The One I'm Most Proud Of
Title: The One I Am Most Proud Of
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Ukitake & Hitsugaya
Spoilers (if applicable): Set not that long after the Deicide arc, but before the current arc.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: There is a reason that Ukitake showers Hitsugaya with so many gifts and so much attention.
Authors Notes: azardarkstar made an interesting comment to “The Oldest Friends Know Everything About You,” regarding Hitsugaya and him being one of the children they rescued. So I decided to run with it. Set after the Winter War but before that fic, while Ukitake is still healing from his injuries.
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He had vowed he would never call them Uncle. They weren't his uncles, just as much as she wasn't his aunt. Only Granny would get a family title, because she was Granny. She was all he knew when it came to adult figures in his life. But he knew who they were, and how much he owed them, especially now.
So it was that he went to Ukitake's private room in the 4th Division headquarters. Matsumoto had scouted it for a few days, trying to figure out when Ukitake's two brainless third seats would be gone so he could be uninterrupted and not eavesdropped on. Around two PM every day they disappeared for an hour, so he waited out of sight for them to leave, then went into the room.
“Your Lieutenant is very bad at spying,” the older man said with a smile when he turned and saw Hitsugaya standing there. “I told them to take an extended lunch today when I heard she wasn't skulking around the hallway this morning.”
Hitsugaya grunted quietly and pulled up a chair next to his bedside. It occurred to him that in his life he had spent too much time near bedsides of those sick or ailing. He was still quite young, so he figured it would just get worse as he got older. “I had wanted to talk to you about things.”
“Of course,” he said, propping himself up a little more. “But first, how is your Granny doing?”
“She's...” He paused. “When she heard about Hinamori, she may have been devastated inside. She wouldn't eat very much until she knew Hinamori was out of the Twelfth Division. I haven't seen much reason to go back since she is there recuperating. She does not want to speak to me right now.”
“Ah,” Ukitake said with a nod. “But she is better now?”
“Taking care of Hinamori has given her back some of the life that she lost,” he said. “She is eating again now, at the very least.”
“That's good,” he said with a smile. “She was one of the first, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” he said quietly. “You rescued her from the 76th District, and gave her to the people who raised her.”
“I didn't rescue her. Not alone, at least. I carried her back but Kyoraku found her her home,” he mused.
“Why did you do it? Why did you save her?” he asked, ignoring the bigger question that lay beneath the surface. He didn't know if he would ever ask it.
“Because she was a helpless little girl,” he said. “She was so lovely, with a round face and sparkling eyes. Despite all the horror she'd seen, she smiled when we got to her. She lifted up her arms and wanted to be picked up. I asked in the village who her parents were, and no one knew, or cared, rather. So we agreed we would take her and give her a better life.”
Hitsugaya was quiet for a moment. “Why did you rescue me?” he finally asked quietly.
Ukitake looked surprised for a moment. As far as he knew, no one had told him he was among the hundreds of babies rescued by he and Kyoraku. It wasn't a secret, not at all, but when he had started to show the signs of his tremendous powers they all believed it would be best if he did not know they had rescued him. Everyone knew he would be a prodigy, and no one wanted him to think he owed anybody the things that he rightfully earned. “Because you were special,” he said with a soft smile.
“But why didn't you tell me? I'd hear Granny talking to you or Kyoraku or Unohana. I saw you. Why didn't you acknowledge me until I was a graduate of the Academy, and then pretend you had no knowledge of my life before then?” he asked fervently, his voice level rising.
“We didn't want you to think you were getting special treatment,” he said.
“But I saw others you had rescued come in and get special treatment,” he said. “Maybe not special treatment. I meant acknowledgment. I wanted acknowledgment as well.”
“If we had acknowledged that we had saved you, that we had planned for you to enter the Academy as soon as you started showing your gifts, would you have felt you owed us?”
He was ready to fire back a reply, and then stopped, deflating in on himself and looking down. “I just wanted answers. I wanted to know why you had saved me.”
“Your Lieutenant wanted to give you answers, too,” he said. Hitsugaya's head raised. “She knew we thought you were special. That is why she observed you beforehand, and stopped you from killing your Granny in your sleep and told you about the Academy. But she wanted to let you know that I had rescued you as well. In the end, there was no time for her to tell you, because you entered into the Academy the next afternoon.”
He wanted to feel angry at Matsumoto but couldn't. He wanted to feel angry at all of them but it just wasn't in him. He'd gotten his acknowledgment now. He knew, sooner or later, he'd be at peace with the entire situation. But first, he had one last question. “Why do you shower me with gifts and candy even though I don't need them?” he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“Because of all the children I've helped rescue, you're the one I'm most proud of,” he said gently. “You're a Captain at such a young age, and...perhaps I felt guilty that we did not spend time with you as a child, Kyoraku and Unohana and myself. It is my way of feeling less guilty.”
“There is no need,” he said gruffly, trying to cover up the other emotions he felt at the moment.
“Well, then I will cease to do so,” he said. “You've probably outgrown it all now, at any rate.”
Hitsugaya was quiet. “Perhaps not so much candy. I hate sweets, unless they are watermelon flavored. And...I would like books, if you feel the need to shower me with gifts,” he said slowly. “Books and other things more suitable for adults.”
“With the occasional toy to remind you to have your childlike moments?” Ukitake asked, smiling a little more.
“Fine, fine,” he said. “Just...no stuffed animals. I've been giving them to children in the Rukongai because I can't stand them.”
“Then no more stuffed animals,” he said with a nod. He held out his hand, and Hitsugaya shook it once before letting go. “Would you care to stay until they come back? They tend to scare away all my company in the interest of letting me rest.”
“I can stay for a while,” he said with a nod.
“Then I can tell you stories of your granny,” he said, and Hitsugaya leaned back in his chair as Ukitake began to speak, glad that he had finally gotten what he wanted for so many years. He still wasn't going to call him Uncle, though.
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Pairing: Ukitake & Hitsugaya
Spoilers (if applicable): Set not that long after the Deicide arc, but before the current arc.
Warnings (if applicable): None
Summary: There is a reason that Ukitake showers Hitsugaya with so many gifts and so much attention.
Authors Notes: azardarkstar made an interesting comment to “The Oldest Friends Know Everything About You,” regarding Hitsugaya and him being one of the children they rescued. So I decided to run with it. Set after the Winter War but before that fic, while Ukitake is still healing from his injuries.
---
He had vowed he would never call them Uncle. They weren't his uncles, just as much as she wasn't his aunt. Only Granny would get a family title, because she was Granny. She was all he knew when it came to adult figures in his life. But he knew who they were, and how much he owed them, especially now.
So it was that he went to Ukitake's private room in the 4th Division headquarters. Matsumoto had scouted it for a few days, trying to figure out when Ukitake's two brainless third seats would be gone so he could be uninterrupted and not eavesdropped on. Around two PM every day they disappeared for an hour, so he waited out of sight for them to leave, then went into the room.
“Your Lieutenant is very bad at spying,” the older man said with a smile when he turned and saw Hitsugaya standing there. “I told them to take an extended lunch today when I heard she wasn't skulking around the hallway this morning.”
Hitsugaya grunted quietly and pulled up a chair next to his bedside. It occurred to him that in his life he had spent too much time near bedsides of those sick or ailing. He was still quite young, so he figured it would just get worse as he got older. “I had wanted to talk to you about things.”
“Of course,” he said, propping himself up a little more. “But first, how is your Granny doing?”
“She's...” He paused. “When she heard about Hinamori, she may have been devastated inside. She wouldn't eat very much until she knew Hinamori was out of the Twelfth Division. I haven't seen much reason to go back since she is there recuperating. She does not want to speak to me right now.”
“Ah,” Ukitake said with a nod. “But she is better now?”
“Taking care of Hinamori has given her back some of the life that she lost,” he said. “She is eating again now, at the very least.”
“That's good,” he said with a smile. “She was one of the first, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” he said quietly. “You rescued her from the 76th District, and gave her to the people who raised her.”
“I didn't rescue her. Not alone, at least. I carried her back but Kyoraku found her her home,” he mused.
“Why did you do it? Why did you save her?” he asked, ignoring the bigger question that lay beneath the surface. He didn't know if he would ever ask it.
“Because she was a helpless little girl,” he said. “She was so lovely, with a round face and sparkling eyes. Despite all the horror she'd seen, she smiled when we got to her. She lifted up her arms and wanted to be picked up. I asked in the village who her parents were, and no one knew, or cared, rather. So we agreed we would take her and give her a better life.”
Hitsugaya was quiet for a moment. “Why did you rescue me?” he finally asked quietly.
Ukitake looked surprised for a moment. As far as he knew, no one had told him he was among the hundreds of babies rescued by he and Kyoraku. It wasn't a secret, not at all, but when he had started to show the signs of his tremendous powers they all believed it would be best if he did not know they had rescued him. Everyone knew he would be a prodigy, and no one wanted him to think he owed anybody the things that he rightfully earned. “Because you were special,” he said with a soft smile.
“But why didn't you tell me? I'd hear Granny talking to you or Kyoraku or Unohana. I saw you. Why didn't you acknowledge me until I was a graduate of the Academy, and then pretend you had no knowledge of my life before then?” he asked fervently, his voice level rising.
“We didn't want you to think you were getting special treatment,” he said.
“But I saw others you had rescued come in and get special treatment,” he said. “Maybe not special treatment. I meant acknowledgment. I wanted acknowledgment as well.”
“If we had acknowledged that we had saved you, that we had planned for you to enter the Academy as soon as you started showing your gifts, would you have felt you owed us?”
He was ready to fire back a reply, and then stopped, deflating in on himself and looking down. “I just wanted answers. I wanted to know why you had saved me.”
“Your Lieutenant wanted to give you answers, too,” he said. Hitsugaya's head raised. “She knew we thought you were special. That is why she observed you beforehand, and stopped you from killing your Granny in your sleep and told you about the Academy. But she wanted to let you know that I had rescued you as well. In the end, there was no time for her to tell you, because you entered into the Academy the next afternoon.”
He wanted to feel angry at Matsumoto but couldn't. He wanted to feel angry at all of them but it just wasn't in him. He'd gotten his acknowledgment now. He knew, sooner or later, he'd be at peace with the entire situation. But first, he had one last question. “Why do you shower me with gifts and candy even though I don't need them?” he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“Because of all the children I've helped rescue, you're the one I'm most proud of,” he said gently. “You're a Captain at such a young age, and...perhaps I felt guilty that we did not spend time with you as a child, Kyoraku and Unohana and myself. It is my way of feeling less guilty.”
“There is no need,” he said gruffly, trying to cover up the other emotions he felt at the moment.
“Well, then I will cease to do so,” he said. “You've probably outgrown it all now, at any rate.”
Hitsugaya was quiet. “Perhaps not so much candy. I hate sweets, unless they are watermelon flavored. And...I would like books, if you feel the need to shower me with gifts,” he said slowly. “Books and other things more suitable for adults.”
“With the occasional toy to remind you to have your childlike moments?” Ukitake asked, smiling a little more.
“Fine, fine,” he said. “Just...no stuffed animals. I've been giving them to children in the Rukongai because I can't stand them.”
“Then no more stuffed animals,” he said with a nod. He held out his hand, and Hitsugaya shook it once before letting go. “Would you care to stay until they come back? They tend to scare away all my company in the interest of letting me rest.”
“I can stay for a while,” he said with a nod.
“Then I can tell you stories of your granny,” he said, and Hitsugaya leaned back in his chair as Ukitake began to speak, glad that he had finally gotten what he wanted for so many years. He still wasn't going to call him Uncle, though.