~ Light Of Hope ~ (A Toushiro Hitsugaya Fanfic)

50. " Truth Unveiled "

A few short moments later, Toushiro's hand went limp and collapses. Luckily, Yuuki was there to catch him. Since she can't carry him due to her weakened state, she gently lays him on the floor with his head on her lap.

Ichigo enters the room a few minutes later and was surprised to see Toushiro sprawled on the floor. Yuuki was peering down at him with a concerned look.

"Toushiro!!", Ichigo called in concern and turns his attention to Yuuki. "What happened?!", he asked.

"Ichi-nii!! H-He suddenly... he suddenly collapsed!", Yuuki frantically said on the brink of tears.

"Calm down... let's just help him lay on the bed."

With Yuuki's assistance, Ichigo lays Toushiro on the bed and checks on his wound.

"As I thought....", Ichigo mumbled. "He must've overexerted himself... this wound is quite deep... he must've been delirious due to high fever.", he said.

(No wonder he was acting strange...), Yuuki thought. "I... I'm the one who caused this... I'm so sorry... Shiro.", she said as guilt claimed her heart.

Ichigo looks at her in concern and pats her on the shoulder.

"Blaming yourself won't make him better, for now he needs help. We need to call Inoue or Unohana-san here."

Yuuki nods firmly.

"I'll get Orihime here now!", Yuuki said and dashes out of the room.

Once outside, she immediately summons a giant bird using a paper talisman and hurriedly flies towards Karakura Town.

******

Meanwhile, at the room where Shinjo and Amaterasu talk,

"Sorry for leaving in a rush back then...", Shinjo apologetically said.

"You had no other choice, if you didn't act fast enough then that brat could've died.", Amaterasu said. "I must say... even though we haven't seen each other for so long, you still trusted me enough to leave your sister's life in my hands. (*sigh*) Do me a favor will you and trust me less. It's so troublesome."

"You haven't done something untrustworthy... yet, and on top of that, you're very reliable so I can't help it."

"You three siblings are such a pain you know that?"

"Yeah... sorry.", Shinjo said as he looks down.

"Anyways, after you left, Yuuki slightly regained control for a moment which caused Yuuri to weaken a bit. I used that opportunity to seal her again. It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. Then afterwards, Yuuki used Awakening and fought against Michiru. He was really powerful so we only managed to mess him up a bit and escaped. Then we summoned the Dark Gate and saw Kazu waiting at the other side. I guess you know what happened afterwards. That pretty much sums it all up."

"I see... thanks for saving Yuuki. Without you, who knows what would've happened."

"Ha! You guys wouldn't survive a single day without me!", Amaterasu exclaimed. "So what do you really want to talk about?"

".... what happened to Yuuri?"

"The seal keeps her in slumber within Yuuki's Inner World... but if Yuuki looses control again.... I don't know what might happen, the seal isn't as strong as it is before. In addition, the sealing process takes toll on the body. We can't do this continuously or we might lose them both. There's also the fact that Michiru has the jewel. Problems keep piling up one after another."

"I see... but you don't need to worry about that since he doesn't have the power to use it."

"I know... but still."