Chapter 24 My Memory

A silver-haired boy in a black cloak appeared before Aaronilo. He suddenly appeared in the fire and nimbly caught the girl who fell from the wall.

"You guys, are you hiding your spiritual pressure?!"

Daxu raised the knife in his hand cautiously. The other party was wearing a cloak and his face was completely invisible, but his sixth sense as an Espada told him that the person in front of him was very dangerous.

Because he underestimated the enemy just now, he was already injured. What was more troublesome was that those flames were not only impossible to extinguish, but also caused damage to the spirit particles themselves, and the healing speed of the wounds was gradually slowing down.

"Tsk, if I had known, I should have killed her that day!"

The girl in his arms had turned into a bloody person. Her eyes were dull and her lips were open as if she wanted to say something, but the next moment she completely lost consciousness.

"Captain! The scene has been settled... Homura?!"

The adjutant's voice rang in his ears, and the young man stretched out his hands slightly, as if he wanted to touch the cheek of the person in his arms, but after hearing Xu's murderous and provocative words, he tightened his fists again.

He stood up and calmly took off his cloak.

"Matsumoto, I'll leave her in your care."

The tall and beautiful blonde, Matsumoto Rangiku, looked at her captain's extremely ugly face, suppressed everything she wanted to say, nodded silently, and took over the unconscious girl.

A chilling spiritual pressure suddenly erupted, and the area where the boy stood was instantly covered in white frost. Standing before Aaronilo, he looked incredibly young, even shorter than the petite Izumi Kyoka. The wind blew his white haori, revealing a cross written on it.

Whether it was the raging flames or the escaping water vapor, they were all gradually frozen in this icy chill.

"Captain of the Tenth Division?! You, could it be that you are Hitsugaya Toushirou?"

The young man looked at the person in front of him and frowned: "Not only did he inherit Mizusawa's abilities, but also his memories?"

When Aizen invaded Karakura Town, he did not bring this Arrancar with strange abilities. Logically, he should not have recognized him.

"Never mind, it's not important." Hitsugaya reached out and grasped the hilt of the sword behind him. "Since you inherited Mizusawa's memories, you should know that besides Homura, there is another person whose Zanpakutō can also restrain her Mirage."

He looked at the enemy in front of him, his spiritual pressure revealing a cold murderous intent.

"Sit in the frost sky, Hyorinmaru."

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Now, I am in a dream.

Those blurry scenes were completely new, as if the frosted glass that was originally in front of my eyes had been removed, the blocks of color turned into people, and the buzzing sound became clearly audible.

No, it can't be called a dream. To be more precise, it's a memory from my past.

In my lifetime, I was considered a disaster because of the color of my eyes and my strange fire ability. After my death, I wandered alone in Rukongai, where the souls of the dead gathered, without a father or a mother.

The color of my eyes was naturally one of the reasons for being alienated, but more importantly, it was because I couldn't control those flames.

I had thought I would just wander around like this forever, starving to death and disintegrating into spirit particles, or being eaten by a vicious Hollow. Until one day, I met a boy who started talking to me.

"Hey, are you alone?"

His name is Hitsugaya Toushirou.

Dongshirou-kun is about my age, with silver-white hair that stands out even in Rukongai, and deep emerald eyes. Unlike me, who used to wander from district to district, he lives with his grandmother in a relatively peaceful area. While his neighbors are somewhat distant from him, there are still some who aren't afraid of him and treat him like a younger brother.

He and my grandmother took me in.

Later, in order to learn how to control our own power, I entered the Maou Spiritual Arts Academy with Toushirou-kun. This is a school that trains Shinigami.

Ms. Matsumoto Rangiku, who discovered Toushirou and me, said that Rukongai is populated by a large number of souls with powerful spiritual powers. Compared to ordinary people, these souls are more vulnerable to attacks from evil spirits, and if their spiritual pressure gets out of control, they can easily harm their loved ones and friends. He and I are typical examples of this.

The way to control power is to become the god of death.

Besides us, there are many people with different looks and unconventional personalities at Shinō Spiritual Academy. Not long after the class was divided, I met Mizusawa Oborozuki, and Toushirou became friends with Kusanagi Sojiro, the second-best student in the class. During the holidays, we would go back to visit Grandma. Everything was going in the right direction.

Until I summoned my own Zanpakutō.

Honestly, even now that I've recovered my memories, I still don't understand why Captain Yamamoto took me in as his last disciple. Was it because I said, "I want to become stronger," under the intimidation of his spiritual pressure? Or was it because he felt more at ease keeping me close to him, rather than being imprisoned in a maggot den, effectively serving a life sentence?

But there is one thing I am sure of.

Captain, that old man's special training was really terrible! There were several times when I thought I was going to die!

What's the discrimination in Rukongai? What's the monster thing? The captains of Seireitei are the real monsters, okay? Especially the old guy. At the beginning, he could have knocked me over with just one finger!

But being accepted as a closed disciple had its drawbacks. Ever since I was given the captain's surname, I've been completely cut off from my former family. The next time I saw Toushirou and Oborozuki, it was after we graduated from the Spiritual Arts Academy and were assigned to the Gotei 13.

"Huh? Don't you know? Hitsugaya-kun went to the 10th Division and got the seat of the chief officer right after he entered!"

Because of what Longyue said, I endured the pressure from the old man on the mountain and was beaten for three months. Finally, I passed his test and submitted a report to the Tenth Squad.

There is no other reason, just... I want to see him and tell him that I miss him and grandma very much.

As a result, I simulated the scene of meeting again many times in my mind and wrote countless drafts, but when I saw Dong Shilang again, I was still spineless and speechless.

The first person to speak was Dong Shilang.

"Long time no see... Yamamoto."

Some things did change. For example, Kusanagi didn't graduate successfully; he reportedly died during a field internship. For example, Oborozuki, who had always excelled in academics, lost his bid for the position of officer. For example, Toushirou and I became ordinary colleagues in the 10th Division, never calling each other by name again.

Oh, there was a time when he called my name. But I must have broken his heart at that time. I have never seen Dong Shilang so devastated.

Through the flames, I saw him rushing towards me but he was stopped by the vice-captain of the 12th Division and could only shout my name.

It's not "Yamamoto", but "Homura".

I'm sorry, Longyue. Even if I kill you, I can't stop that Hollow.

I even hurt those who loved me. At that time, I must have died a miserable death, right?

so……

Thinking of this, I slowly opened my eyes.

My body no longer hurts, but where am I? It doesn't look like the Port Mafia, and it's probably not a hospital either, because the room is Japanese-style.

When I close my eyes, I can feel several different spiritual pressures nearby, including Toshiro's spiritual pressure mixed in... That's right!

I suddenly threw off the quilt, sat up, opened the door, and ran to the room where I could sense the spiritual pressure.

Did you say sorry when you fainted during the battle with that Hollow? Did Toushirou hear it?

I really want to see him. How many years have passed in Soul Society since I died?

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The door was slammed open with a loud bang. Everyone who was still discussing a solution turned around and saw the figure of a girl who should still be unconscious.

She had long red hair and the kimono she was wearing was so loose that the upper part of her body could only barely hang on her. The collar was half open, revealing her fair chest, and the belt around her waist was also loose. If she took two more steps, it would definitely come loose.

"Humura?! What's wrong with you..." Matsumoto lost her temper mid-sentence because she noticed that the girl in front of her had dull eyes and had obviously just woken up from a deep coma.

However, even so, she still dragged her body in.

The girl's lifeless eyes swept around the room and stopped at a certain point.

"……sorry."

Suddenly, he said something softly without any context.

Her wounded body had almost healed through treatment, but her voice was still a little hoarse. "I'm sorry," she repeated stubbornly, looking at the silver-haired boy before her.

Matsumoto Rangiku suddenly realized what the girl was apologizing for.

"..." The other party also obviously realized it, "It's all over." The silver-haired boy relaxed his frown from just now, "It's all over, Yan."

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The Toushirou in front of me seemed to be a little taller than when I died.

His hair has grown a lot longer, his facial features have become more mature, and his temperament is much older than before.

Over his Shinhaku, he wore a white haori.

That was the symbol of the captain of the Gotei 13.

Huh? Has Toushirou become the captain?

"Humura, Homura, it's me. Do you still recognize me?"

"…Rangiku-san?"

Yes, Rangiku-san is here, and she's also the vice-captain of Division 10. So...where's Captain Isshin?

"Great, it looks like you're okay," Rangiku said as she came over and tugged at my clothes. I then noticed that my kimono was baggy, revealing most of the bandages on my chest. "Your wounds have just healed, so don't be in this cold draft. Come back to your room with me, okay?"

Subconsciously, I looked at Toushirou.

"Matsumoto, you stay here and continue discussing with Urahara." He sighed and walked straight towards me. I only then noticed that Toushirou was now a head shorter than me.

Back then, we were about the same height.

"Let's go."

"……Um……"

I actually have a lot of questions right now. Why is Mr. Urahara connected to the Gotei 13? What's going on with the disappearances at the warehouse? What about the Hollow calling himself Aaroniero?

I lay back on the bed obediently. Dong Shilang tucked the quilt for me and then wanted to get up and leave.

But I didn't want him to leave. "Wait...!" By the time I realized what was happening, my hands had already grabbed the man's clothes.

"What's wrong?" He stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled helplessly. "I just wanted to close the door."

Oh, so you’re not planning to leave.

"Your injury hasn't fully healed yet, you should take good care of yourself..."

"Is that a cyborg?"

Before I regained my memories, whether it was the kidnapping and rescue, or the subsequent relationship he agreed to, Toushirou always used adult-sized bodies. When I first saw him, my mind hadn't fully grasped the situation, but now I suddenly realized something was wrong.

There is no doubt that it must be him, but why does the age not match?

"Yes. It's a rather special artificial body."

"I see..."

Silence fell between us again.

A relatively special artificial body, that is to say——

"Very good."

"What?"

I grabbed the edge of the quilt with both hands and hid the lower half of my face. "I confessed to the right person, that's great..."

Dong Shilang was stunned for a moment, then looked away awkwardly: "Yes, you are not wrong."

I lay under the covers and saw his ears flush a faint pink. His hands clenched into fists under the covers. “So, does it still count now?”

Do your confession and your response still count?

Oh no, my eyes are a little sore and I feel like I’m about to cry.

He frowned, suddenly leaned down, and put his face close to mine: "Do I look like a man who doesn't keep his word?" We were so close to each other that if it weren't for the quilt between us, our noses would have touched.

"If I didn't like you, I wouldn't have agreed at that time."

My reflection was reflected in Dong Shilang's green eyes.

"Did you hear me clearly? Whether my last name is Yamamoto or Jiu Jing now, the person I love has never changed. It's you."

She could no longer hold back her tears, which rolled out from the corners of her eyes and were gently wiped away by Dong Shilang's hands.

"Why are you crying, idiot?"

But Mr. Dongshi, you must not know that I have always liked you since the day you held my hand.

The author has something to say:

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In their previous life, the two of them actually had a two-way relationship, but they didn't realize it at first.

Homura used to be a very... how should I put it, very hard-working, very ruthless little girl with a bit of a wild child temperament. If she hadn't met Haku and her grandmother and gone to Mao, she would have been even more sharp-tongued.

Finally, the cloak that Xiaobai wears in this chapter is a cloak made by Urahara Kisuke that can hide spiritual pressure and aura 23333