Chapter 13

 

A man in white stood in the dimly lit room in which he held his throne. His sharp brown eyes gazed over the empty room, a frown adorning his usually calm, strong features. His Espada weren’t nearly as powerful as wha he had ten years prior. In fact, only Yammy remained; his most powerful Espada. The rest had been killed by that Substitute Soul Reaper and his friends. Worse, there had been news of Arrancar outside of Las Noches that were aiding the Soul Reapers in their goals. Damn rebellion. Aizen’s thoughts drifted to the news he’d received only days before from one of his weaker Arrancar. It appeared the Gotei 13 captain he’d killed, Toshiro Hitsugaya, had been reincarnated. He was now a young boy, and had retained not only his appearance, but his spiritual pressure. Aizen smirked.

 

“All according to plan.”

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Renji groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself. Kisuke had had the theory that my ability was triggered by powerful emotions. We’d started with fear and anger. Then, we branched out and discovered that any emotion that I felt strongly would release this strange shockwave I emitted. The more I used it, the less tiring it became to use.

 

“Very good, Miss Kitamura. You’ve come very far in this past month,” Kisuke said as he approached.

 

“Mina-chan, look!” Toshiro yelled from about thirty feet away. I turned around and saw that he’d created a dome of ice around Ichigo, trapping him inside.

 

“The kid’s a natural,” Renji murmured and I smiled, full of pride.

 

“He’s a Kitamura,” I answered.

 

“Let’s try this one more time,” Kisuke suggested.

 

“Toshiro has school tomorrow and I have work. It’s time to call it a night.”

 

Kisuke nodded, knowing I was firmly set when it came to my brother’s education. Ichigo broke out of his frozen cage and ruffled Toshiro’s hair with a smile. My brother laughed and grabbed Ichigo’s hand, tugging him towards me. Rukia followed along with a small smile on her lips. She looked happy to see my brother doing so well.

 

“Toshiro’s just about mastered his ability,” Ichigo said. He picked up Toshiro and put him on his shoulders, much like how I would expect and older brother to interact with the younger.

 

“He’s a true prodigy,” Rukia added and my smile grew. I was so proud of Toshiro for doing well.

 

“I’ll see you both tomorrow, then,” Kisuke said, nodding in our direction.

 

Renji held out his hand for me and I held on tightly as he brought me up to the top of the ladder, inside Kisuke’s shop. They called it ‘flash step’. I chuckled softly, thinking of all the terms I’d had to learn, and those I still didn’t fully understand. Ichigo, Rukia and Kisuke were in the shop in mere seconds as well; Ichigo had carried Toshiro up. He set my brother down before entering his body. I’d learned he was what they called a Substitute Soul Reaper, which meant he was still living, like my brother and me. The strange pill he and the others took to exit their bodies were called mod souls, which took over the body.

 

I took Toshiro’s hand and left the shop with him and Renji. The red-haired Soul Reaper had been living with us for the past month, sleeping on our couch, so he could keep eyes on us at night when we would be more vulnerable. Rukia was staying with Ichigo because he had the extra room. As soon as we were home, I locked the front door and walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Renji disappeared for a few minutes before returning in his gigai. This was a daily occurrence and quickly became something I thought very little of, as though it had been happening all my life. I sometimes found it strange how quickly Toshiro and I had grown accustomed to Renji and Rukia’s presence in our daily lives.

 

“Your Modsoul didn’t cause any trouble, right?” I asked Renji as he reentered the kitchen. He’d mentioned the Modsoul’s name to me once, but I’d failed to remember it. I’d remembered the Modsoul Ichigo used was named Kon and Rukia had Chappy.

 

“No trouble at all,” he answered easily, sitting on one of the stools. I nodded slowly, staring down at the mean as I cut it into smaller pieces to cook.

 

“Good to hear,” I murmured.

 

“Hmmm? Something bugging you?”

 

“It’s nothing, really.”

 

“It’s not a good idea to be distracted when you’re cooking,” Renji said, his voice taking on a mock lecturing tone. I rolled my eyes with a soft chuckle.

 

“I just don’t want Toshiro to be fighting. He’s only ten.”

 

“You want to fight for him?”

 

“I wish we didn’t have to fight at all.” I set the knife down and leaned against the counter, resting a hand on my forehead. I heard Renji step off the stool and felt his hand rest on my shoulder.

 

“It’ll be fine. If all goes well, neither of you will have to fight anyone.” I nodded slowly and rested my hand on Renji’s.

 

“Thanks, Renji. I hope you’re right.”