ICE HEART
xxxi. stomped
❝A LOT OF FAMILIAR FACES DROPPED BY TO SAY HELLO.❞

"Hyōten Hyakkasō."

"Kōri No Ten Oshioki."

"What are they... doing?" Harribel murmured with confusion plastered across her face.

"Tensō Jūrin - the ability to subjugate weather. Although it is one of the basic uses of Hyōrinmaru, it is also the most powerful. My powers are still unrefined. I know that better than anyone else would. That is why I didn't want to use this power in a Bankai state - actually, I couldn't. I wasn't confident that I could fully control it, but since half my ice flowers are gone and my Bankai is in a weaker state, you could say I'm in the perfect position to use it. Allow me to ask your name, Espada." Toshiro explained in great detail to the third Espada.

"I am Espada Number Three, Tier Harribel."

"I'm Captain of Squad Ten, Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Captain of Squad Five, Ayame Kireina. Are you ready?"

The Shinigami didn't give the Espada any time to reply as they both raised their spiritual pressures massively, accompanied with very loud battle cries.

"HYŌTEN HYAKKASŌ."

"WAVE FIVE, KŌRI NO TEN OSHIOKI."

Toshiro's spiritual pressure rocketed towards the sky while Ayame's spiritual pressure exploded around her. The female's blonde hair and her peach-coloured skin tone were turning as white as snow.

"My Queen, using this much spiritual pressure after such a long time is dangerous. It could harm you massively." Kōri No Joō warned the female, though she didn't care as long as she completed her mission - to defeat Sosuke Aizen, Kaname Tousen and Gin Ichimaru, along with their plans.

"I know, but I'm willing to risk my life to fulfill my duty. Remember that I was ordered here to defeat Sosuke Aizen. After this battle, I may have to return to the Soul Palace." Ayame replied, the thought of having to return to the Soul Palace tugging at her heart a slight bit.

The blonde didn't want to return to the place that she used to call home, after all, it wasn't a home - not to her. Ayame didn't feel welcomed there, and it was like she was ridiculed for her age, and separated from everybody else. Although she was honoured to be selected and placed into such an elite squad, she didn't care about the title or the awards that came with it. Her happiness meant more to her than any stupid title.

The Soul Society was her home, and it always had been.

"You don't want to go back there, my Queen. I know that you don't." Kōri no Joō told the blonde, who could easily tell that her zanpakutō had a frown on her face.

"We'll talk about it after this war has finished. There is no need to discuss it at this moment in time." Ayame responded to her, hoping that the spirit would quiet down and let the blonde concentrate.

The dark clouds began to part, forming a large circle of light to shine down on Toshiro and Ayame. A few seconds later, an avalanche of snow began to fall through that hole and an ice prison began to surround Harribel.

"CASCADA!"

A whirlpool of water was sent towards the falling snow, however the water transformed to ice and shattered, allowing the snow to tumble down.

"Hirvie-." Harribel began, but stopped when she noticed ice growing on her sword.

After a few seconds, ice was growing on the entirety of Harribel's body and her skin tone was becoming paler and paler with every second that went by. Suddenly, Harribel's arms were forced behind her back and she dropped to the floor, making me smirk.

"What is this?"

"Hyōten Hyakkasō, anything that the snow comes in contact with freezes instantly in the form of a flower. By the time these one-hundred frozen flowers have blossomed, your life will have disappeared." Toshiro informed Harribel while several flowers began to bloom and hundreds of swords surround her.

Suddenly, the swords stabbed her all at once, then once they had impaled her body they transformed into ice and shattered.

"Kōri No Ten Oshioki forms an ice prison around the opponent and their hands will be tied around their back by an unknown force. After that, you will be pushed to the ground and unable to stand back up, leaving you unable to fight. Like my Shi No Kurappu technique, several swords will surround you and stab you. Once they have stabbed you, the swords will turn to ice and shatter. Ice will begin to cover your entire body and you will begin to feel fatigued. This is because those swords are coated with a poison that slowly kills you by freezing all of your body." Ayame explained as ice covered Harribel's entire body, ensuring her death.

"Sorry for that, but we can't let you avenge your subordinates." Toshiro spoke as he turned his back on Harribel and deactivated his Bankai.

The blonde-haired female was panting heavily due to the large amount of spiritual pressure that she had released at once. Ayame also noticed that Toshiro was panting heavily and her blue eyes were clouded in concern.

"Are you... okay?" The petite woman questioned him in between pants.

"I must've taken too much damage. What about you?" Toshiro replied.

"I'll be fine. It's just that I haven't released so much spiritual pressure in years. It's took quite a toll on me." Ayame replied with a slight chuckle before falling towards the ground.

Toshiro's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed the small woman, helping her stand up properly.

"Ayame, you need to rest." Toshiro told her.

"I'll be fine, Toshiro." She assured him.

Suddenly, a huge Garganta opened and Ayame's blue orbs widened.

"A Garganta?" She breathed out.

"It can't be." Toshiro muttered.

The small woman noticed that one of the Arrancars that came along before Orihime disappeared was walking through the Garganta. Her eyes widened when she noticed it was the same one who attacked Kisuke with what Yammy called a Bala. A few seconds later, a hollow with a bulbous body and long tufts of hair on it's back came out of the Garganta, standing behind the child Arrancar.

The child Arrancar suddenly flash stepped towards Jushiro and Ayame's eyes widened as she watched Jushiro get impaled through the chest.

"JUSHIRO!" The blonde screeched, tears brimming her blue eyes.

Ayame summoned her zanpakutō back and went to charge towards it, but somebody held the female back. The small woman snapped her head behind her to see Toshiro holding on to her waist tightly.

"Your rage will get you killed, Ayame. Think about this." Toshiro warned the female.

Ayame clenched her fist and watched as Shunsui attempted to attack the smaller child, but came to a halt as the Espada pressed a gun to his back and shot a cero.

"SHUNSUI!" The blonde cried out, tears threatening to spill as she watched them fall to the ground. "Toshiro, let me go."

"You'll get yourself killed!" He argued.

"Shunsui and Jushiro are like my brothers. They cared for me when I was younger. They trained me along with the Old Man. They took care of me when my mother died. Please, Toshiro, let me go!" Ayame pleaded.

Toshiro's eyes were clouded with concern, but his eyes narrowed as a loud screech rang through our ears. The smaller child was screaming and the frequency managed to shatter the ice completely, making Ayame's and Toshiro's eyes widen. The blonde gazed back over and watched as the Hollow blew out Yamamoto's flames, revealing Kaname, Gin and Sosuke.

"That's rather a foul stench, as always." Gin commented.

"Agreed." Kaname replied.

"This must be what people refer to as the stench of death." Gin assumed.

"Yes. The stench of death is quite fitting here. It's a perfect description of what's about to happen before us." Aizen chuckled, glaring down at the Shinigami.

"Not so fast." An unfamiliar voice spoke.

Ayame gazed over to the source of the sound and saw eight people who she recognised immediately.

"The Old Man told me about these eight people before. They're the Masked Ones, there is no doubt about that." Ayame thought to herself, remembering the time that Yamamoto showed her several pictures of them and told the female many stories about them.

"Oh, would you look at that. A lot of familiar faces dropped by to say hello!" Gin exclaimed.

"Surprised to see us? You shouldn't be. Each of us were highly motivated to make it here for the main event, Sosuke." Shinji told them.

"What the hell? Who are they?" Toshiro muttered.

"Kensei Murguruma, Mashiro Kuna, Rōjurō Oturibashi, Hachigen Ushoda, Love Aikawa, Lisa Yadomaru, Hiyori Sarugaki and Shinji Hirako." Ayame thought to herself, before speaking to Kōri no Joō. "Kōri no Joō, make two duplicates of yourself that have fifty percent of my power and check on Jushiro and Shunsui."

"Yes, my Queen." She replied, as formal as always.

The blonde watched as Lisa flash stepped over to Shunsui and Shinji flash stepped over to Yamamoto. A few seconds later, Ayame felt one of the duplicates return to her.

"Shunsui was fine." Kōri no Joō informed the small
woman, whom nodded.

"Thank you." She replied, before the child started to scream again.

"Now what the hell is he trying to do?" Toshiro growled.

The mouth of the hollow opened and began to pour out a swarm of Menos. There had to be hundreds of them.

"Kōri no Joō, send out three more duplic-." Ayame began, but came to a halt when she saw the Visoreds place on their masks and charge towards the Menos Grande.

"Who are these guys? They're using hollow powers like Ichigo!" Toshiro asked.

Once most of the Menos were dealt with, Shinji flash stepped towards Aizen and went to attack him, however Kaname interrupted and went to chop of Shinji's head. Fortunately, Kaname missed and only managed to cut Shinji slightly. Kaname proceeded to charge towards Shinji, but Sajin flash stepped in front of him and blocked it.

"Allow me to assist you, Masked Visitor." Sajin spoke.

"I don't know, pal. Are you sure you want to get involved and help an outcast like me? Although, now that I see you clearly, I think you and I might have quite a bit in common." Shinji replied.

"Amusing, but I saw how you and your friends confronted those Menos Grande without hesitation. That action alone was enough. You've convinced me that you're on our side. Despite your attitude, I have decided to fight with you. There is no point objecting. My mind is made up." Sajin informed him.

"Thanks for sharing your thoughts with everyone, Komamura." Toshiro sighed. "I guess you have a point."

The ice trapping Harribel shattered, revealing a nearly unscathed Harribel. She had several cuts from my swords and it looked like she was quite tired.

"The poison must be spreading slower than I expected." Ayame thought to herself, gritting her teeth.

The small-framed female noticed that Harribel was about to strike both her and Toshiro, and Ayame was about to block her attack until the blonde noticed Lisa's and Hiyori's spiritual pressure right next to them. Lisa hit Harribel's sword so it wouldn't cut Toshiro and Hiyori hit Harribel back. After that, their masks both disappeared.

"I suppose I should thank you for the help, but I'm still unsure on whose side you're on." Toshiro told them.

"Let me make this clear to you. We really don't want to help the Soul Reapers out, but at the moment we don't have much choice. That's how it is." Hiyori growled with her usual 'I hate everyone' attitude.

"Remember the enemy of your enemy, is likely to be your ally." Lisa informed the two Shinigami. "Reason enough to join forces."

"I suppose you're right." Toshiro sighed. "Hey, I need to talk to you."

"How about later? I'm kind of tied up now. And if you're still harping about who we are and where we came from, forget it." Hiyori replied.

"Don't worry, I don't care about that anymore. The fact of the matter is, I need to ask if you'll do me a favour. Can I leave her to you three? I would help but I want to go and confront Sosuke." Toshiro asked as Ayame's blue orbs widened. "Uh, is that alright?"

"Toshiro, you'll get killed if you confront Sosuke alone." Ayame told him bluntly.

"ALRIGHT? WHAT ARE YOU STUPID? WE CAME HERE TO TAKE SOSUKE'S ASS OUT AND INSTEAD WE SAW YOU GUYS GETTING SLAUGHTERED SO WE DECIDED TO STEP IN AND HELP YOU EVEN THOUGH SOME OF US THOUGHT IT WAS A BAD IDEA, SO WHY SHOULD WE LET YOU FIGHT SOSUKE FIRST?!" Hiyori yelled.

"You're right. I shouldn't have asked. Forget what I said. I was being too impatient." Toshiro told her.

Hiyori couldn't take that for a reply and jumped into Toshiro's face while screaming. "FORGET IT? THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT TO SAY? HOW ABOUT I'M SORRY, I'D LIKE TO HEAR AN APOLOGY FROM THAT BIG MOUTH OF YOURS!"

"Sorry." Toshiro mumbled.

"Huh? What was that? I can't hear you!" Hiyori smirked.

"Sorry." Toshiro grumbled, a tiny bit louder than before.

"A little louder!" Hiyori taunted him.

"Sorry." He growled.

"What kind of apology is that? There's no feeling in it!" Hiyori told Toshiro, nudging him in the side.

"That's all you're getting so live with it!" Toshiro snapped.

"Apart from that, what's a kid like you doing in a Captain's uniform? Are you really a Captain? From the way you fight it's hard to believe that anyone would promote you to that rank!" Hiyori teased him.

"I said I was sorry, let it go." Toshiro grumbled.

"DO YOU THINK YOU'RE HOT STUFF BECAUSE YOU WERE ABLE TO BECOME A CAPTAIN? WELL YOU DON'T IMPRESS ME AT ALL, I'VE SEEN BETTER NEWBIES THAT FIGHT BETTER THAN YOU. YOU'RE TOO HEIGHT-CHALLANGED TO WEAR THE UNIFORM! SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORY SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY, SHORTY-!" Hiyori yelled, but came to a halt as Toshiro grabbed hold of her collar.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHORTY? YOU'RE SHORT!" Toshiro argued.

"What?"

"YOU'RE SHORTER THAN ME SO SHUT UP, YOU SHRIMP!" Toshiro yelled at Hiyori, before she pushed him away.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP, YOU HAIRBALL? YOU WANNA' FIGHT? IF YOU WANNA' FIGHT I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU!" Hiyori threatened him.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT, I JUST WANTED TO APOLOGISE TO YOU BUT YOU INSIST ON NOT LETTING IT GO!" Toshiro screamed as they began to play tug of war with Hiyori's arm.

"Eh, now you're touching me. Is that what it's all been about from the beginning? Are you just a PERVERT?!" Hiyori suggested, before Toshiro jumped back in shock.

"A pervert?! I can't beli-. What did you just call me?!" Toshiro replied.

"PERVERT! PERVERT! PERVERT! PERVERT! PERVERT! PERVERT! PERVERT-!" Hiyori repeated before Toshiro grabbed her arm again.

"SHUT UP! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT, YOU BRAT!" Toshiro screeched.

"Ohh, you can't keep your hands off me can you, YOU PERVERT!" Hiyori yelled.

"That's enough from both of you." Lisa interrupted them, making them both stop to turn towards her. "Don't overreact. It's okay to be interested in a girl's body."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!"

"I'll give you some privacy." Lisa replied before jumping away.

Ayame felt something like jealousy stir up inside of her, but she didn't know why she was jealous. The blonde just smirked and followed Lisa, leaving Toshiro and Hiyori to argue.