Red Dawn (Bleach, Ichimaru/Hitsugaya, #8 - Our Own World)
There were things in this world beyond dark and light, beyond good and evil, beyond anything humanity had ever dreamed.
And as he stared out into the darkness of his room at the Urahara Shouten, Toushirou saw more clearly than he ever had before. He knew intimately the path before him, and for once, he didn’t give a damn that it was forbidden, that it was against the law. He was going to do what he wanted for a change, do what he thought was best.
Ichimaru Gin was going to survive. Come hell itself, he was going to live.
Seireitei, of course, would not allow that. Even with his change of heart, even if he sealed his power, Gin was a dead man. Once a traitor, always a traitor, and Yamamoto-soutaichou was not in a forgiving mood. All of his mercy had been spent on his two star pupils, and there was no way he would spare any for a man he detested so much.
As he studied the sleeping figure next to him, Toushirou idly wondered how long it would take them to realize what he had done. He speculated on when they would realize that he had been rescued from Aizen’s fortress, when they would finally comprehend that he wasn’t coming back. Not now. And if things went the way he hoped, not ever.
Already, the seal on his reiatsu was broken, courtesy of Yoruichi-san and Urahara and a liberal amount of some unknown devices. He could feel Hyourinmaru in all his icy glory, coiling around the very core of his soul without the heavy and cumbersome block of the seal in the way. They were closer now than they’d ever been since he had been promoted and the full extent of his powers locked away.
He had Ichimaru to thank for it. Toushirou had Gin to thank for his new-found freedom, for his very life. Undoubtedly, Aizen would’ve tired of him soon enough, but only after breaking him completely.
Yet, here he was. Mostly recovered and relatively content. An odd thing for him really.
Of course, Toushirou had awarded his savior appropriately after he had been conscious enough to appreciate the man’s efforts. He had kissed Gin on the cheek, flushing redder than Abarai’s hair the entire time and not quite understanding what had possessed him to do such a thing. Being drugged up to his eyeballs on whatever concoction Tessai-san had force-fed him didn’t count.
Anticlimactic to be certain, but for all that he felt for this man, Toushirou was still rather new at this. It wasn’t everyday that his oh-so-secret crush turned traitor of the Gotei 13 switched sides yet again just to save him. It wasn’t everyday that he realized he might just be in love. Probably had been for longer than he cared to admit, even to himself.
And damn it all, if Hyourinmaru wasn’t off snickering in some half-hidden corner of his mind, the words “I told you so” all but hovering over them both.
Still, Toushirou hadn’t initially known what the tightening in his chest meant as he watched the expression on Gin’s face shift from warily hopeful to outright pleased. However, he understood it now. It was a warning, a caution to himself, his pledge to this man should the unthinkable happen.
Soul Society will be coming for them both. Toushirou just wondered who they would send.
Would it be kind Ukitake, who would despair what he had to do but do it nonetheless? Would it flirtatious and flamboyant Kyouraku, who’d realize the truth of why he had abandoned his post and sympathize with them even as he dragged them back? Would it be indifferent Kuchiki, who knew better than anyone what they were going through but would still do his duty?
Would they send one of the others? Komamura? Soifon? Perhaps the captain-commander would come himself?
Toushirou didn’t know, and truthfully, he really didn’t care. The outcome would still be the same.
He knew that Urahara-san and his cohorts would protect them. For all that he was a sleazy pervert and a manipulative bastard, the man still had a heart. He comprehended that love made people do crazy things. Better than anyone, the geta-boushi knew that everyone made mistakes, made choices that they would do anything to change.
In truth, there were more than two sides to this conflict, and he and Gin had inevitably and irrevocably severed ties with their original allies. They’d thrown their lot in with a pair of disgraced former captains, a substitute Shinigami, a sew-happy Quincy, an Arrancar toddler, several humans with strange reiatsu, and a whole host of other odd balls.
The world might never survive.
Of course, Toushirou doubted he would survive his lieutenant’s wrath when she learned the truth of the matter and of his defection. Perhaps she’d kill both he and Gin and save the Gotei 13 the trouble.
As much as he wished things were different, Toushirou knew what he had to do. He had never really wanted to be a captain in the first place; he had only wanted room to soar, to be free with the dragon inside of him. His promotion had been just as much a prison as the one Aizen had locked him in.
In the end, it wasn’t really a choice at all. He had so little to lose and the entire world to gain. Undoubtedly, Yamamoto-soutaichou would have an aneurysm when he learned that he had lost yet another captain.
But that was a worry for tomorrow. For now, he was content to lie there in the semi-dark, listening to the soft sounds of Gin’s breathing from the next futon over. He was happy simply to watch the rise and fall of the man’s chest, his face relaxed in sleep as it never was in waking.
For once, even Toushirou’s perpetual scowl was forgotten.
Come the dawn, his world would shatter and be reduced to ashes. The universe as he knew it would cease to exist. And in its wake, there was an ocean of possibilities, a thousand chances to be more than he ever imagined. But he couldn’t bring himself to care as their room began to lighten around him, Shinsou and Hyourinmaru gleaming despite the shadows.
And as the red light streaked through the window, Hitsugaya Toushirou thought that he’d never felt more alive.
And as he stared out into the darkness of his room at the Urahara Shouten, Toushirou saw more clearly than he ever had before. He knew intimately the path before him, and for once, he didn’t give a damn that it was forbidden, that it was against the law. He was going to do what he wanted for a change, do what he thought was best.
Ichimaru Gin was going to survive. Come hell itself, he was going to live.
Seireitei, of course, would not allow that. Even with his change of heart, even if he sealed his power, Gin was a dead man. Once a traitor, always a traitor, and Yamamoto-soutaichou was not in a forgiving mood. All of his mercy had been spent on his two star pupils, and there was no way he would spare any for a man he detested so much.
As he studied the sleeping figure next to him, Toushirou idly wondered how long it would take them to realize what he had done. He speculated on when they would realize that he had been rescued from Aizen’s fortress, when they would finally comprehend that he wasn’t coming back. Not now. And if things went the way he hoped, not ever.
Already, the seal on his reiatsu was broken, courtesy of Yoruichi-san and Urahara and a liberal amount of some unknown devices. He could feel Hyourinmaru in all his icy glory, coiling around the very core of his soul without the heavy and cumbersome block of the seal in the way. They were closer now than they’d ever been since he had been promoted and the full extent of his powers locked away.
He had Ichimaru to thank for it. Toushirou had Gin to thank for his new-found freedom, for his very life. Undoubtedly, Aizen would’ve tired of him soon enough, but only after breaking him completely.
Yet, here he was. Mostly recovered and relatively content. An odd thing for him really.
Of course, Toushirou had awarded his savior appropriately after he had been conscious enough to appreciate the man’s efforts. He had kissed Gin on the cheek, flushing redder than Abarai’s hair the entire time and not quite understanding what had possessed him to do such a thing. Being drugged up to his eyeballs on whatever concoction Tessai-san had force-fed him didn’t count.
Anticlimactic to be certain, but for all that he felt for this man, Toushirou was still rather new at this. It wasn’t everyday that his oh-so-secret crush turned traitor of the Gotei 13 switched sides yet again just to save him. It wasn’t everyday that he realized he might just be in love. Probably had been for longer than he cared to admit, even to himself.
And damn it all, if Hyourinmaru wasn’t off snickering in some half-hidden corner of his mind, the words “I told you so” all but hovering over them both.
Still, Toushirou hadn’t initially known what the tightening in his chest meant as he watched the expression on Gin’s face shift from warily hopeful to outright pleased. However, he understood it now. It was a warning, a caution to himself, his pledge to this man should the unthinkable happen.
Soul Society will be coming for them both. Toushirou just wondered who they would send.
Would it be kind Ukitake, who would despair what he had to do but do it nonetheless? Would it flirtatious and flamboyant Kyouraku, who’d realize the truth of why he had abandoned his post and sympathize with them even as he dragged them back? Would it be indifferent Kuchiki, who knew better than anyone what they were going through but would still do his duty?
Would they send one of the others? Komamura? Soifon? Perhaps the captain-commander would come himself?
Toushirou didn’t know, and truthfully, he really didn’t care. The outcome would still be the same.
He knew that Urahara-san and his cohorts would protect them. For all that he was a sleazy pervert and a manipulative bastard, the man still had a heart. He comprehended that love made people do crazy things. Better than anyone, the geta-boushi knew that everyone made mistakes, made choices that they would do anything to change.
In truth, there were more than two sides to this conflict, and he and Gin had inevitably and irrevocably severed ties with their original allies. They’d thrown their lot in with a pair of disgraced former captains, a substitute Shinigami, a sew-happy Quincy, an Arrancar toddler, several humans with strange reiatsu, and a whole host of other odd balls.
The world might never survive.
Of course, Toushirou doubted he would survive his lieutenant’s wrath when she learned the truth of the matter and of his defection. Perhaps she’d kill both he and Gin and save the Gotei 13 the trouble.
As much as he wished things were different, Toushirou knew what he had to do. He had never really wanted to be a captain in the first place; he had only wanted room to soar, to be free with the dragon inside of him. His promotion had been just as much a prison as the one Aizen had locked him in.
In the end, it wasn’t really a choice at all. He had so little to lose and the entire world to gain. Undoubtedly, Yamamoto-soutaichou would have an aneurysm when he learned that he had lost yet another captain.
But that was a worry for tomorrow. For now, he was content to lie there in the semi-dark, listening to the soft sounds of Gin’s breathing from the next futon over. He was happy simply to watch the rise and fall of the man’s chest, his face relaxed in sleep as it never was in waking.
For once, even Toushirou’s perpetual scowl was forgotten.
Come the dawn, his world would shatter and be reduced to ashes. The universe as he knew it would cease to exist. And in its wake, there was an ocean of possibilities, a thousand chances to be more than he ever imagined. But he couldn’t bring himself to care as their room began to lighten around him, Shinsou and Hyourinmaru gleaming despite the shadows.
And as the red light streaked through the window, Hitsugaya Toushirou thought that he’d never felt more alive.