Fanfiction || Treading Icy Waters 01

May 17, 2011 10:27

Title: Treading Icy Waters
Fandom: Bleach
Main Character: Hitsugaya Toushirou
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General/Action/Suspense
Warnings: Occasional language, violence, gore.
Timeline: This story follows the manga's timeline. It begins directly before the Hueco Mundo arc and diverges from there.
Summary: The board has been laid out. The pieces have been set and moved. The pawns are scattered across the floor, and Ichimaru’s fingers are wrapped around a stark white bishop. “That’s another check, little taichou.” The game has only begun.

Author's Note: Updated 08/05/2011.


~*~

“What I give form to in daylight is only one per cent of what I have seen in darkness.”

-M. C. Escher

~*~

Chapter One

Open and Close

~*~

When had it really begun, the youngest of the Gotei 13 captains wondered. There were many points in time which could be considered as the beginning. There was the very first time he had met Aizen Sousuke, when the man had still held a higher rank than he. There was the decision to have the younger Kuchiki executed, the moment that man’s plans finally set into motion. There was his fight with Ichimaru Gin, during which the two of them established themselves as true enemies. There was his utter and complete defeat at the hands of Seireitei’s betrayer, when he first had a taste of his growing doubts within himself. There was his first step into Kurosaki’s classroom, the battles they shared with the Arrancar, and Hinamori’s plea to redeem her former captain.

But, he firmly decided, those were really all just exposition. They composed only the overture to this epic. And this epic was merely a stanza within the entire compilation. The best place to begin was probably when he had been summoned back to Seireitei from the human world, after Inoue’s capture.

Which was exactly what he believed it to be. A capture. Although Matsumoto had definitely connected far more effectively with the eager high school girl than her commanding officer, Hitsugaya had seen enough of Inoue in the time spent on her property to understand that she was no defector.

However, orders were orders. As the head of the Tenth Division, he had no choice but to follow through with them despite the bad taste they left in his mouth. Disobeying them would only result in a far worse taste. Besides, he had noted Abarai’s and Rukia’s attempt to slink away unseen after they had reached their intended destination. As long as they weren’t stupid enough to charge into Hueco Mundo and demand Inoue back from Aizen’s Espada, they would be fine.

The young captain groaned, massaging his temples in aggravation. That was exactly what they would do.

“Is something wrong, Taichou?”

Hitsugaya released his fingers from his forehead and looked up over the various stacks of papers and reports littering his desk. Apparently, there had been a lot going on in his absence, and no one had been generous enough to tackle his workload for him. It appeared his third seat had tried his hand at it but had lost the battle before it had even begun. The rate at which the urgent forms came in was just faster than the rate at which he could fill them out and have them distributed. It wasn’t his fault though. Even Hitsugaya could barely keep up with this nonsense. His lieutenant suddenly bending over his inbox, buxom breasts only inches from his nose, wasn’t helping all that much.

“Your monster chest, perhaps?” the boy grumbled as he tried to back as far away from her infamous extremities as possible.

“Ah yes, the wonder twins,” Matsumoto grinned wryly. “Both a blessing and a curse, I tell you.”

“Blessing or curse, they do not belong in my paperwork.”

“Aww, you’re so mean, Taichou,” the blond whined as she stood up straight once again, wagging a sealed envelope accusingly at her boss. “I came in here just to check up on you, but you have to be all antisocial just in case, heaven forbid, some terrible spy catches you being remotely friendly.”

Hitsugaya frowned, drumming his fingers on what little desk was not covered in paper. “And what would you possibly need to check up on me for?”

Matsumoto’s playful mood seemed to vanish in an instant. She lowered the envelope, running her free hand through her wavy tresses. A single sigh escaped her lips before she once again found the courage to look her captain in the eye. “Have you... seen Hinamori yet?”

A sudden rush, a slamming sound, papers flying, and Hitsugaya was on his feet, fists melting into the soft wood of his desk. Matsumoto wasn’t sure what to do at first. She rarely had the chance to see him quite so out of sorts even when it came to the Fifth Division’s lieutenant. And here she'd merely been worried that he’d be brooding. She had not expected any sort of physical reaction. It just wasn’t like him....

“Taichou...”

“I’m going for a walk. Alone.”

And that was that. Hitsugaya Toushirou walked quietly out of the room, without even a backwards glance.

Matsumoto watched him go, unable to bring herself to follow him. Exhaling, she turned away from the door and back to her boss’ desk. There rested all the papers, files, reports, a seemingly endless mountain range. Pouting, she stomped over to the desk, plopped down in her captain’s chair, and began determinedly sorting through the mess.

“He had better appreciate this.”

~*~

Hitsugaya stepped cautiously out into the courtyard behind the Tenth Division Head Quarters. He did not particularly want to run into anyone at the moment. His teal-green eyes cast down on the cleanly cut grass as his sandals pressed it down into the dirt, he made his way toward the fountain in the center.

In a hearty display of pride, the fountain had been emblazoned with the Tenth Division insignia, the Narcissus flower, long before he had come to lead it. It really was a beautiful fountain, he had to admit. Its shape was nothing special, simple in design and material, but when water was added into the equation, every inch of its transparent surface shimmered in the moist atmosphere. Each drop of splayed liquid was crystal clear, and it transferred that clarity to the fountain itself. In all honestly, it looked as if it had been carved from water itself and that its lavenders, blues, and greens were only illusions of a nonexistent solidity.

He sat down on the ring surrounding it, peering into the swirling shallowness.

Yes. Of course, he had. As soon as he had been able to, he had gone to see her. But...

“Hinamori...”

~*~

She needn’t even open the door. She knew exactly who was on the other end. But she was still hesitant to let him in.

Unohana-taichou had seen much of what had transpired between Hitsugaya-taichou and Hinamori-fukutaichou since Aizen’s betrayal. Most of it had ended badly. She knew very well that it would be worse to refuse the boy entrance, but seeing that expression punctuating his young features again was not something she looked forward to.

It was her professional opinion that Hitsugaya was a very capable captain. It was also her professional opinion that as such he placed too much upon his own shoulders. There was only so much a little boy could handle, genius or no.

With a sigh, she slid open the door.

It was, indeed, Hitsugaya-taichou.

“Unohana-taichou,” he let slip, as if caught by surprise that it had been her to open the door for him. “I would... er... Is Hinamori...?”

“She is fine. Her wounds have long since healed. That is not why we keep her here,” the head of the Fourth Division replied as sympathetic as she could muster.

“I understand,” he nodded, averting his eyes. “Where...?”

“I’ll direct you there.”

The two Gotei 13 captains trudged silently on for a moment before the older woman stopped in front of another sliding door, much more private than the sickbeds they had passed on the way. She stepped to the side as she slid the door open so as to allow her companion to pass though. Once he had entered, she closed the door behind him.

The room was plain and for the most part empty. Hinamori sat pensively upon the sole piece of furniture: a bed. She didn’t look up until the door behind her childhood friend had shut completely. Her eyes were still rather bloodshot and the telltale signs of insomnia had in no way released themselves from her haggard face.

The accumulated moist that had recently been hastily smeared across her cheeks told him she had been crying.

“Hitsugaya-kun.”

“Hinamori.”

She smiled, though it was so thin it was nearly invisible. The smallest of chuckles embraced her lips. “You’re back from the living world?”

Hitsugaya managed a little grin of his own. “We arrived yesterday. There wasn’t much ceremony to it, which is probably why you haven’t heard.”

“Did you hear anything about Aizen-taichou while you were there?”

He stiffened, grin dissipated. “No,” he lied resolutely. “Only the Arrancar.”

Hinamori’s smile began to twist into something accusing, disbelieving. “You’re not even going to try to help him, are you? No one is,” she mumbled softly as she turned away from him, staring down at her colorless bed sheets. “As soon as you find out how, you’re going to kill him.” She spoke this last addition surprisingly coldly, matter-of-factly. That was how Hitsugaya addressed people, not Hinamori. Hinamori was warm, gentle, caring, to a fault even. Hearing her use that tone hurt him just as much as the actual words.

Eyebrows furrowed, teeth clenched, he couldn’t help but release some of his frustrations upon her. He did not want to talk about Aizen; he did not want to think about Aizen. Not right now. Not with Hinamori. Not again. “Yes, we are. I will do everything in my power to make sure of it.”

Hinamori’s accusing eyes now met his own once more. They were amazingly defiant considering her personality and current circumstances, yet they also shone with desperation. Was that why she was acting so coldly? Because the emotion was too much? “I know what everyone thinks, I know what it looks like, but I know Aizen-taichou better than anyone and-”

“No, you don’t. Everything he was, all of it, was just one, big lie! Aizen used you! He used all of us!”

“I know!” she hollered back, her voice hoarse. “I know. But... Aizen-taichou... He... He wouldn’t do this without a good reason! I know he has a reason! You'd do something horrible too, if you really believed in why you were doing it!”

The comparison between himself and that traitor was the final straw. “He wants to destroy us all! Is that a good enough reason for you?!”

“Hitsugaya!” Her voice was cracking now as tears flowed anew. The anger in her tone was unmistakable, but angry or not, the passionate scream brought Hitsugaya back to his senses. He stood there silently as Hinamori’s vat-of-chocolate eyes stared him down, tears rushing unbidden down her pale cheeks. He couldn’t believe his lack of self-control. It was stupid, childish. It was inexcusable.

He had crossed the line. He hadn’t done that in a long time. And yet, a growing part of him felt he was somehow in the right. He did not like that part. At all.

“He needs me...” the now deathly quiet voice of his oldest friend, and enemy, whispered through hands clasped helplessly to thin, chapped lips. “Aizen-taichou needs me. If he didn't, then...”

Hitsugaya still hadn’t finished berating himself for his outburst when he heard the broken whispers. He couldn’t take much more of this. Neither her faults nor his.

“It’s obvious which of you needs whom, Hinamori,” he replied just as quietly though void of the frantic emotion of his companion. He could see it in her every move. She didn't know where else to turn; she didn't know what else to do. And the worst part was that he didn't know either. How could she look to him for answers when he could do nothing but yell at her in return? “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do.” He slid open the door and was just about halfway out of the room when he heard her again, voice now more desperate than ever.

“Hitsugaya-kun, please-!”

“It’s Hitsugaya-taichou,” he interrupted with a grimace before shutting the door behind him, just a little bit harder than he had intended.

For a while he didn’t move, not an inch. He had to question whether he was even breathing. His hand was still firmly set onto the edge of the door, his body still facing in the opposite direction. He could hear loud sobbing from the other side of the thin wall.

His hand involuntarily balled itself into a fist.

Aizen was a dead man. And the others wouldn't be far behind.

~*~

Slowly, cautiously, he lifted one eyelid. Hitsugaya frowned, opening his eyes completely. He was looking up at the Tenth Division’s courtyard fountain. Had he really just fallen asleep on the edge of a fountain? Hastily, he jumped to his feet, turning left and right while silently praying no one had seen him. As soon as he deemed that he was truly alone, he marched toward the division’s headquarters and his personal office.

Just how long had he been out? The sun was just now setting. That meant he had been sleeping for at least four hours. He quickened his pace.

What he found though surprised him more than any sort of ridiculous, work disrupting parties he had imagined his lieutenant throwing to smite him for leaving her alone with the paperwork. Matsumoto was fast asleep at his desk, a half-empty bottle of sake gripped loosely between her fingers. This really wasn’t all that surprising unless you considered the fact that she actually had room to lay her head down on the desk.

The endless stacks of papers had diminished considerably for the estimated two to three hours she had actually worked on them. He sighed, removing the bottle from her hand. If she had been drinking, he would have to recheck the last few reports, making sure to erase any random curse words or otherwise insulting profanities and doodles she might have scrawled into the margins. A small, slightly amused grin crawled unbidden to his lips. At least there was one person in this world he knew he could always count on.

To do what, he was never really certain. But he could count on it getting done.

Opening a closet near the door, he produced a blanket and draped it over his fukutaichou’s shoulders. It was as close to “thank you” as he was willing to get at the moment. Doing his best not to wake her, he silently grabbed one of the few remaining stacks of papers and hauled it into a corner. Thanks to Matsumoto’s efforts, he’d probably be finished in a few hours.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t been working for more than twenty minutes when his door was forced open by a panting, rankless shinigami. By his muscular stature and rough appearance, Hitsugaya guessed he was probably from the Eleventh Division. He looked perplexed at seeing Matsumoto at her captain’s desk, not even noticing that Hitsugaya was in the room. Matsumoto’s eyes flitted open, and she lifted her head to glare at the intruding shinigami for interrupting her nap. Or it could have just been a hangover. She didn’t seem to notice her captain had returned either. This served to irritate him a bit. Just a bit.

“Yes?” This caused both the out-of-breath shinigami and Matsumoto to leap to attention and turn toward the Tenth Division head who was currently standing next to a pile of paperwork in the far corner of the room. Matsumoto seemed to notice the blanket laid out across her shoulders for the first time. “You do have a reason for barging in like this, don't you?”

The shinigami hastily stood up straighter and performed an awkward salute. Seeing as Hitsugaya in no way remembered such a salute being appropriate, he chose to ignore it as the man took a deep breath.

“Ukitake-taichou asks that you come to the Thirteenth Division Headquarters immediately! Arrancar have been spotted in Rukongai!”

Over the course of what the shinigami swore couldn’t have been more than a single second, the white haired boy grabbed the finished papers, stuffed them into the shinigami’s hands, and was out the door. Hitsugaya could hear Matsumoto apologizing as the man wailed about not knowing what to do with it all.

Yup, definitely Eleventh Division.

“Matsumoto!”

She was next to him in an instant.

“I can think of very few reasons for Aizen to send Arrancar to Soul Society, and none of them are good.”

His lieutenant nodded as they rounded on the Thirteenth Division HQ.

“Be ready for anything.”

Another nod, this time accompanied by a small smirk at her taichou’s commanding tone. It was a far cry from his recent moodiness.

Perhaps this little distraction wasn’t quite so bad, after all. As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Right?

fanfiction: multi-chapter, main character: hitsugaya toushirou, fanfiction: treading icy waters, series: bleach, rating: pg-13

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