whatever it was, it was way too close for comfort. How had it snuck up on her like that?
“Lieutenant?” asked Ichijin.
The dimming light was wreaking havoc with her vision and she mentally cursed.
A movement up ahead caught her eye. She squinted to see a couple fir trees shake for just a second. Rangiku exhaled bit by bit, but her blood ran cold when the heavily shadowed branches slowly pushed apart. The bushy limbs obscured almost everything but, in the darkened space, two indistinct blue lights appeared. They flickered once and an overwhelming sense of dread filled her.
They were eyes.
The instant they connected with hers, that strange feeling she’d been picking up on hit her full blast.
Rage. Pure, unadulterated rage.
Air hissed through Rangiku’s nostrils. The emotion was so palpable that it felt like a slap to the face.
The fact that such an emotion belonged to something lurking out there made her react instinctively. Her right arm rotated smoothly and the metallic shing of her zanpakuto rang through the air. The creature’s anger went up about ten notches on the tension scale and Haineko growled like a mother tigress in her ear. Rangiku relaxed her white-knuckled grip on the ruby-red braided hilt in preparation.
Both clearly picking up on her defensive behavior, she heard the two draw behind her. Ichijin’s voice was quiet, “What is it, Lieutenant?”
Rangiku didn’t say anything right away. Couldn’t they feel that?
“There’s something out there,” she whispered intently.
Tingling warmth materialized behind Rangiku and wrapped around her like a protective blanket. Instantaneously, she felt cozy and safe and some of the tension left her shoulders. A powerful blast of cold, icy pressure shoved outward past her, blowing her long locks forward and shoving past the trees. The moment Toshiro made an appearance, the ominous presence dispersed like it’d never been there. Rangiku gasped in surprise.
“Where,” Toshiro growled behind her.
“Those trees that are moving.” She pointed but Toshiro was gone, taking the comforting heat with him. The frozen temperature slapped against her like a rogue wave and a chill shot up her back.
It was useless. The trees were only swaying because whatever had been there was gone; gone the moment he’d appeared.
Was it wary of Toshiro? Why would it be scared of him and not her?
Rangiku frowned. It was a bad sign when a Lieutenant of the Thirteen Court Guard wasn’t deemed a threat.
Toshiro appeared in front of her and her heart skipped unevenly at his angry expression. One end of his dark teal scarf slid forward over his shoulder at his quick movements. He tightened the soft material around his neck and flicked the end back over his shoulder.
Toshiro’s eyes were tense, “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Rangiku stared ahead as she sheathed her sword and concentrated on recalling the details. “I was walking and when I stopped, it felt like someone was watching me... but I didn’t sense any reiatsu fluctuations...” Her eyes looked up into his, “How can I know something is out there but not feel anything?”
Toshiro frowned, “Did you see it?”
“I don’t know,” she said quietly. Rangiku took a step to the side and pointed at the two firs, “I saw those trees move and... I think...” Images and emotions flashed through her mind in rapid fire but as the adrenaline rush from moments ago stabilized, everything was getting jumbled. Had she even seen eyes? Or had the fading light been playing tricks with her?
“I can’t see crap in the damned twilight,” she huffed in aggravation.
Toshiro looked around as if he hadn’t noticed until she’d mentioned it. When his eyes met hers again, Rangiku blinked at how dragony and dilated they were. Must be nice to have built-in night vision goggles, she thought ruefully.
Rangiku mentally shook her head and focused on his question.
Something had definitely spooked her. Whatever it was had sent her into fight-or-flight mode. Those were two undeniable points that Rangiku had learned to never ignore.
Rangiku shook her head, “No. I know I saw blue eyes. And whatever it was was not friendly.”
Toshiro gazed at her with an unreadable frown for a long moment before he turned and faced his Third and Fifth officers, “Did either of you notice anything unusual?”
Ichijin frowned at the abrupt question, “No, Sir.” Sonoda shook her head to indicate the same and the young man continued, “I’m sorry, Sir. I never sensed anything. I saw Lieutenant Matsumoto walking off and thought she looked upset. So we followed after the Lieutenant to make sure she had back up.”
Yuri nodded in agreement, “In fact, Sir, when we finally reached the Lieutenant, I was completely startled when she drew her zanpakuto.”
Ichijin frowned, “I was, as well.”
Rangiku noticed their uncertain expressions. Did they not believe her? Did they think she was seeing things?
She wasn’t exactly certain about what happened, but surely seeing her rip Haineko out would show how serious she’d been… Rangiku shifted hesitantly when Toshiro growled out a sigh and pulled out the communicator from his breast pocket. Unsure, Rangiku murmured, “I know I saw something.”
Toshiro’s eyes snapped to hers. He must have realized how rattled she was because his steely gaze softened instantly. Rangiku sighed in relief. He believed her.
“There’s a set of footprints behind the trees you pointed out,” he replied calmly.
Rangiku’s momentary reprieve vanished. She frowned, “Footprints?”
“Yeah, pretty decent-sized ones, too,” he stated. Pushing a button on the communicator, he barked, “Renji. Akon. Get over here.” There was a polite protest from the Squad Twelve officer, but Toshiro interrupted him.
“Now,” he ordered brusquely.
He snapped the device shut with an impatient grunt.
Seconds later, Renji materialized into view from a flashstep, “What’s up, Captain?”
Akon arrived right after that with what looked like actual exasperation on his serious face, “Sir, I’m almost done—”
“Something just attempted to make contact with Lieutenant Matsumoto.”
They both looked surprised.
Renji blurted, “What the hell happened? I didn’t sense anything!”
Akon frowned, “Nothing showed up on my tracking system.”
Toshiro glared at him, his displeasure starting to show. “Which is why it’s concerning,” he retorted. He pointed at the trees Rangiku had indicated, “I found footprints but no tracks. Akon, allocate the rest of your squad to those trees over there. Renji—”
Rangiku watched while Toshiro started barking orders in rapid succession. Soul reapers from all three squads began arriving in a blur and rushed to do his bidding.
The baritone timbre of Toshiro’s voice rang out, “We’re losing daylight, people, and I want to be home in time for dinner!”
Their determined “Yes, Sir!” echoed into the wilderness and Toshiro turned toward her. His face was composed as his eyes searched her features, but she could tell he was upset. After a moment of silence, his voice was low, “I need to speak with you.”
Rangiku looked away in embarrassment. She knew she was in trouble for wandering off and honestly a bit ashamed. She was supposed to protect her subordinates, not lead them into possible traps. Really, what had she been thinking? She knew better then to run off by herself in an unknown area where something evil was hunting and killing little girls.
After taking a deep breath, Rangiku sighed heavily. Over beside the new tree site, she noticed Renji looking at her with a grim expression. He had probably deduced that she was about to get the third degree. She smiled weakly in resignation and turned to leave with Toshiro.
Akon popped out of nowhere right in front of her Captain.
“Sir, I assigned Rin to investigate the footprints,” he stated.
Toshiro sighed, “Very well.”
As they attempted to move around him, Akon stepped in the way again, “Captain Hitsugaya, I need to go over the data we’ve collected on the cadaver.”
Rangiku grimaced at his word choice and Toshiro eyed her expression carefully. He gave Akon half of his attention, “I understand. I’ll be right there.”
Akon’s perpetual frown deepened, “But, Sir, if you could just—”
Toshiro’s reiatsu whipped out like a solar flare for a fraction of a second, cutting him off. Rangiku’s golden brows rose in surprise at the outburst. She watched him briefly pinch his eyes closed in an attempt to rein in his temper. The Squad Ten Captain’s irritated glare made Akon’s mouth snap shut. A momentary hush cut into the hum of conversation as everyone paused and looked at him in surprise.
Toshiro enunciated slowly through clenched teeth, “In a minute.”
Akon’s eyes widened and he nodded quickly, “Yes, Sir.”
Toshiro’s sigh came out as a growl, but he didn’t say anything after that. He turned away from the renewed hustle and bustle of the latest site and disappeared. Rangiku flashstepped with him and followed behind until he stopped about a half mile away near the banks of the river that ran through the frozen valley.
Rangiku sighed in relief as the clearing allowed in a larger portion of light. Her relief was short-lived once her eyes met Toshiro’s. Anger and bewilderment were written all over his face. He turned and put his back to her with his hands on his hips. She saw his jaw clench as he focused on the frigid water that gurgled by a couple feet in front of him.
Undoubtedly trying to control his temper, Rangiku watched as he rolled his wide shoulders and stretched his stiff neck side to side. “I know,” she conceded.
Toshiro stared and imagined stomping through the ice that had nearly covered the surface of the stream and dumping the water over his head. Part of him wanted to pull his hair out in frustration. What the hell was wrong with her? How could she break protocol on a day like this and go off on her own? They clearly didn’t know what they were dealing with and this wasn’t the time to take a stroll down the nature trail.
The uneasy look in her eyes flashed through his mind and his features relaxed a bit. Toshiro took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Steam blew from his nostrils like twin smokestacks.
When he and the rest of the team had returned to the valley, Toshiro had instantly known that something was off. District 73 was one of those districts up in the northern edge that one simply did not go into alone. The Meishin Mountains were so concentrated in negative energy that they gave him the “heebie jeebies,” as Rangiku liked to put it. Being out here made the hair on the back of his neck stand up every time. Usually he could pinpoint the threat and eliminate it without having to hang around. Today, to his utmost frustration, he hadn’t found shit. He knew the bastard was out there, though; watching them.
While the others had gone on to the main site, he had stopped on a high ridge that overlooked the forest to check things out. Even in the fading light, his sharp eyes had spotted her immediately. Her bright red kosode stuck out like a beacon of color from his lofty perch. However, even blind, he would have felt how tense her reiatsu had been; how she had been manipulating it to spread out around her like she was searching for something. Why had the others not picked up on it?
The second he had seen her draw Haineko, he’d moved. In hindsight, he couldn’t really explain why he’d felt the need to act. Rangiku was his Lieutenant and a very capable one at that. Technically speaking, she was one of the few people who had originally trained him. She should have been able to take care of whatever had been out there. In fact, if he had waited a few more fucking seconds, they might have bagged the son of a bitch. So why had he been on the edge of a cliff one moment and then right behind her the next?
Toshiro frowned. The way Rangiku’s reiatsu had zinged in alarm was what set him off. Now that he really thought about it, something about the whole setup had been wrong. He’d known she was being hunted. He’d felt it all the way down in his bones. Toshiro didn’t even really remember getting down there. His hackles had risen and barely hidden animal instincts had commanded an immediate response.
No one stalked her while he was around. That was the last thing he could recall thinking before shooting off the mountain at lightning speed with a guttural snarl.
Toshiro looked down and clenched his hand into a fist. It was becoming difficult to hold his anger in check. He’d wanted to protect her —the last woman in the world who wanted it. Rangiku was so self-reliant; had always been that way. Admittedly, that was one of the many things he liked about her, but it also meant she had a hefty chip on her shoulder. She was very prone to doing whatever the hell she wanted.
So why did it surprise him that she chose to isolate herself in the Meishin Mountains, of all places, where a murderer was lurking in the woods?
He glared dryly up at the overcast sky. Nothing she did should have surprised him at this point.
If only he had waited a few more seconds to locate the target. He might have actually nailed the bastard.
After waiting several minutes in silence, Rangiku sighed tiredly, “I hope you’re not going to lecture me about how I left the crime scene.” Toshiro turned around with a frown and she looked away, “I needed a break from…”—she swallowed thickly—“all that… and I’m already beating myself up enough for almost involving Ichijin and Sonoda—”
“Rangiku—”
His gravelly voice made her shiver but she shook her head. Rangiku’s voice cracked, “I don’t need this right now.”
Toshiro stepped closer, “Are you alright?”
Rangiku blinked and looked up at him in confusion, “What?”
The furrow in his brow deepened, “The whole time we’ve been here, I’ve felt you… your distress… And the second I get back? You’re not with the team and about to get attacked.” Toshiro ran his fingers roughly through his hair, “I’ve known you a long time, Rangiku. We’ve fought,”—he shrugged—“countless battles… and you rarely lose your composure.”
The reminder made her look away with troubled features and he flexed his hand in hesitation. It was taking all of his willpower not to pull her into his arms. Again, the need to act caught him by surprise. He shouldn’t allow himself to do that with so many nearby, but he found himself caring less about the fifty soul reapers less than a mile away and more about how he felt the woman in front of him needed him.
The wind picked up again and, of its own accord, his hand tucked a wayward strawberry golden lock behind her ear. Rangiku rubbed her cheek against the back of his fingers. He sighed, “You lost your composure today, sweetheart.”
Rangiku’s eyelashes fluttered. His skin was so warm; his tone so alluring.
He hadn’t touched her since they’d made up several days ago. Even she had had to admit that they needed to cool off a bit. That fight with Zaraki was still being talked about throughout the city. So she’d given him a little space and he’d kept his word by being his normal, ornery self again.
However, with the events of the day overwhelming her, she thought, Screw it, and shuffled right into his arms.
Delightful heat engulfed her and she shivered in pleasure as the numbing chill in her extremities started to slowly prickle and tingle away.
Toshiro’s snowy brows rose in surprise. He wasn’t sure how she’d snuck in there so quickly, but he relaxed immediately afterward. He rolled his eyes in exasperation and wrapped his arms around her in defeat. So much for propriety, he thought.
Despite her layers and the light fawn sheepskin snow boots protecting her feet, Rangiku was colder than she’d let on. Toshiro rubbed his hands up and down her back, trying to stave off her shivers. He’d given the pretty boots to her one Christmas several years ago. He couldn’t recall her wearing them before, but this was the first winter in a very long time that she would have needed them. He felt like an idiot but it, nonetheless, warmed his heart to see her wearing them. Toshiro glanced down at her bright red shoulder and mentally shook his head at his behavior today. Rangiku was beautiful in her kimono and pale snow boots. He’d tried to act normally but hadn’t been overly successful in keeping his eyes off her. He hadn’t been the only one. Half the search party seemed to be having the same problem. This was exactly why he’d ordered her to stay at the site while he’d been off scouting the valley. How could he possibly get anything done if he was so hyperaware of her?
Now here she was —right where he wanted her to be— and he wanted to kill something. To be targeting his lieutenant… His blood was close to boiling.
Toshiro growled but shut his eyes when he realized how good she smelled. She’d taken on the clean, open-air scent of snow with the addition of something delicious. He couldn’t quite identify the culprit, but it reminded him of warm sugar cookies and something he was starting to think was entirely all Rangiku. The combination was devastating and he tried not to —he really did— but gave up and tucked his nose into her hair, breathing her in deeply.
A shudder raced up her spine and Toshiro had to fight back a groan when, despite the many layers of clothing, her hard nipples stabbed into his abdomen as she hugged him tighter.
“It’s not fair how hot you are…” she muttered. Rangiku tilted her head back to smile. She could tell by his arched brow that he’d picked up on the double meaning, but she shrugged and tucked her nose into his scarf. Wanting to touch his skin, she snuck a hand up and tugged at the soft, teal fine knitting. “It’s like hugging a furnace,” she mumbled happily. She loosened the loop around his neck and his warm hand snatched up her fingers.
“Wait,” he said quietly.
Rangiku looked up at his widened eyes as they became alert. Taking in his uncomfortable expression, she noticed, with great interest, several browning purplish marks on the front and side of his neck.
Rangiku smirked and couldn’t help but tease him, “I was wondering why your scarf came out of hiding.” She tugged her hand out of his and slid her fingers across the hot skin of his throat, examining her handiwork. “I didn’t know I left behind any hickies,” she murmured with a tiny bit of sheepishness.
Toshiro huffed in amusement. “You latched onto me like a damn octopus,” he grumbled.
He looked at her pointedly and Rangiku chuckled. She burrowed deeper into his kosode and mumbled against his Adam’s apple, “Worth it.”
Wrapping his white haori around her, Toshiro rolled his eyes dryly. He was lucky the weather allowed him to get away with wearing a scarf right now. He’d been a bit alarmed when he’d discovered the purple bruises the morning after their little make out session the other night. They were healing at a much slower rate than he preferred, but he didn’t regret what took place to receive them. She was right. It was worth it. He’d come to the conclusion, since that fight with Rangiku and then with Zaraki, that he had to move forward with her. They couldn’t go back to what they had been. He couldn’t keep fighting this. Although the whole scenario scared the shit out of him, he could only hope that, if things didn’t work out, they would be able to heal or learn from the relationship. If it had to end, hopefully it could end on amicable terms like he and Maria had.
They stayed wrapped around each other for a few silent minutes before he ventured again, “Are you alright?”
Rangiku breathed in his foresty scent and frowned, “I’d be lying if I said I was.”
Toshiro looked down and brushed a finger across her jaw. Rangiku trembled when he lifted her chin so he could look into her crystal blue eyes. “I don’t like seeing you freaked out,” he murmured with a frown.
Rangiku’s eyelashes grew heavy at the rumble in his voice. She reached one hand up to smooth her cool fingers over his cheekbone. The yellow-green of his fading black eye from the fight with Captain Zaraki was still visible, but the swelling was completely gone. As he brushed his calloused thumb gently across her own cheek she whispered, “I wasn’t freaked out.”
Toshiro was intensely aware of her responses to his touch. The second she started touching him, he’d been hanging on by a thread. He was having a hard time remembering what he was talking about. He swallowed and his eyes zeroed in on the delicate pulse on her neck. His heart hammered in reply and Toshiro felt himself being sucked in; completely focused on the temptress in his arms. His voice was rough, “You were spooked,”—she huffed in weak protest and his eyes met hers and bore into their lilac depths—“and all I could think about was protecting you.”
Rangiku inhaled in a combination of surprise and desire. Toshiro’s face was so close and possessive energy rolled off him in toxic waves. She was drowning in the hot intensity of his reptilian eyes. “I don’t need protection…” she managed to whisper.
Toshiro could see the longing in her features; loved how she melted into him. Her pretty little mouth was only a breath away and a quiet, rueful laugh escaped his mouth as a puff of steam, “I know.”
Toshiro pressed his lips into hers and she sighed into him. He slowly licked her pouty lower lip and breathed her in greedily. Rangiku whimpered against his mouth and parted her lips, silently begging him to take what he wanted. His hot, rough tongue took possession of her mouth and she sagged into him. Rangiku was sliding her hands up to the raging hot skin of his neck when a wave of anger washed over her body. Recognizing the sensation, she jolted in surprise and, not a second later, a furious howl echoed high above them. Toshiro’s body stiffened in response and he jerked his head away to look up at the sound of a roaring crash.
Rangiku gasped at the sight of a massive amount of snow plowing toward them from two-thousand feet up. Toshiro didn’t budge and his arm remained wrapped around her like a steel band. Despite how the snow angrily careened their way like a frighteningly quick pyroclastic flow, she felt completely safe.
Toshiro kept one arm wrapped around her and reached the other up behind his head. Grasping the familiar blue-wrapped handle, he slid the zanpakuto out and growled his partner’s name, “Hiyorinmaru.” Toshiro didn’t call out any commands and yet the ancient, icy dragon burst forth and aggressively raced up the bowl-shaped mountainside. He roared fiercely and swallowed the snow surging toward them as he flew upward. The beautiful ice serpent reached the peak, bit down, and exploded into billions of frosty crystals.
Hyorinmaru’s angry battle cry echoed all around them. Another small avalanche broke loose further down the valley as a result. Energy crackled through the air and a massive, frozen wedge of ice lay before the two of them like a crevassed chunk of glacier.
Rangiku shook her head at the ease in which the two had neutralized the avalanche. He might be younger than her, but it was moments like this that reminded Rangiku just how much raw talent Toshiro possessed.
Off in the distance, she heard the sharp yells of squad members. They probably had a minute before the others regrouped and sent someone to investigate.
The slide of a sharp blade into its scabbard and subsequent click brought Rangiku’s eyes back to Toshiro’s.
He gently released her and growled urgently, “Come on.”
She immediately responded to his flashstep and followed him up the mountain. Toshiro stopped near the top at a ledge that perfectly overlooked not only the forest in general, but also their little secluded spot down by the stream. Rangiku frowned and turned toward her handsome Captain.
Toshiro growled in frustration. “This is the point of origin,”—he crouched, picked up a large, rock-sized hunk of snow, and looked around—“but anything that might have given us any clues as to what triggered the avalanche has been destroyed.” He stood and pointed toward a clear line from where the snow had broken loose down directly below the ridge, “There’s the fracture line, but all this disturbed snow…”—Toshiro stood and gestured to the ledge they were standing on—“is right above it.” He turned and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, “So was it a natural, coincidental event, or did someone trigger it?”
Rangiku knew it was a rhetorical question, but she shook her head and looked down the mountainside to where they had been standing. “Something was up here.”
“I think so, as well,” he walked up beside her.
Her hand illustrated the path the snow had taken, “It headed straight for us.”
“Yes… and I heard something scream right before the avalanche started.” Toshiro’s expression was murderous, “It’s in for a rude awakening if it’s planning on using snow against me.”
Rangiku huffed and waved at Renji as he and some of the others appeared at the base of the jagged ice wedge far down below. The red-headed Lieutenant flung his arms out, silently asking what had happened.
Toshiro issued several commands to Renji through his communicator before turning to her again, “Do you think it’s a person or a Hollow?”
Rangiku frowned, “I’m leaning towards Hollow. It just felt… animalistic somehow.”
Toshiro frowned in response, “Felt?”
Rangiku blinked in surprise. She hadn’t told him that part yet and, as far as she could tell, she was the only one sensing this creep. Rangiku nodded, “Yeah. It happened when we were kissing…”—her cheeks tingled at the memory but she shook her head—“Right before I heard the avalanche.” One of Toshiro’s snowy eyebrows lifted and his lips just barely quirked but she kept talking like she hadn’t seen it, “And also right before I drew Haineko.” Rangiku paused briefly, “It’s the weirdest thing... I wasn’t picking up any normal signs of a Hollow, but it felt like waves of loathing fury were just beating down on me.” Toshiro looked down in thought and she spoke slowly, “I specifically remember knowing that it wasn’t me who was angry. It was something out there.” She waved her hand out to indicate the woods below. Rangiku frowned again, “And then those eyes… I couldn’t see them well, but I felt like… they despised me.”
Toshiro glared as he perused the landscape. He was quiet for a minute before he spoke. “I don’t like how this… creature has focused on you today. This is twice now that it has made some sort of contact... with you.” His eyes narrowed, “It doesn’t fit this guy’s M.O. Up to this point, it has targeted young girls.”
Rangiku pursed her lips in annoyance. Really? He was bringing up the age difference? “I’m still a girl, thank you very much,” she grumbled. She almost felt offended.
The subject of her age was practically a call to arms for her. One of those, you take your life into your own hands topics. Toshiro mentally groaned. He honestly hadn’t brought it up to tug the tiger by the tail. Toshiro gave her a wry look and chose his words cautiously, “You are a woman. There’s a colossal difference between you and a defenseless, prepubescent child.”
Rangiku hid her smile at his attempt to placate her ego. The awkward pause, as he’d realized he was suddenly walking on eggshells, had been amusing.
As he should be, she thought sarcastically. She watched his eyes narrow as he got serious again.
Toshiro turned and scrutinized the forest below. He cleared his throat a bit, “Don’t worry about Ichijin and Yuri.”
She blinked in surprise at the reminder and looked away self-consciously. Toshiro gently enveloped her cold fingers in his warm hand. Rangiku looked up into his understanding features.
“They know the risks of being a part of the Thirteen Court Guard. They followed you because they were doing their jobs,” he nodded gravely.
“Ah-ha,” Renji spoke, suddenly landing beside them on the ridge. “So you are tenderly holding hands,” he smiled in satisfaction.
Their hands released quickly and Renji’s teeth flashed wickedly as he chuckled.
Toshiro’s communicator chirped at him and he glared at the red-headed lieutenant. “Shut up, Abarai,” he grumped as he reached for the device.
“Captain Hitsugaya,” rang Akon’s voice.
Toshiro dryly looked up to the sky in irritation and sighed, “Yes?”
“Sir, I’m sorry for disturbing you, but I’m concerned about the stability of the girl’s remains.” There was a pause, “I don’t think she’s going to last much longer, Captain.”
Rangiku gasped, “The avalanche…”
Toshiro grimaced, “Did anything disturb her?”
“I think the vibrations from that avalanche accelerated her rate of decomposition, Sir.”
“Damn.” Toshiro looked at Rangiku with obvious concern, but he addressed the man standing next to her. “Renji.”
The redhead’s amused face cleared and grew serious, “Yes, Sir?”
Toshiro looked over at him, “Mark this location and do a quick sweep with your team.” His eyes met hers again and noticeably softened, “Do you want to stay here with Renji or come with me?”
Rangiku shivered. She didn’t want to see poor, little Cho in her current state, but knew she had to do something. This girl deserved justice.
“No, I’ll come,” she nodded slowly.
“Alright.” Toshiro jerked his head at the other lieutenant, “Renji. Make it quick, yeah? We need to wrap this up.”
Renji nodded, “Sure thing, Captain.”
“Come on,” Toshiro nodded at her. With a burst of speed, he sprinted and jumped off the edge.
Rangiku flashstepped to the edge of the cliff and looked down. She watched her Captain flashstep through his controlled dive, using gravity and airflow to shoot his body down the corrie. A small, spherical blast of reiatsu cleared the powdery mist around him, propelling him forward even faster. He shot out past the crevassed ice and flashstepped horizontally above the forest, disappearing in the direction of the crime scene.
“Damn, that’s fast,” Renji muttered.
It would appear all those impromptu sprints around the Seireitei were paying off.
“You two sure looked cozy up here,” Renji blurted with a comical waggle of his tattooed eyebrows.
Rangiku snorted and ignored his probing stare.
“Has anything changed between you two?”
Rangiku sighed loudly and gave him a dry, “go no further” look. She had never been one to kiss and tell and she certainly wasn’t going to start now.
Renji held his hands up in surrender, “Okay, okay. I’ll stop… For now…”
He grinned as she prepared to jump off the ledge. Rangiku sighed again as she looked out over the woods below, “Be careful, Renji. This place gives me the creeps.”
His bright, cherry-wood eyes had been twinkling with piqued interest but rapidly lost their mirth. She waited for his nod and then disappeared from the cliff. Instead of nose-diving down the bowl-shaped corrie like Toshiro had, she flashstepped a diagonal route straight toward the site. It was slower this way but she wasn’t that far behind him.
Rangiku really didn’t think this thing would attack her mid-air with so many soul reapers around. If it had an ounce of intelligence, which she had a bad feeling it did, then it had to be retreating for now.
After a minute of following her Captain’s blustery reiatsu, Rangiku landed at a jog in the glade. Her pale boots crunched the snow as she walked toward the group of soul reapers milling around the dead girl’s body. Besides a few blank faces from Twelve, their expressions mirrored her own roiling emotions.
She took a brief moment to distract herself with the broad shoulders and strong back beneath the Squad Ten haori, but Rangiku couldn’t stop her sad sigh. She really didn’t want to go over there.
Toshiro was about halfway between her and the body. As she slowly closed the distance, he turned and frowned at her with an annoyed eyebrow and grim lips. “You were supposed to be right on my heels,” he stated with displeasure.
“I was talking to Renji. I was only a minute or two behind…”
He gave her a frustrated look, “Did we not just discuss how this thing might be targeting you?”
Rangiku suddenly felt exhausted. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
She must have looked as tired as she felt because he sighed and twisted his mouth unhappily.
Toshiro took in her sad frown, “Until we get back to the Seireitei, I don’t want you leaving my sight.” He leaned in a bit, “And that’s an order.”
Toshiro looked at her meaningfully and she frowned.
“Yes, Sir,” she replied quietly.
Toshiro looked at her thoughtfully for several heartbeats before he nodded slowly and turned, heading for Akon. Rangiku mentally grumbled at his authoritative attitude as he made his way back toward the group. She hated it when he did that. When he pulled rank to remind her that, yes, he was still in charge. Rangiku rolled her eyes wryly. As if she could forget that. He didn’t have to get so high-handed with her. She pursed her lips into a pout and looked at the circle of soul reapers. She knew that everyone’s safety was a responsibility that he took seriously, but it wasn’t like she had suddenly become helpless.
She paused and thought about her behavior today. Once they had found little Cho’s body, she had been an emotional mess. She’d had her Second-in-Command mask on, but anyone who knew her well enough knew that she was upset. Even Sonoda had picked up on it. She was the one who had brought it to Ichijin’s attention when they had decided to follow her earlier.
Geez. She’d practically thrown herself into Toshiro’s arms like some distraught maiden from one of her fictional romances. That wasn’t exactly her style. She had gumption. She wasn’t one of those girls…
Being wrapped up in that hot, delicious, dragon-man blanket had been so good, though; had made everything bad go away. It had felt like she had finally dipped her spoon into a decadent hot fudge sauce, got a taste, and then melted into a puddle on the floor.
And then a monster threw an avalanche at them.
She shook her head and sighed. She wasn’t making sense even to herself. He wasn’t making sense either. Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold. Mad at her; kissing her like he wanted to breathe her into his soul; mad at her again. And why was he being so protective? She was by his side, his Lieutenant, for a reason.
The dead child up ahead was a stark reminder and knocked down her feeling of being slighted a peg or two. Knowing Toshiro, he was probably taking this attack very personally. Instead of eyeing him to just ogle, Rangiku took in his taut posture; the twitching muscle in his jaw. From this distance, he looked every bit what a captain should have looked like: focused, in control, a guardian of his flock. But there was a static charge to the air that she recognized. It wasn’t from the changing weather, it was Toshiro. It was rare for him to lose his cool. His control and discipline had always been something she admired and felt irritated by. Today… it just felt like he was wound up like a top; as if all it would take would be one more thing to trigger him.
Her feet stepped into Toshiro’s larger footprints and she followed his steps, closing the distance. She wished he would let her help him with that kind of stress, but he never would allow it. Rangiku was a big believer in talking things out but he always internalized.
Toshiro’s voice carried loudly, “Everyone out.”
Rangiku looked up.
The soul reapers backed away from the body but still managed to part to let her step up alongside the no-nonsense Captain of Squad Ten. Rangiku swallowed thickly upon seeing the little girl up close again and tried to focus on an unmarred body part. It was an impossible task. Everywhere she tried to let her eyes escape from led her to something worse, so she centered her attention on Akon. He was kneeling beside the body and awaiting her Captain’s word.
A female officer with dark hair up in a high ponytail was at the back of the passing group and Toshiro nodded at her, “You. Yes, you,” he further emphasized. “What’s your name?”
The brunette faced him and straightened her shoulders nervously, “11^th seat, Chihiro Ogino* of Squad Six, Captain.”
“Alright, Chihiro. I’m putting you in charge of gathering everyone for departure. Make sure everyone’s accounted for but be quick about it.”
Chihiro nodded with determination, “Yes, Sir!”
Toshiro dismissed the young woman and locked on to his Third Seat, “Nakahara.”
Ichijin straightened to attention, “Yes, Sir.”
Toshiro saw Chihiro calling out to the soul reapers and organizing them by squad at the nearest tree line. He nodded to the young man, “You and Yuri fire up that mirror variation of Kyakko we’ve been working on and get me some light in this damn clearing.”
Ichijin nodded his head in a jerk, “Yes, Sir!”
Rangiku watched as the two trotted out equidistant apart and then began reciting together the blended incantations of Bakudo No. 26 and a Kido net. Thousands of feet high up in the sky, a fluorescent arc of light appeared. It was high enough to catch the sunlight and reflect it downward. As their double incantation went on, dozens of modified Kyakko light balls popped into existence and caught more of the natural light like angled mirrors. The complicated, geometric design became apparent once the Kido net interconnected each light ball. About 100 feet above their location, the two spells converged to form a large sphere that projected sunlight like an oversized light bulb. The clearing instantly brightened, easily giving them most of the light they’d lost from the mountains. Everything was bathed in a choppy, angular white light with little prisms floating above the sparkling snow. The glade glimmered like a winter fairytale instead of the center of a homicide investigation like it actually was.
“Nice job, you two,” Toshiro called out. “Now, stay focused and keep it steady.”
Ichijin and Yuri held their stances with resolve and replied in unison, “Yes, Sir!”
Toshiro turned around and stepped back up to Rangiku and Akon.
“I wish we could have covered her with something,” she said quietly. The little girl had been bared for everyone to see. It didn’t seem right for her to be so exposed.
Akon’s frown deepened, “You know I couldn’t risk it, Lieutenant Matsumoto. She can disappear at any second.”
Rangiku sighed, “I know.”
“Alright. Proceed,” Toshiro ordered.
Akon nodded curtly, “Yes, Captain…” He looked down at the girl’s naked, butchered body. “One of my first observations, Sir, was that there is no blood splatter. No blood, whatsoever.”
Toshiro frowned, “So, she was killed at another location and then brought here?” Akon nodded and Toshiro asked urgently, “Are there any old tracks in the snow?”
“No, Sir.” Akon shook his head, “It looks like it was disturbed in this area here, but the perpetrator covered their tracks well. Even the ground-penetrating radar didn’t detect any variations in the snow or on the ground surface.”
Toshiro hummed in thought and Akon kept going.
“Additionally, the girl has not one snowflake or ice crystal on her body. That leads me to conclude that —regardless of the time of death— she was placed here after the most recent blizzard, which means she’s only been here… perhaps 12 to 14 hours.”
Rangiku frowned. That was disturbing. Cho had been missing for three days. What had that creature done to her? For how long did she have to suffer?
Akon then gestured with one hand above the girl’s torso, “She has bruises all over her body, some of it post-mortem, but the majority is ante-mortem bruising.” He pointed to the child’s hairless genitalia next, “There is some swelling around the labia majora.” Akon quietly cleared his throat and swallowed uncomfortably. His features and voice remained unaffected, “This could be indicative of physical violation.”
He was quiet for a moment.
Rangiku looked up, blinking tears back rapidly. She’d been praying all day that this wouldn’t be the case.
She looked over at Toshiro and saw that his jaw was locked shut. Their eyes met and she knew he was sickened by the prognosis. The teal of his irises began to glow brighter in retribution and she couldn’t hold back her nod of approval as she wholeheartedly agreed. This monster was going to pay for what he did.
Akon inhaled and went on, “There seems to be some type of discharge. It may or may not be seminal fluid, but I won’t be able to tell until I can properly examine her and acquire a sample.”
Toshiro nodded slowly, “Proceed.”
Akon looked up. A wrinkle to his brow revealed his concern.
“What is it?” Toshiro asked warily.
Akon scratched his head in thought, “Despite the reishi detectors registering her remains as zero reishi, the shell that remains… her body still maintains a molecular structure. That is why we can still see her.”
“What are you getting at?” Rangiku asked.
Akon stared down at the girl, then at the device in his hand. He pushed a button and the screen lit up and beeped erratically. “Just as I thought…” he murmured.
He looked up at the two, “She’s destabilizing. Her total mass is gradually decreasing.”
Toshiro blinked, “Are you telling me that she’s disintegrating?”
“As we speak, Sir.”
Rangiku gasped.
Toshiro’s eyes hardened. He froze for several moments as his mind sped through possible solutions. “Can we stabilize her with some barriers?”
“A barrier might slow the rate of destabilization but it is my opinion that she will disintegrate the instant the kekkai is removed or that she is disturbed.” Akon sighed tiredly, “I can’t even guarantee the dematerialization and then rematerialization of the transporter won’t make it happen either, Sir. Perhaps if she were fresher…”
Toshiro exhaled slowly, “So we either collect a sample and risk her disintegrating or try moving her by kido and risk her disintegrating.”
“That’s my best estimate, Sir.”
Toshiro growled. Those were shitty odds. “We’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t.” He turned to Rangiku, “What do you think?”
Rangiku was quiet a moment. Her words came out slowly, “Take the sample. If moving her is too risky, then we need to try to gather any evidence.”
Toshiro shook his head and nodded to the scientist, “Do it.”
Akon frowned and pulled another device out of his white lab coat. He pushed a green button and a white, rectangular strip popped out with a click. “I will attempt to collect a vaginal swab in the area containing the majority of the unknown substance,” he stated as if making a medical audio recording. With steady hands, Akon aimed for the viscous fluid and ran the test strip across the girl’s frozen flesh. The device immediately sucked in the strip. In his other hand, the previous gadget began to angrily beep and click.
Rangiku inhaled in shock when the examined area of Cho’s body seemed to cave in on itself. The girl’s dead tissue turned to sand at the point of contact and then, like a virus, consumed her whole body. In mere seconds, little Cho’s remains turned to dust and disappeared into the ice.
The three stared at the human-shaped imprint remaining in the snow.
The device Akon had used for the sample beeped glaringly in the solemn silence.
Toshiro’s voice was rough, “Please tell me you got something.”
Akon brought the apparatus closer to inspect and he nodded, “It’s analyzing.” He stood and looked at Toshiro with calm confidence, “It’s hard to tell at this point, but I think it’ll give a positive reading. I need to take this to the lab, so the sample can be downloaded into the system. There I can examine its molecular profile and scan the Squad Twelve database to see if there is match.”
Toshiro’s frown was pensive as he gazed at where Cho had laid. He looked up into Rangiku’s troubled blue eyes. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
She was shaken but in complete agreement. Rangiku nodded silently and started walking toward the soul reapers gathered at the tree line.
Renji and the few he’d taken to sweep the corrie arrived in the clearing. “Is the examination done?”
As he looked around for the body, Renji walked up beside her and they both headed toward the group.
Rangiku nodded, “Yeah.”
“How’d it go?”
“Not great. She might have been raped.”—Renji sighed with a repulsed expression—“We got a sample but we won’t know anything until Twelve does a full panel on it. Akon said they’ll plug it into the database to search but—”
“—But that could take weeks and still not give any results.” Renji frowned in frustration.
“Exactly.”
“Where’s her body?”
Rangiku frowned, “She dissipated right after the sample was taken; it’s like she wasn’t even there.”
Renji surprised her by placing his warm hand upon her shoulder, “Don’t worry. We’ll catch this mother fucker.” He smiled reassuringly, “Captain Hitsugaya’s on his trail now. Nobody trespasses in the West and gets away with it under his watch.”
Rangiku’s lips quirked at his colorful language, “Thanks Renji. That actually does make me feel better.”
Toshiro’s eyes narrowed at the male hand on Rangiku’s shoulder. Despite everything that was going on, annoyance washed over him. Was that really necessary? He looked over at his Third and Fifth seats impatiently, “Just a few more minutes, you two. I want to use the light right up to the point before we transport.”
“Yes, Sir!” he heard them reply. Dismissing the two for the moment, he zeroed in on the two lieutenants and closed in on them. Toshiro brusquely addressed Renji, “Your 11^th seat is gathering everyone for departure.”
“Chihiro? I bet she liked that. She’s a bossy one.” Renji nodded fondly.
The red-headed idiot smiled a little too cheekily and Toshiro rolled his eyes impatiently. He jerked his head in the group’s direction, “Go check in with her and make sure we’re ready to go before this light gets turned off.”
Renji nodded. “Yes, Sir,” he said in a deep voice.
Oh, Renji had definitely felt the “go away” vibe to Captain Hitsugaya’s words, but he couldn’t help but try to get under the younger man’s skin. He had a theory about his two friends’ professional relationship that he felt obligated to test out. For months the two had been at odds. He and Rukia had been debating about it for weeks. He heard from Ikkaku that it was Captain Hitsugaya that had started that fucking beatdown with Captain Zaraki the other day! Something had happened or, at the very least, something was definitely going on. Obviously, he very much respected their privacy but this was a damn juicy morsel of an update. Rukia would be extremely interested in this development. She thought that they were having a spat for more than just Squad Ten issues. After today, he was beginning to think the mean, little woman was right.
Renji smirked and pulled Rangiku in close.
She gasped when the big, redhead’s muscular arms wrapped around her in a warm hug full of friendly affection. She smiled at his antics and pat his back with a patient sigh.
Toshiro’s eye twitched. He simultaneously growled and took a threatening step forward.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Renji grinned. The Squad Six Lieutenant released her and did a quick sidestep.
Moving as fast as she’d ever seen him go without flashstepping, Rangiku watched as Renji bee-lined it for his 11^th seat. She looked back around at her Captain’s irritated glare. He looked like he’d been about to kick Renji in the butt. “Relax. He was baiting you,” she chuckled.
“Damn pervert,” he griped. His eyes sought hers and relaxed at the sound of her low laugh. “It’d be nice if he would quit fooling around,” he grumbled.
Rangiku’s temper made uncommon appearance and her reiatsu sparked. She quirked a golden eyebrow and poked him in the arm, “He wasn’t fooling around. He did everything you ordered and then gave me a hug to help me feel better. Are you going to bark at all of my friends that hug me now?”
Toshiro blinked in surprise, “I am not barking—”
“But you are mad that a mutual friend of ours hugged me… You do realize how many male friends I have, right?” Exasperated, she huffed and began walking toward the gathered search party.
Toshiro sighed and pulled up beside her with an annoyed expression. “I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or if you’re irritated,” he admitted in a stern voice and a narrowed side eye.
She ignored his tone. A large puff of steam plumed past her lips, “A little of both, honestly. Friends sometimes hug each other, Toshiro. It’s silly to karate chop a person for it.”
Rangiku observed his disgruntled demeanor and couldn’t stop her soft laugh when it looked like he evidently disagreed with her statement. “Come on, it’s Renji.” She eyed him with mocking, pouty lips, “I’ve only known him as long as I’ve known you. Maybe longer… I can’t remember because it’s been so long.”
Toshiro glared at her with dry disapproval and Rangiku snorted before she bumped her shoulder against his.
For some reason, her eyes met Yuri Sonoda’s at that moment. Rangiku’s brief minute of levity vanished.
The younger woman’s caramel eyes were focused on her task but betrayed her emotions for the tiniest fraction of a second. Was that uncertainty she saw? It couldn’t be of the incantation Sonoda was helping to maintain because the younger woman clearly had it under control. “Hmm,” she hummed to herself. Did Sonoda notice the change in Toshiro and her, too? Renji apparently thought something was up. Rangiku wasn’t acting very different around him. She had always been flirtatious. If anyone was giving anything away, it was their fearless leader. Maybe it was Toshiro that Sonoda was concerned about.
All of which further reminded Rangiku that she still hadn’t spoken to their Fifth Seat. The tension between herself and the younger woman was slowly growing. For the last several years, Rangiku had honestly found Sonoda annoying, but harmless. Ever since her birthday party, though, it felt like Sonoda was trying harder to get noticed by Toshiro. And ever since the big fight she had with Toshiro several nights ago, Sonoda had almost been giving her the cold shoulder. She wasn’t being rude or insubordinate but there was definitely aloofness in her eyes and tone of voice. Rangiku needed to stop putting it off but she’d been so preoccupied with Toshiro that it hadn’t been a top priority.
They arrived at the head of the gathering of soul reapers and Rangiku stepped in line beside her Captain. Akon had the transporter in his hands and was wildly tapping away on the screen of the clear, glass tablet. Renji was talking to his 11^th seat and nodding at her report. He winked at them and Rangiku chuckled under her breath. Renji was going to get it if he didn’t watch out.
“Everyone is here and accounted for, Captain,” Renji said in his super-serious, professional voice.
Toshiro grunted, trying to ignore the redhead’s goading.
Akon looked up from his screen, “I have everyone’s positions locked in and the previous coordinates for District 61 set, Captain Histugaya.”
Toshiro nodded and called out for Ichijin and Yuri to use the counter spell for the double incantation.
As the light extinguished with an electric, zapping pop, they jogged over to the group. Rangiku blinked a couple times as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She looked around and noted that she wasn’t the only one to be having difficulties. There was a hum of unease to the murmurs of the gathered soul reapers around her. She looked back to her Captain when she heard the low rumble of his voice. Toshiro’s hands were expanding as if he were holding a growing, invisible ball. Just when she realized he was actually reciting an incantation, his hands clapped together. The sound jolted her, but the large iridescent barrier surrounding the entire search party made her eyes widen.
Toshiro glanced her way and shrugged. “I’d rather have one and not need it,” he started.
“Then need it and not have it,” she finished with a nod. “Seeing as how today is going, that’s probably a good idea.”
Toshiro nodded and ordered everyone to hold their positions. As soon he had verified everyone was ready, Toshiro barked, “Initiate.”
Rangiku felt the tingle of the transporter engulf her. She opened her eyes as everyone was swallowed up in a mint green light. Toshiro was focused, glaring out at the forest like he was daring whatever was hiding in the shadows to show itself. The green light flashed and the scenery completely changed. Snow still covered the ground, though not as much, and the trees were back to the hardwood species. Since they were no longer surrounded by mountains, the sunlight here was practically bright compared to where they had been. She sighed in relief. “Thank god,” she murmured.
Toshiro turned to the group and backed up a few steps so everyone could see him. His eyes and voice hardened. “We have to tell these people terrible news,” he announced somberly. Many bowed their heads or lowered their eyes in understanding. “The kind that no parent ever wants to hear,” he continued. “As authority figures, we must not overly sympathize.” Several from each squad looked up in surprise. He went on, “Despite this tragedy, they are still expecting us to be in control; they need us to be in control. That being said, we also shouldn’t be cruel. We aren’t tyrants.” Toshiro looked over everyone, “Some are going to be devastated and others will be angry. This might be more about crowd control at this point. If you can’t keep your emotions in check, stay outside the village as part of the lookout. We will not divulge any information about the case to anyone. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Sir,” the soul reapers called back quickly.
Rangiku piped up, “What can we tell them? They will have questions…”
Toshiro rubbed the back of his neck tiredly, “All we can say at this point is that there is a threat. We don’t know what it is or where it is. Just say that it’s targeting children in general, instead of specifically girls. Renji, I want you to give the announcement once I get approval.”
All business now, Renji nodded seriously, “Yes, Sir.”
Toshiro eyed Rangiku and pulled out his communicator, “I need to report to the Head Captain. Get everyone started for the village.”
“Yes, Sir,” Rangiku sighed and walked toward Renji who nodded and gave the order for everyone to move out.
Toshiro flipped open the device and hit the speed dial.
The Head Captain’s grim face immediately appeared, “Captain Hitsugaya.”
“Head Captain.”
“You were out of communication for over two hours.”
“Yes, Sir. The Meishin Mountains are notorious for signal disruption.”
The Old Man’s eyes cracked open, “That is over 100 miles off course.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Toshiro gave the Head Captain a quick summary of the investigation. “Once we deliver the news to the parents, we’ll be heading home.”
Head Captain Yamamoto’s usually unreadable expression gave way to something Toshiro could only describe as gruff sympathy. “That is tough business. Death of a loved one is never easy to report.”
“No, Sir,” Toshiro responded somberly.
The Head Captain’s expression resumed its standard façade and he grunted, “What is your next plan of action, Captain Hitsugaya?”
Toshiro looked at the Old Man with a frown, “I’m requesting to activate all the emergency beacons in West Rukongai, along with the ones that run the perimeter of the forest in the North and South. I don’t know how far it’s willing to travel if it gets desperate.”
The Head Captain hummed to himself, “Those are drastic measures for what is presumably a single Hollow.”
“This entity is kidnapping and killing girls in a way that we can’t track. It’s either brave enough or dim enough to attack a lieutenant. Until we can devise a way to hunt it down, the villages need to be on alert. My gut says this thing should not be taken lightly, Sir.”
The Old Man raised a long, white brow and hummed. “Anything else?”
“The reports show the girls disappearing in the evening, so I would also like to request a nighttime curfew at sundown, Sir.”
“Very well, Captain. Squad Twelve will activate the suggested beacons and the curfews will be announced immediately. Lieutenant Okikiba will organize the emergency teams. Small, rotational shifts should suffice for now.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The two men stared at each other for a brief moment on their screens. Toshiro shook his head and slowly recited a quote, “‘By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.’*”
Head Captain Yamamoto grunted and raised a long-haired, white brow, “Shakespeare.” The Old Man looked at him for a moment in silence, “Whatever this may end up becoming, do not be at the mercy of your emotions, Captain.”
Toshiro nodded grimly, “Yes, Sir.” As if chastised, he looked dryly in the direction his team had gone, “I told the others the same thing.”
Head Captain Yamamoto’s brow drew together in a slight frown, “It has been several years since the Seireitei has experienced any serious threats. I comprehend your unease, young Captain, but this is no Aizen.”
Toshiro huffed in agreement, “Definitely not, Sir.”
The Old Man’s eyes opened more, “Find it. Eliminate it.”
Toshiro’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. “Yes, Sir.”
“I want a full report submitted by tomorrow morning, Captain Hitsugaya.”
Toshiro sighed in resignation, “Yes, Sir.”
The screen on his communicator went black and he flipped it closed. Putting the device in the breast pocket of his kosode, Toshiro glanced around. The cold wind felt good on his hot skin and he breathed in the following gust of air. This time of year his zanpakuto didn’t have to work nearly as hard to control his body temperature. Hyorinmaru growled in his ear testily. For someone who was known for their discipline, today hadn’t been his best day. Toshiro grunted back in agreement and cracked his neck left and right. Even the Head Captain had picked up on it, warning him to keep a cool head. Considering the day’s events, he could acknowledge why he was on edge, but, damn. He felt like he was a feather’s touch away from losing his shit.
Toshiro growled crossly and secured the scarf around his throat, hoping the bruises were covered. Flashstepping toward the search party, he appeared behind the group as they followed the dirt road. Toshiro blinked in surprise. He didn’t realize how close little Cho’s community was. Not a quarter of a mile further was one of the main entrances to the village.
He flashstepped to be up front with his lieutenants and bobbed his head in greeting at the two, “I received approval for the curfew at sundown. All the emergency pedestals will be activated in the West and any bordering towns.”
“Good deal,” Renji nodded his head in agreement.
“Are they going to assign a squad to be on call?” Rangiku asked.
Toshiro nodded, “Okikiba will handle it. The Old Man said they’d rotate small teams for now.”
The chattering and hum of the villagers had all three looking up. They were milling about at the main entrance to the community and trying to get a good spot to see. Standing in front of the growing crowd was Cho’s father.
Rangiku’s step faltered but she quickly regained the ground she lost between the two men.
She straightened her shoulders, “Can Renji let the parents know? I don’t think I can do it this time.”
Both men looked at her in surprise. They both knew that was usually her job because she was so much better at talking to people.
Toshiro took in how her throat constricted as if she was struggling to swallow. Her skin was pale, like all the blood had drained out of her face.
Toshiro’s gaze immediately softened at the guilt he saw there. “Sure,” he said quietly.
Rangiku looked up at him gratefully for a second before she attempted to control her features for the onlookers they were approaching.
Renji caught his eye, “I really don’t mind, Captain.”
He nodded his approval, “That’s fine.”
Toshiro looked ahead. They didn’t have but maybe a couple minutes before they reached the gathering. As they drew closer, Toshiro’s attention was pulled toward a woman with short, salt and pepper hair standing firmly beside Cho’s father. The fierce look in her eyes told him that she was Cho’s mother.
The fact that the search party didn’t have the child in tow spoke volumes but the woman stepped forward when Renji walked ahead to meet the couple.
Toshiro stopped walking and the whole search party halted behind him. He watched Renji frown and shake his head with a heartfelt apology. The woman crashed to her knees and Toshiro closed his eyes for a brief moment and grit his teeth when her screaming wail of grief rang through the silence. Cho’s father rushed to her side, but could do nothing more than put his hands on her shoulders as his own body shook with anguish. Many of the villagers were holding a hand over their faces in shock. Several young children, who were probably Cho’s friends, clung to their mothers with fat tears rolling down their faces.
Suddenly Cho’s mother got to her feet, moved past Renji, and headed Toshiro’s way. He saw it coming: her angry tears as she hauled her arm back. He watched in slow motion as her hand aimed for his face and Toshiro let her hit its mark.
The slap rang through the air. The sting across his cheek was hardly noticeable, but the sound of the less experienced soul reapers unsheathing their zanpakutos behind him had Toshiro side-eyeing his Lieutenant. Rangiku gasped in surprise.
“I just found out that a girl got killed in 63 last week and you knew it!” the woman choked out.
Cho’s father stumbled after her and pulled her back by the shoulders, “Kaiyo!” He wrapped his arms around her in alarm, struggling to keep her still. “Assaulting an officer is a death sentence!” he pleaded in panic.
Toshiro relaxed his jaw and gave the grieving woman his undivided attention. He couldn’t imagine being in her position. All he could do was hear her out.
Rangiku took the hint from him just a second ago and turned to growl forcefully at the soul reapers behind them, “Stand down!”
The slow clicks of swords and scabbards filled the silence and tension radiated behind Toshiro. The villagers whispered anxiously behind Cho’s parents.
The woman shrugged off her husband, and pointed a sooty finger at him, “You knew there was a monster out there! You knew it was dangerous! But you let us go about our lives anyway without any warning?”
A sob wracked her body as her husband held her again from behind, but she kept going. “You knew it!” she yelled hoarsely. “You knew all those things!” All the emotions quickly left her features, “But still my girl is dead now. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Something in Toshiro’s mental defenses slipped. He’d been trying so hard to listen dispassionately but everything about this situation made him take it personally. He could feel everyone’s eyes upon him, waiting to see how one of the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads would respond. A gust of blistering cold wind ripped around them in reply as his stern façade began to crack.
The woman’s agony turned to hopelessness in the blink of an eye. She spoke as if she could see nothing in front of her, “My girl is dead.”*
A rumble of thunder echoed hollowly and the crowd gasped when the clouds overhead boiled into an angry grey above the town.
Toshiro’s jaw was clenched tight and he looked the woman dead in the eye, “When I find this bastard…” His eyes lit up like teal fireballs and Hyorinmaru snarled. “He’ll be sorry.”
The manner in which Toshiro’s words slowly growled out made the crowd shuffle nervously. Half were looking at the sky and the other half were looking at him as if he was the monster. Rangiku’s hand touched his forearm in an attempt to get his attention. “Captain,” she called softly.
Toshiro’s eyes met hers and a muscle in his jaw twitched. Not a second later, the weather resumed its normal pattern and Rangiku silently said a thanks to the gods.
The villagers were gasping in shock when the weather returned to its original state of northerly clouds pushing in. Their faces displayed a mixture of terror and awe that one person could do such a thing. Rangiku huffed in irritation when she noticed how some of the townsfolk immediately showed signs of mistrust and started whispering. It never failed. They should be relieved that someone so powerful was on their side, not suspicious. She frowned in disappointment. The mob was so fickle.
Rangiku let her hand fall to her side and waited to see what her Captain would do. His shoulders relaxed but his eyes were tense when he looked back down at the small, grief-struck woman. She was trembling in her effort to remain strong in front of everyone and Rangiku’s heart broke for the mother.
Something seemed to be silently communicated between the older woman and her Captain. Cho’s mother nodded grimly and Toshiro nodded stiffly in return before turning on his heel and walking away from her. Rangiku followed closely behind.
“It’s not your fault, Captain,” she said quietly.
Toshiro stopped beside Renji. The older man shook his head in agreement, “You know damn well we didn’t have enough information, Sir. She’s wrong about that.”
The Squad Ten captain frowned somberly. “No she’s not. Make the announcement,” he ordered curtly. Toshiro resumed walking but tossed over his shoulder, “I’m going to check the perimeter.”
The other soul reapers rushed to part for his exit and Rangiku quickly followed. She had to almost jog to keep up with him as he ordered them to carry out their tasks.
He disappeared in a flashstep and she was right behind him. Rangiku couldn’t believe that woman slapped him. Or that Toshiro had so obviously let it happen. What was going through his head?
“Will you slow down and talk to me!” she yelled as she tried to keep up.
Toshiro ignored her and Rangiku growled in frustration as she ran. He was going to bottle this all up inside like an idiot.
Not even a half mile away from the village, an eerie feeling came over her while she trailed him. A sensation of wicked intent crawled over her skin. Her body flashed hot and cold in alarm. Haineko yowled and hissed in her ear in recognition. Rangiku immediately tore her zanpakuto from its sheathe as she slid to a stop.
“Toshiro!” she bellowed.
He practically screeched to a stop. Toshiro whipped around in surprise that she’d called him by his first name like that. Her defensive stance made his eyes widen and out of the corner of his vision, he saw something dark flash in the tree line. Absolute fury had him practically seeing red as he registered what that meant and ripped Hyorinmaru out. He snarled out the first binding spell that came to mind.
Rangiku heard him punching out words but only caught the last of the incantation.
“—Look upon your burning soul and sever your throat!” A bright red light glowed around his zanpakuto. “Bakudo Number Nine! Geki!” In a vicious, outward swing of his arm, crimson light shot forward in a great arc spreading out the distance of at least a mile. It blew through and past the trees making them groan and crack as they whiplashed. The light washed over the forest like a glowing, red tidal wave. The instant after Toshiro fired that off, he roared, “Hado Number 32!” A large ball of bright yellow light appeared in front his blade and he snarled, “Okasen!” He swung his zanpakuto back inward in a furious motion and the yellow light exploded outward in another wide arc of energy that blasted through the trees. The entire forest in front of them rocked as if it had been hit by typhoon force winds.
Rangiku looked around intently. At the time Toshiro had fired off that red strike spell, she could have sworn that she’d felt the malevolent intent change to something she could only describe as that panic you feel before an accident.
“I don’t feel anything now,” she called out with a frown.
Renji appeared beside Rangiku with Zabimaru drawn. “What happened,” he barked.
Toshiro didn’t take his eyes off the last location he’d seen the creature move and growled out angrily, “It followed us.”
Renji glared. “How the fuck could it cover that kind of distance so fast?”
Toshiro flashstepped to where he thought the entity went down. The two lieutenants landed behind him. The snow looked like something very big had fallen and slid, but nothing was there. He scowled and snapped, “Son of a bitch!”
Rangiku looked around. There wasn’t any blood. It didn’t even look like it had struggled to get up and run off. Again, there weren’t any footprints.
Renji must have been thinking along the same lines, “How can it leave a path of destruction in the snow like this and then disappear? You would have seen it dissipate if it was dead.”
Infuriated, Toshiro looked at Rangiku to confirm.
She shook her head with a knowing expression, “It’s not dead.”
Toshiro glared at the mess left in the snow around them.
Rangiku thought back to her first encounter with the entity. It had appeared and disappeared just as suddenly then as it had on that cliff and then just now. “Is it teleporting?” she wondered out loud.
Toshiro looked up and frowned at her. “True teleportation is an extremely rare ability,” he said almost dismissively.
“I know, but what if it can? Or what if it uses a device like we do? There’s no telling what got left behind in Hueco Mundo.”
Hot steam blew out of his nostrils impatiently as he contemplated, “It could pop in and out of any village, in any district, at any time. Tracking it could be next to impossible. It is more likely to be utilizing a sonído then teleportation.”
Rangiku blinked and exclaimed, “It just popped through twelve districts!” She snapped her fingers, “Like that!”
“There could always be more than one of ‘em…” Renji threw out there.
Rangiku looked around and went along with his reasoning, “I know it’s the same creature, but if it could somehow duplicate itself…”
“It could leave lookouts everywhere,” Renji nodded. His eyes narrowed after a few seconds and he tilted his head, “Wait. How do you know it’s the same thing as the one back at the mountains?”
Rangiku shrugged unsurely, “The best way I can describe it is that he’s got a really bad vibe and I can feel it.”
Renji looked unnerved, “Ew.”
Rangiku snorted, “Yeah.”
While the two had been talking, Toshiro’s attention was drawn skyward. The winds had changed and looked like it was bringing something big and cold with it. He could almost taste the sleet in the air and for a brief moment it soothed his temper. The temperature had been steadily dropping since they had returned from the mountains. If he had to hazard a guess, he estimated that they only had an hour or two before it hit.
They all jumped when a loud siren went off down in the village. “ATTENTION! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! A CURFEW AT SUNDOWN HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR YOUR SAFETY AND WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY! MAKE SURE ALL FAMILY MEMBERS ARE ACCOUNTED FOR! LOCK ALL YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS! DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOME FOR ANY REASON! ATTENTION! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!—”
“—Holy crap, that scared me,” Rangiku’s hand clutched the fabric covering her chest.
“They activated the beacons,” Renji blinked.
As the message looped and kept repeating, Toshiro made a decision. “I want you two to wrap things up down there and depart for the Seireitei. Submit your reports as soon as possible.” They both nodded and started to turn, “I’m staying.”
“What?” Renji asked in confusion.
Rangiku turned back around and started walking back to him, “I’m staying with you.”
“No. Go home. Write your report and get the fires started. This storm’s going to be bad.”
Rangiku waved her hand as if dismissing the ominous, ground-hugging leviathan careening their way, “But I can sense this thing,” she interjected. “And you ordered me not to leave your sight,” she reminded him in a take-that fashion.
An earsplitting crack of thunder boomed as if lightning struck at their feet. Rangiku jumped in fright. “Holy shit!” she screamed. Her eyes jerked to Toshiro’s and saw the boiling, fuming ire in his bright gaze. Haineko hissed angrily and Rangiku yelled back in righteous fury, “Goddamn it! Fine!”
Renji’s eyes were like saucers when Rangiku stomped by. He jumped when Captain Hitsugaya barked at him.
“Abarai! You stick to her like glue, or there’ll be hell to pay!”
Renji nodded quickly, “Yes, Sir!” Shit fire, Captain Hitsugaya was fucking scary when he was pissed off. Renji hadn’t seen him this mad since that day back in the Squad Six courtyard. Fuck!
Renji took off back toward the village after his angry blonde friend.
Toshiro growled like an animal. Why couldn’t she just do as he ordered! She always fucking argued! His skin crawled as rage made his blood boil. He scowled out at the forest where the sick fuck might still be hiding. He came for her again. Again… Retaliation had Toshiro blasting forward, a sonic boom cracked at his speed.
How dare he… How dare he! screamed Toshiro’s thoughts. He disappeared as he circled the town and then fanned out to search the forest for clues.

**~*~****~*~**

A/N: Please R&R!
- I can’t begin to describe how sorry I am that this took so long to post! I’m not even sure it’s DONE done, but ya’ll are getting it. This Great Swampy Middle of the story kicked my ass. Next chapter might be short but it’s mostly done. Thanks again for the random reviews, like from Azevade. They inspire me to finish when I get them! Also, I’m going back over my previous chapters and slightly tweaking them. It’s nothing major but something I wanted to change. Please be patient and know that I’m not abandoning this story! Send good ju-ju my way; maybe I’ll get a new job that I actually like and my muse will kick me in the ass, lol.
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Oh Captain! My Captain!