"Ichimaru… what is your purpose?" Hinamori Momo's hands trembled as she looked ahead. "Does it… does it really have to be this way? Even Hinamori..."
"I would rather have the tiger's mouth shattered and bleeding than release the blade in my hand."
Though Hinamori Momo lay on her side, her blood-streaked palm clung stubbornly to the Zanpakutō she had only just dropped.
"Ah… what are you talking about?" Ichimaru Gin touched the side of his head as if perplexed, his smile unfading.
"I warned you long ago…" Hitsugaya Toshiro's eyes narrowed. "Touch Hinamori again-and I will kill you."
Spiritual pressure erupted violently from Hitsugaya's Zanpakutō, intense enough to disintegrate the scabbard in pieces. Everything around him was pressed down by its force.
"That's not acceptable…" Ichimaru Gin responded calmly. "Since you're choosing to act like this, Captain of the 10th Division, I suppose I'll have to respond in kind."
Gin placed his hand on the hilt of his Zanpakutō. The spiritual pressure that radiated from him matched Hitsugaya's, and the air itself seemed to freeze between them. The weight of their reiryoku bore down on everyone nearby.
"Ichimaru… Captain…" Kira Izuru's breath caught as he backed up, unsure whether to intervene or flee.
"Just get back," Gin said without turning around. "Unless you've suddenly developed the ability to die and return to life… don't stay here."
"Step back?! That won't be enough! Disappear, Kira! Far enough that I won't see you!" Hitsugaya barked, raising his right arm and leveling his Zanpakutō forward. "Otherwise, I make no guarantees that you won't die getting caught up in this."
With both hands gripping his blade, he leapt into the air and called out:
"Sit upon the frosty heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"
Spiritual pressure surged, transforming into the form of a massive ice-blue dragon. It spiraled into the sky, surrounding Hitsugaya and forming crystal-like fragments in the air with every twist and turn.
Simultaneously, the atmosphere changed. Clouds swept the sky in the span of moments, darkening the sunlight as harsh winds lifted the fallen leaves from the ground. Hyōrinmaru's spiritual pressure altered the very weather-a rare quality even among Zanpakutō-thus earning its title as "Celestial Phenomenon Follower."
Kira Izuru watched with wide eyes as water and ice formed dragons in midair. It was the first time he'd seen the true power of the strongest ice-type Zanpakutō in Soul Society.
As the dragon took flight, Hitsugaya released it toward Ichimaru Gin.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
Where the dragon struck, the ground erupted into solid ice. Snow and frost radiated outward, sweeping across the grasslands. Kira leapt back, but even so, ice clung to his uniform and limbs-cold so intense it felt as if it could erode muscle and bone.
Another wave came before the last had passed.
Ichimaru Gin's hand sliced through the ice, but his left hand was quickly coated in frost, impairing his movement.
Hitsugaya appeared behind Gin in that same instant. The chain attached to Hyōrinmaru's hilt wrapped tightly around Gin's arm.
"It's over, Ichimaru," Hitsugaya said, left hand gripping the chain and right hand driving the blade toward Gin's side.
Yet Gin's expression remained unchanged-calm, composed, and smiling as always. Without hesitation, he pointed his Zanpakutō directly at Hitsugaya.
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō."
In the next instant, Gin's seemingly small Zanpakutō shot forward in an explosive extension of light. The blade expanded violently, aiming directly for Hitsugaya's face.
Hitsugaya's pupils constricted. He shifted instinctively-his body twisted backward midair, his feet slipping against the ground, Zanpakutō lifted over his head. The incoming blade's trajectory deflected just enough to graze the tip of his nose.
From that same tip, one bead of sweat drifted in midair-only to be split into two by the passing blade before it fell.
Gin's mocking smile seemed to say it clearly:
"You move away-and someone else dies."
Hitsugaya's eyes widened in realization as he turned.
"-Hinamori!"
Before he could act again, a tall figure with golden curls moved into his view. Rangiku Matsumoto's Zanpakutō clashed against the extended Shinsō, just inches away from Hinamori Momo's unconscious body.
She held her ground and looked directly at Gin.
"If you want to keep fighting, then fight me."
Gin said nothing at first. He simply retrieved Shinsō and turned his back to the others, walking away from the battlefield without another word.
"Hey-wait!"
Gin tilted his head and spoke with one last smile:
"Instead of chasing me… shouldn't you be checking on the Fifth Division's lieutenant?"
And then he vanished from the spot.
Matsumoto's gaze remained fixed in the direction where Gin had disappeared. Her emotions had stabilized now-and she had her suspicions. Yuta had said things that made her rethink everything. Watching Gin's retreating figure no longer carried the same weight it once did.
She simply hoped that whatever he intended… he would see it through.
…
Division Four.
Hitsugaya Toshiro stood with Matsumoto Rangiku at Hinamori Momo's bedside as the Fourth Division completed treatment.
"Her injuries aren't severe," one of the medics said. "She'll wake up soon."
Hitsugaya placed additional barriers around her room before stepping back silently.
Rangiku leaned against the doorframe. "… If their goal is to capture Yuta and secure the Zanpakutō he carries, then there's only one path left."
Without waiting for Toshiro's reply, she turned and walked away-her destination clear.
When they arrived at Central 46, what they found waiting for them was beyond anything they had imagined.
I'm uploading 10 chapters today as a reward for going past 150 powerstones! Woooo! 2 chapter an hour! Thats why you guys gotta keep giving me powerstones cause maybe i'll even drop another 20 chapters!
PS GOALS: 150 PS= 5-10 extra chapter on an update.
💕💕
READ 45+ ADVANCED CHAPTER AT MY P@TREON! FOR ONLY 10$
at [email protected] /Zaneninjacat
💕💕
💀💀 gimme powerstones!💀💀