tampered | (no subject)

She'd made no move to hide her approach. There was no point, and she was no coward. Certainly, she hated fighting where it wasn't needed but this, if she could just get through to him, just make him realize that what he was doing was wrong, just -

And there went her mind again, trying to pull back the old image of her captain again. No more. Hands gripped Tobiume's sheath and hilt as Hinamori paused a few feet away from Aizen, surprisingly relaxed for a battle she knew she probably wouldn't win. "There's no talking you into leaving that boy alone, then."

He turned to her, hands still relaxed, and walked to within a few footsteps of her.

"I never stop chasing what I want. You know this already. Remember what happened the last you were in the way and go home."

His eyes remained locked on her, steady and unblinking.

She tensed visibly, frown slipping into place. "I won't let you hurt anyone. I told you already, I don't care what the cost is to me, as long as they're protected. You should know that by now, ex-captain."

Hinamori never really had had any intention of following Grimmjow's advice and staying away from Aizen anyway, although this wasn't what she'd had in mind. She would have just as easily accepted if he'd offered tea again, but the dark haired girl knew that this wasn't a matter so easily resolved.

"I'm only sorry you couldn't have switched places with Hitsugaya-kun. Perhaps then we would have been happier with our respective vice captain and captain." Brown eyes narrowed and fingers tightened their grip around Tobiumes hilt as she kept with his stare, even though she had to tilt her head up.

His eyes flashed for a moment, followed by a large flare of reiatsu aimed at forcing her back.

"What the hell is THAT supposed to me? You should not imply that which you know nothing about."

He rushed forward, unsheathing Kyouka Suigetsu and taking a light slash at her body.

"In combat, your thoughts should only be on the fight."

Tobiume was out in the blink of an eye, blocking his sword. "I know enough, traitor. And I know you're not one who should be telling me how to fight, considering it was your aim to hold me back."

There was no hesitation as she pushed Kyouka Suigetsu off, no waver to her voice. Hinamori had already decided, and Tobiume was with her - the only thing that mattered - as she moved forward with a downwards swing of the blade.

Aizen caught the blade between his thumb and fore-finger, then slid it along the edge, down almost to the hilt. He leaned in on her until he was inches from her face.

"And you so easily accepted that fate as long as I was there. You were the perfect puppy. All you wanted was for your master to pat you on the head and tell you what a good girl you were."

He brought his other hand around, saying a few words under his breath to release a low-level fire kido at her.

"Because I didn't know any better." She snarled, releasing her hold on Tobiume and using shunpyo to dodge behind him, letting the now manifested sprite come back to her. "You hid your intentions so well." Too well. Her scar was already proof of that, but she had no intention of gaining another one.

Not here. "Hadou thirty-three: soukatsui!" Even with the incantation bypass the blue flame she fired was still powerful, and Hinamori instantly dropped into a defensive stance, Tobiume once more in her hands once it was fired.

Aizen easily stood up against the assault and moved back a few steps.

"Excellent! Excellent!" he chided her, clapping his hands in mock-amazement, "You're so very strong, Momo!"

He was using that old smile and voice of his. The tone that was once kind, but now only came across as mocking.

"But I can do that too, Momo..."

And then he was behind her, aiming a fist at her lower back.

"Don't call me that," another snarl, even as she hit sand on one knee. The punch had hit just below the secondary scar, and she was thankful it hadn't been higher. That would have just been painful.

From her kneeling position, even in the sand, she was able to spin, bringing Tobiume around to strike at his legs, as she brought her other hand forward with it, muttering the encantation quickly, flawlessly, the exact same kidou that had betrayed her earlier, "Bone of a straggling beast, spire, crimson crystal, disc of steel, when the wind shifts, and the emptiness ceases, let the clash of lances resonate through the relinquished castle. Hadou 63: Raikouhou!"

Aizen flash-stepped out of the path of the massive energy blast, then launched a sokatsui at Hinamori from up in the air.

"That's what I want to see! Give me more! Show me what you can really do!"

He touched the ground and immediately began to cast again, throwing a haien kido at her. He kept moving around the beach, stopping every now and then to throw a small spell at her.

What she could really do? He had the nerve to taunt her even now? Letting her shunpyo guide her feet out of the way she watched his movements carefully, grip never once relaxing on her zanpakuto even as the Haien flame cut dangerously close to her.

He wasn't going to stop, so she'd have to stop him. Her intention wasn't to kill him, anyway. "Disintegrate, black dog of Rondaniini. Look upon your burning soul and sever your throat." It came easily enough, the words slipping out from years of training and practice. Her failure to track down the white-haired captain wouldn't be repeated here. "Bakudou nine," there was no way she would let him hurt anyone like he'd hurt them, "Geki!"

Aizen is struck by the spell. He feet stop moving as his body is held fast in the crimson glow of the kido. All he does is smile at her and stand there.

"Interesting," he said, watching her calmly, "You've certainly improved your aim. Perhaps I was wrong to cast you off so quickly."

"I don't care what you think about me, ex captain." A lie, of course, but he didn't have to know that. Hinamori glanced at him warily, somewhat surprised he hadn't broken out of such a low level spell, but she wasn't going to argue it.

Bringing Tobiume up she watched him for a moment. "You are aware we have spectators?" That would be his doing. She'd left Nell behind, safe in her bed and fast asleep, and she hadn't so much as hinted at the fight to anyone. But she could sense at least two people, just out of range within the trees.

She prayed they wouldn't interfere.

"Of course. They aren't a threat to me, for various reasons."

He smiled down at her, his eyes narrowing until they were almost as guarded as Gin's.

"So what will you do now, my little peach? I don't intend to stop anything I normally do. Your best bet would be to run me through. It's what SS would do, after all. I AM a traitor."

Of course they weren't. One was an Espada. But Hinamori didn't let that sway her as she stepped forward, closer to the man she thought she'd loved.

"Running you through would leave you with a scar to match mine. I'm not that heartless," she muttered, keeping Tobiume forward. He could have broken the kidou by now and she hesitated, enough distance between them to be out of sword range, but well within kidou range.

There was nothing for it. "Hajike, Tobiume!" A burst of red light and Tobiume responded quickly, firing a blast of kidou instantly, leaving Hinamori to skid back in the sand.

The blast struck Aizen head-on. He slumped in the red restricting kido, showing no signs of life. Blood was dripping from his nose and mouth, and burn marks scored across his body. The tips of his lovely brown hair were completely singed. Even his sword had been blown a short distance from him.

Oh, she knew better than that. "Stop it." Brown eyes closed as she tried to calm herself. "I know that isn't real." Was she crying? That was stupid of her. "Don't."

Hinamori's grip on Tobiume's sekai form tightened, zanpakuto whispering softly to its wielder. "Don't," quieter, meeker. She really was crying, and she hated herself for it. Not simply because she was crying, but because she was crying for him.

"I," her voice wavered, choked, "I never wanted this."

"Such a gruesome sight, is it not?" said a voice, whispering just behind her ear. Aizen's right hand was clamped onto her right shoulder and his left arm had lightly come across her front.

"Kyouka Suigetsu...Scatter."

The image of Aizen's "corpse" disappeared in an instant.

"This is almost deja vu, is it not, Hinamori-chan? Only this time you got to do the deed yourself," he said, as his hand creeped upwards to hold her cheek and wipe away some of her tears.

"I just want you to stop." More tears at the gentle touch. "I don't want anyone hurt." She'd never been very good as a shinigami, always determined to protect, not kill.

Her resistance was, as always, crumbling in front of the man she'd called captain. "Please. Just leave everyone else alone." She knew deep down that even if he agreed she alone wouldn't be enough; he'd already proved that by his actions in the City. Her truce thrown out for Rangiku's, not stopping Grimmjow when he could - should - have, before the arrancar had really started to confuse her, and now this. Willingly telling her he'd fight. He didn't care if she was alive or dead, and she knew it.

"Just don't hurt anyone else."

"I was merely interested in what was inside the boy. Nothing more. I am more than willing to leave the rest of you in peace."

His voice was soft when he spoke, but held just a hint of impatience. He hated when people tried to deny him something. He pulled her more firmly into himself, letting the fabric of his uniform fall over her shoulders. As he spoke, he gently stroked her hair, like a child.

"As a matter of fact, I may be able to find a way to extract the beast while leaving the boy alive. Don't you think it's a terrible burden? To force that kind of power on a child? Wouldn't he be better off without the beast constantly trying to force it's way out of him? In a place like Hueco Mundo, no humans would have to worry about it. It could be locked out of the human world."

"He is fine with the burden. And it wouldn't be locked away, it would be used by you." Snarling, anger quick to rise, but she didn't move, fingers still tight on Tobiume's hilt. "I want you to leave everyone alone. I don't care if that means you'll kill me, as long as you promise not to attack him, his friends, or any of the shinigami." If he was growing impatient she had already lost hers, trying to argue her point over and over.

Hinamori honestly didn't care if she was a sacrifice, as long as she was a sacrifice that counted. That was what this was about; not his betrayal, not her anger, not the recent events. It was about securing the safety of everyone she cared about and then some.

A light chuckled rumbled through his body as he suddenly released a burst of his reiatsu to push her away. He followed up by quickly drawing his blade on her, stopping it just beside her head.

"You seem to think your sacrifice would mean something, Hinamori. Why, oh WHY, would I leave everyone alone after killing you? That would just be someone out of the way."

The dull side of the zanpakutou touched her cheek, tracing along it in a slow arc. His voice became more stern.

"I will say this to you, Hinamori. You can't protect anyone. Not yourself, not the others. Even without me, there are numerous beings here who would do harm to you if given the chance. There are no cards you hold over me. If you truly wish to protect them, you must learn to kill. Until you can be cold, you are nothing."

"Being cold leaves you with no one." She didn't want that. Not even Hitsugaya was truly cold, and he was the ice wielder. No, she would rather be fire, be flame, be heat. "I accepted this fight, and I will see to it that you don't go near that boy again."

Tobiume swung up to knock the blade aside as she kicked off in the opposite direction, channeling reiatsu through her own zanpakuto, releasing a Raikouhou from the sekai form.

Kill him? Unlikely. Stop him? Possible, but hard. One shot was all she needed, the chance to push him back, and Tobiume murmured in assent as she pushed forward, bringing the blade up towards his throat.

He calmly watched as his zanpakutou was deflected and his former subordinate began her new attack.

"And the faster one burns, the quicker they snuff out."

The kido hits him full force, distracting him long enough for the blade to sink into his shoulder when he moves his head out of it's path. He stops and looks at her "partner", who is currently biting into his left shoulder. His expression is more of surprise, than actual pain.

"It doesn't make it meaningless." She pulled Tobiume free with a twist, stepping back to take up a guarded position, the blade raised.

"I don't want him hurt," the same thing over and over, but it had to be, because that was what she wanted and she wouldn't budge from that. She needed to know that something she did was worth it, that it helped others. "Why is that so difficult? Do you need Rangiku to offer you the truce instead? Is that what will make you accept?" Bitter, forceful, angry. Her hands shook slightly with the effort of holding herself back, of keeping her voice level, even, calm. But her eyes betrayed her, tears once again threatening to spill over.

"Rangiku...has nothing to do with this."

It was beginning to grate on him that people kept bringing her up. He increased his power, sending a large, oppressive burst of power at her, trying to knock her down without causing too much harm. He followed it up by throwing a binding kido at legs.

"You should mind your insolent tongue."

He sheathed his blade and ran in toward her.

"Who then? Who will suffice? Who can persuade you to stop this?" she shot back, even as she as she hit the sand, kneeling.

Whichever way she looked at it, it was frustrating her that he wouldn't listen to her. But all she needed was a minute, a single minute of concentration and the kidou would be off. The dark haired girl bit back the tears, bringing Tobiume in front of her to serve as some sort of barrier.

"The deal was that I would not cause trouble with the shinigami unless attacked. I have broken no rule."

He struck at her sternum with an open palm.

"In any case, this is over now."

"I didn't attack first." And then pain, blinding pain and she was coughing, gasping for breath, legs not quite free enough.

Tobiume reacted on her own, materializing and sinking surprisingly sharp teeth - for a sprite, anyway - into the offending hard, glaring at the ex captain with a seething hatred for so much as thinking about laying a hand on her Hinamori and showing no sign of releasing her grip.

"But did you not accompany me here with the intention to duel?"

He merely smiled as Kyouka Suigetsu's spirit lashed out with tendrils of energy, slashing at Tobiume viciously.

"If you don't recall your friend, you're going to lose her very soon."

He began to increase the pressure of his reiatsu on her.

"Do you yield?"

"I came to persuade you," still mostly breathless she winced openly as Tobiume squirmed, biting down harder instead of releasing her grip, "by whatever means necessary, to stop. You drew first."

Hinamori glanced away and down at the sand at Tobiumes whimper of pain, holding her hand out to recall the blade to her, only letting a small sigh of relief escape her once she felt the familiar weight in her hand once more. As much as she wanted to tell the spirit how stupid that had been she was thankful all the same, and instead turned her thoughts to comforting the wounded sprite as she brought her gaze back to Aizen.

"Hm. In any case, this stupidity has lasted long enough. I will at least say you have improved somewhat, Momo."

He leaned down and pushed the hair out of her face, then stroked her cheek gently.

"Do please improve a bit, just in case we have a little exercise like this again."

He stood and gave a loud whistle.

"Grimmjow, do see her home, please. She has some bruises that need tending to."

Grimmjow alighted on the beach from his vantage point in the trees, taking calm and measured steps towards the two combatants. He glanced down at Hinamori, his face devoid of any emotion, then acknowledged his master. "Of course, Aizen-sama."

The arrancar reached down and grabbed Hinamori's arm, roughly pulling her to her feet. "Let's go." He half-dragged, half-led her towards where Nell stood, anxious, waiting, at the line of trees.

Aizen glanced over his shoulder at them for a moment, then quickly disappeared from the area.

She was being patient, waiting, trying so hard not to run to the vice captain under fear of what would happen to either one of them. Her repeated attempts to sneak past the Espada had done nothing and now he was dragging Hinamori towards her with the smaller girl looking like she'd rather be back in the fight.

Nell did not like that. "Let go of Momo!" she pouted near tears, flinging herself at the shinigami and clinging desperately to her waist. "You'll hurt her! Nell doethn't want you to!"

She didn't mind the dragging. She didn't mind him running away. And she didn't mind the arrancar limpet that had succeeded in leaving her breathless again.

She minded the taunting, and she minded the attack on Tobiume.

Now sheathed, the blade had fallen quiet but Hinamori knew she was still in pain. They both were, in varying degrees, but Tobiume had suffered the most physical damage. Not for the first time she wanted Hitsugaya back, but she forced herself to wrap shaky arms around the small arrancar and murmur softly, "It's fine, Nell."

Though Aizen was gone, and though he was fully aware of the faint presences of the other shinigami, Grimmjow wrapped an arm around Hinamori's waist and pulled her (and Nell, unfortunately) against him.

He had to bring the shinigami somewhere. Anywhere.

"Hold on tight," he informed them both before his shunpyo sent them in the direction of the temple.