Toshiro froze, watching intently. Captain Ichimaru had also been praised as a genius for how quickly he had graduated from the Soul Reaper academy. Toshiro had heard all about his zanpaku-to Shinzo, and the incredible speed it possessed. Going head to head against it would likely end in Toshiro's death. But what was Captain Ichimaru doing here? Shouldn't he be at the execution grounds? Toshiro could see Captain Ichimaru talking to Momo. He focused on him doing his best to read his lips since he couldn't hear what was being said.
...someone I want you to see. He wanted to take Momo to see someone? Toshiro was wondering how Captain Ichimaru had known to look for her here. Had he been followed last night? No, he was sure he hadn't been followed. Then Captain Ichimaru may have sensed her spiritual pressure when she released the kido barrier. That was a possibility. Toshiro decided that for now it didn't really matter how he had known to find Momo here. What was important was that he wanted her to follow him somewhere to see someone.
The whole thing smelled like a trap to Toshiro, but Momo in her emotionally unstable state, seemed to have agreed and was following him. Toshiro made sure his own spiritual pressure was masked before following after them. Unfortunately he made the mistake of staying in the streets instead of being up on the rooftops. He rounded a corner a nearly walked into Lieutenant Kira.
"Ah, Third seat Hitsugaya. I need your help with something. Follow me." Lieutenant Kira starting walking in the opposite direction that Momo and Captain Ichimaru were going. Toshiro's instincts were screaming at him that something was very wrong, but as a third seat he was compelled to obey an order given by a Lieutenant. Perhaps he could finish whatever the task was quickly and then return to Momo. But would it be fast enough?
"Is something wrong Hitsugaya?" Lieutenant Kira asked. Toshiro turned around.
"No sir." He followed the lieutenant for several streets mentally keeping a lock on Momo's spiritual pressure. So far there had been no change which gave him comfort. But then the lieutenant took another right turn. This would have lead them in a meandering circle. Toshiro's suspicions returned, and his heart filled with anxiety. What was going on? Why weren't Captain Ichimaru and Lieutenant Kira at Sokyoku Hill where they should be? This didn't make sense.
"Lieutenant Kira where are we going?" Toshiro asked. He was careful to keep his voice neutral adding a little note of curiosity at the end to hide his suspicions.
"I need your help with an errand just up here," the Lieutenant replied. He pointed in the direction they had started at. Toshiro knew that Lieutenant Kira was only trying to delay him. For what purpose he wasn't sure, but he knew he needed to break away and get back to Momo. This all seemed like an elaborate ruse to separate them and Toshiro didn't like what that implied. He slowly fell a little bit further behind, making it look like he was just a little distracted looking around at things.
Then he suddenly made a break for it. He didn't hesitate throwing himself full force into the fastest shun-po he could muster. He leapt across the rooftops towards Momo desperate to reach her before whatever these two were planning could occur. He could hear Lieutenant Kira chasing after him, but he didn't dare look back. He had no idea which of the two of them was faster, but he didn't want to risk getting caught. Momo was in no state to take care of herself and he needed to make sure she was all right.
"Raise your head, Wabisuke!" Toshiro spared a glance over his shoulder to see that Lieutenant Kira had indeed released his shikai and was still pursuing him. Toshiro knew he needed to do something. Lieutenant Kira was a skilled Kido user as well. If Toshiro wasn't careful he could get caught, but if he attacked a lieutenant he could also face severe punishment.
The next roof tile he landed on cracked causing him to stumble to his knee. He threw himself forward into a roll, feeling the shards of tile come sailing past him as Lieutenant Kira attacked the spot on the roof where he had stumbled. Toshiro regained his footing quickly on the streetbelow grasping the hilt of his zanpaku-to and drawing it to block Lieutenant Kira's next attack. The Lieutenant was bigger and stronger than Toshiro and his attack forced him into the wall,stunning him a little with its impact.
Toshiro slid under Wabisuke jumping up into the far wall and using it to launch himself back; heading for the roof he had fallen off of. His sword felt wrong, and it took him a split second to realize it was heavier. The added weight threw off his jump allowing Lieutenant Kira to grab his trailing ankle and pull him back down. Once again the impact hurt Toshiro a little, but he took it across the shoulders instead of the back of his head. He curled quickly into a ball throwing his weight over his shoulders and pressing up with his hands to regain his feet. Then he launched himself into the air jumping over Lieutenant Kira's next swing. He knew better than to try blocking them now. Instead he raised his hand toward the Lieutenant.
"Bakudo number63, Sajo Sabaku!" A golden chain of spiritual energy shot from his hand binding the Lieutenant in place. Lieutenant Kira stumbled going down to his knees. His face showed mild surprise, which mean the was really surprised since Lieutenant Kira tended not to show much expression.
"You can cast a level sixty kido without an incantation?" Toshiro landed and launched into the full incantation for the Bakudo to reinforce it. Before he could finish, however he felt Momo's spiritual pressure spike and then start to fade.
Panicked he left the Lieutenant and took off at full speed again. He reached the Seijoto Kyorin -the Immaculate Tower Grove- to see Captain Ichimaru and Captain Aizen exiting one of the buildings. None of them should be here since these were the residence of the Council of 46. Toshiro was so stunned he froze and stared.
"Captain Ichimaru and..."
"Hello Toshiro,"Captain Aizen greeted.
"What? But how?"Toshiro asked.
"That would be along and involved explanation. More importantly, you are here sooner than expected." Captain Aizen glanced over his shoulder at his fellow captain.
"I'm sorry,"Captain Ichimaru said. "Izuru must have failed."
"What?" Toshiro asked again. His mind was assembling pieces at a rapid pace, but he still hadn't put the whole picture together. Captain Aizen was somehow still alive. He knew that Lieutenant Kira had been stalling or delaying him, but why? Why was it important that he not be here now? He had always known Captain Aizen as a friend. Captain Aizen smiled, but there was a new dark edge to it.
"Tactics of course. Divide and conquer. The most basic way of weakening an enemy."
"'Enemy?'"Toshiro repeated his mind spinning. What enemy? Him? Lieutenant Kira? Then his mind reminded him why he had come sprinting all this way. "Where's Momo?" he asked.
"Don't you know?"Captain Aizen replied. Toshiro honed in with his spiritual senses. Yes, there, just beyond them inside the building. He leapt forwardin a shun-po hoping that neither of them tried to stop him. Inside he found his sister.
"Mo-mo..." She didn't respond. He stared down at her bleeding body, her eyes wide with surprise. Rage began to build inside him.
"How unfortunate,you found her. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to find out like this. I should've chopped her up and hidden the pieces," Aizen said. Toshiro's fury rose, a fire almost as hot as his spiritual pressure was cold. Finally, the full picture was revealed to him sending a shudder through his body. He wasn't supposed to be here because he wasn't supposed to find Momo. Lieutenant Kira had been meant to stall him long enough that Aizen and Ichimaru would have gotten away with it. Toshiro would make them pay for this. He gripped Hyourinmaru's hilt and unleashed a primal yell as he unsheathed his sword.
"Bankai! Daiguren Hyourinmaru!" The building exploded as a surge of spiritual energy and ice forced the walls outward. Both Aizen and Ichimaru jumped free before they were caught in the sudden cold, but Toshiro didn't care. He had to keep Aizen from finishing what he'd started. Perhaps there was still a slim chance that Momo could be saved.
"I'm going to kill you!" Toshiro yelled leaping forward. There was sharp pain that exploded through his right shoulder and upper chest. He was falling; first to his knees, then he pitched forward onto his face. He could feel the cold embrace of the ice as he slid towards unconsciousness.
"You shouldn't make rash threats." Aizen's voice drifted to Toshiro through the gathering dark. "It makes you seem weak."
-
Toshiro awoke to see that he was in a squad barracks. He knew this wasn't his room,with the white sheets and blankets wrapped around him. A mask was strapped to his face and he could feel air being passed through it against his cheeks. He pushed himself up and his right shoulder felt like there were hot needles pulling at the skin. He almost cried out from the sudden and intense pain. He pressed his hand to his shoulder, glancing down at the bandaging wrapped around his chest; trying to recall what had happened.
Momo! The thought chased all others from his mind. He remembered seeing her on the ground in a pool of her own blood. He closed his eyes trying to find her spiritual pressure. There! It was faint, but it was also close. He pulled the mask off his face and pushed himself from the bed, his knees nearly collapsing underneath him. He steadied himself against the bed, gasping for breath before pushing away and to the wall. He slid along the wall to the doorway then out into the hallway. Many soul reapers looked at him with concern as he made his way through the halls, but none tried to stop him.
Finally he found her room. He stumbled once he was inside, falling to his knees on the wooden floor. Pain lanced through his chest, but he did his best to ignore it. Instead of taking the effort to stand back up, he crawled the rest of the distance to her bedside. He used it to pull himself up enough to see her. She had a mask over her face as well as several tubes running liquids intravenously into her arm. He gripped her hand. Her skin was cool to the touch, but when Toshiro pressed his fingers against her wrist he could feel her pulse. Alive. She was alive. He blinked a few tears of relief from his eyes as he pressed his forehead to her hand. Another hand rested gently against his uninjured left shoulder. He turned to look up at Captain Unohana. She smiled soothingly and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"You should be resting," she chided with her soft voice.
"I had to see her," he responded looking at Momo once again. There were a few moments of silence between them, before she spoke again.
"You saved her, you know." Toshiro lowered his head and looked away.
"No, I failed." Captain Unohana shook her head.
"No. The ice created by your bankai slowed the blood loss for both of you. Giving me valuable time to save your lives. Without it, I don't know that I would have been able to save her." Toshiro looked up into Unohana's deep blue eyes. She held the eye contact for a few moments allowing him to see the truth of her words, before closing her eyes and deepening her smile.
"Now, let's get you back to bed. You shouldn't be up and about just yet."