Fanfiction || Treading Icy Waters 17
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.
~*~
“Every mile is two in winter.”
-George Herbert
~*~
Chapter Seventeen
Free Fall
~*~
Hitsugaya didn’t even bother trying to verify his surroundings this time. He didn’t have to feel, he didn’t have to smell, he didn’t have to taste the nothingness around him to know that it was there. Even Hyourinmaru’s absence felt almost like a simple formality. He was back. And, naturally, it wouldn’t be long before he heard that voice again.
Perhaps his new apathy sprung from what he had learned from Kurosaki and Ishida. His arriving here just clarified what he already knew, what he’d known from the moment he’d heard those words come out of Ishida Ryuuken’s mouth. Any reiatsu, no matter the owner, would inflame his symptoms. That could only mean one thing.
Finally, the familiar energy signature he’d been waiting for began to creep up from the edges of his consciousness. He watched the nonexistent horizon for some time before the white robes came into view, and that deranged grin was aimed at him once more. Hitsugaya didn’t say anything. He only stood and waited until the lanky former taichou was nearly on top of him. Ichimaru Gin said nothing either. Not at first. The two stared at each other in knowing silence, Ichimaru’s grin glinting with the reflected light of a nonexistent sun. This whole place was nonexistent; Hyourinmaru was nonexistent. And he had finally received the message that Ichimaru had been trying to give him all along.
The man slowly, ever so slowly, leaned down before grasping the younger shinigami’s chin and forcing his head to the side. There was no resistance, and the grin only widened as Ichimaru whispered wickedly into an exposed ear.
“I win, little taichou.”
Hitsugaya Toushirou was nonexistent.
~*~
It was hot. Hot and humid. And sticky.
Hitsugaya Toushirou slowly, cautiously, opened his eyes and stared right up into someone’s uvula. A moment of tense, dreading silence before heated sushi breath coursed into his face. That did not just happen.
“If you don’t get off of me this instant, I will kill you.”
“Ah!” chirped a familiar, disturbingly happy voice. “So the little dragon wakes up from his beauty sleep.”
“Urahara,” he snarled as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Now?” The salesman cocked his head innocently, though the fan he had opened up to hide his smile only made him look more suspicious. “Why, I’m thawing you out, of course. You don’t release all your reiatsu like that and get out of it scotch free. I thought I’d die of frostbite for sure. You really must learn better control. This sort of behavior … and from a taichou, no less… Honestly, now.”
Hitsugaya glared, his reiatsu spiking dangerously. Urahara knew better than anyone that he no longer had control. He was the bastard who’d been keeping track all of this time. That had been the deal. And it was then that he actually comprehended what the blonde shopkeeper had said. He had released his reiatsu … in his sleep? He could hear the dragon roaring in the back of his mind, was suddenly aware of the cold sweat drenching his body and the small icicles lining the ceiling that had yet to melt. Urahara was looking rather wet himself.
Had he honestly…? Then, what about the others? No. Not yet. He didn’t want-
He didn’t get any farther before he felt the burning bile rising from his throat, and Urahara, always prepared, produced a bucket from the floor beside the couch. As Hitsugaya was heaving whatever meal he had happened to eat last, the elder man continued to watch as casually as ever. The younger shinigami responded by mentally cursing the blonde’s ancestors for the next couple of millenniums.
“Done yet?” Urahara questioned when the convulsions began to quiet down again. Hitsugaya didn’t respond. He wiped his mouth on his sleeves (how’d he get back in his gigai?), and stared down at his arm with a vacant expression. There was blood mixed in with the vomit. Only Urahara could succeed in making things this much worse in such a short amount of time. “Ah,” the sly shopkeeper answered himself. “Don’t be angry now. You have no rights to complain, remember?”
Hitsugaya still refused to respond. “Look,” the former shinigami amended, “everybody’s out, alright? Ichigo and pals are at school, and Rangiku’s out on a job. She’s got plenty of cash with her, so we won’t be seeing her again until late. Yoruichi even took the kids out to some park or other. No one felt you going crazy thanks to a couple of barriers I’ve been putting up lately. And the only evidence that anything happened is already melting away. So.” He leaned in, and Hitsugaya very nearly flinched at the close proximity. “What did he say this time?”
Carefully, Hitsugaya stumbled off of the couch. His shoulder still ached, though it was tolerable. His head, however, was a different story. Urahara watched him as he grabbed the first jacket he found, disregarding its rather large size completely. It didn’t seem like the kid was going to be saying much. Oh, well. It wasn’t his problem anymore, was it?
“Oi, Hitsugaya. Catch.”
Hitsugaya barely saw something soaring through the air right at his face before he reached up and caught it. It looked like … a dog collar. He glared at it for a moment before slowly turning his head back to Urahara. It was a very, very scary expression. Urahara found it absolutely adorable.
“No, it’s not for a dog, Hitsugaya-kun,” the other man wagged his finger playfully at him. “It’s for you. It should work in a similar way as Zaraki’s eye patch, but it’s slightly more complicated. It will eat away most of your reiatsu before it can affect your symptoms, but it won’t negate all of it, especially not if it isn’t your own. A dog collar is the best shape because it wraps around your neck and accumulates your energy in the tag, ne?” he proudly pointed out the genius of his own design. But the boasting was short lived.
“You know what the outcome of that last, little test means, don’t you? If any reiatsu you come in contact with can affect you and the symptoms continue to progress in the way that they have, then you have a zero per cent chance of surviving past next week. If you can avoid too much close contact with others’ reiatsu, then that collar should be able to carry you over for another two weeks or so, three at best. This is as close to a cure as I can give you with the situation the way that it is. If anyone tried to heal you, their reiatsu would only make things worse.”
“I know.” Oh. So he was talking now, was he? “Please. Don’t tell them. Matsumoto … and Kurosaki. I don’t want them to know yet.”
“They’ll find out eventually,” the older man sighed.
Hitsugaya dutifully clasped the collar around his neck. Urahara had to admit, he was able to pull off the look surprisingly well. “Eventually, yes. But not now. Please.”
Urahara Kisuke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The Hitsugaya Toushirou, infamously cold taichou of the Tenth Division of the Gotei Thirteen and child genius, had just used the word ‘please’ twice. And both were addressed to him, of all people. He tapped his fan against his chin as if he was thinking about it. But really, he would have just been bullying the kid if he didn’t. Urahara was usually fine with bullying; it was quite thrilling actually, but not this kind. Hitsugaya, even after all of his effort, had just been informed that his death sentence had been signed the moment that scorpion arrancar had made her move. “Alright then. This officially ends our first deal. I’ve done all I can for you. You’ve got two weeks to say your good-byes. And now we can focus on that other little deal we made.”
Hitsugaya finally turned back to face the man. “Matsumoto’s bankai training…”
“…will begin tomorrow night. Isn’t that swell?”
The self-satisfying grin encompassing Urahara’s features made the young shinigami want to gag, but he only nodded before turning back around. “I’m going on a walk.”
“That isn’t the smartest thing to be doing, is it? Going out alone in your condition?”
“No, it isn’t.”
And the young taichou slammed the door behind him.
Urahara didn’t move for some time, watching several of the smaller icicles crash harmlessly to the floor around the doorway. It didn’t really matter; the room was already soaking wet. He was just glad he didn’t keep anything valuable in here. It was a guest room, after all. Why waste the good stuff on the guests?
“Hnn,” he sighed lightly. It seemed even he couldn’t distract himself with selfish nonsense much longer. Hitsugaya’s predicament meant a lot more for the rest of the world than anyone seemed to realize. Aizen was delaying, that was a fact. And that meant that he was up to something.
When Aizen was up to something, bad things started happening.
Suddenly, he was feeling rather anxious for Matsumoto to return with that package.
~*~
Kurosaki Karin was not happy.
It had been a while since Ichi-nii had run off without her and disappeared, and it had been a while since he returned, safe and sound save for a couple of cuts and bruises. So why was she not happy? Because no one was willing to tell her what had happened, that was why. Or what was happening right now, by the looks of things. Even that Gankooyaji of hers was acting weird. He’d sneak out, just like Ichi-nii, and he actually stayed out longer sometimes. She didn’t really mind the privacy; it only meant more of Yuzu’s cooking all to herself. It was just that … it wasn’t like him. It wasn’t like him at all.
And it wasn’t like Ichi-nii either. Ever since he’d started running around with those weird black clothes on, fighting those creepy hollow monsters, he hadn’t been quite the same. He was a whole lot more responsible at least. And he was away all of the time. He didn’t come home until late, he brought home weird girls (not that Rukia was a bad person), and he ran off whenever the hell he felt like it! And, most aggravating of all, he never did tell her why. What? Did he think she wouldn’t understand? Or worse, did he think she couldn’t handle it?
Anything would have been better than seeing those two morons pretend that everything was normal. They were both terrible actors. Especially Ichi-nii.
She wanted to throw every single sharp object in the house right at him just to see which ones hit and which ones didn’t. The more that hit, the better she’d feel. But she couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t stay still long enough. So she had to content herself with ditching school for now. It was just for one day anyway. She had a near perfect attendance record otherwise. Well, except for that one day with the parakeet kid. Ichi-nii had been involved in this weirdness even back then, she could tell. And his friends too. That big guy … who was really strong.
So maybe Ichi-nii wasn’t the only one on her hit list then. She’d have to actually write out a list at this rate. Like she was going to do that. She didn’t have a pencil with her, or paper for that matter. All she wanted to do was walk around, maybe practice some soccer for a bit, and forget all about Ichi-nii’s stupidity. He sooo caught it from dad, like one of those hereditary diseases.
And it was with this lovely thought that she turned the corner and saw the very last thing she needed to see right now. A giant, winged, bat-looking monstrosity with a white mask the size of her whole body flapped its wings twice as it soared before perching atop a nearby billboard. It wasn’t of the sort that she usually messed around with. She could tell by its feel … and by the pounding headache she was getting. And now it was looking right at her. She balled her fists together, the soccer ball she had brought now only centimeters from the tip of her sneaker. Would she be able to strike it down on her own? She never got to find out.
As soon as she was ready to fire, she heard a bloodcurdling scream, and the hollow’s head separated from its body, disintegrating even as it fell to the ground. As the body slowly began to dissipate into its crystalline spirit particles, a figure came into view behind it. Karin balked.
The figure couldn’t have been much older than her, despite that white hair. She could tell that much even from watching him up on the billboard. Not only that, but he was wearing the same weird clothes as Ichi-nii. And that weapon! Sirens went off in the back of her mind. This was her chance! If she could catch that shrimp, maybe he could tell her what was going on! He had to know Ichi-nii, right? And he had to have an idea of what he was involved in, especially since he was up there jumping around the same way that Ichi-nii did too.
She clenched her fists, staring up at the billboard as if a single blink would mean the end of the world. A bead of sweat glided down the side of her face as she aimed. She pulled back her foot, sticking out her tongue in concentration, and let it fly. Her foot contacted the soccer ball with incredible force. The ball soared into the air at breakneck speeds, headed directly toward her target. She was going to hit him! She was really going to-
He caught it.
Karin’s eyes widened in awe. The ball was still spinning against the flesh of his hand, the friction causing smoke to rise. Finally, it settled in his palm, and he grasped it properly so that he could get a better look at it. His expression was clearly one of contempt as he turned his head right toward her, sharp teal eyes locking on to her own.
“Gah!” She had to get out of here. That kid, whoever he was, was even angrier than her. But could she really run at a time like this? This was the first real link she’d found to her idiot brother’s escapades. Could she afford to lose it over something so trivial as instant death? Once again, she was left with no say in the matter.
“This is yours, I take it.”
Karin jumped back. When had he come down from the billboard? And she hadn’t heard a thing either! But now that he was close, she could feel that icy aura about him. It was definitely the same as her brother’s. That neutral feeling of a normal spirit but with the headache inducing power of those hollows. She smiled awkwardly, certain that she looked more like a twitchy murderer than a girl out for a walk. “Er … sorry about that.”
“No you’re not.”
“Ah…” she trailed off, pulling her arm up to rub the back of her neck. “You saw that?”
The kid frowned at the ball for a moment more before he handed it over. “You can see me.”
Well, he was certainly talkative, she mused dryly, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He wasn’t raging around trying to kill her; in fact, he looked almost sulky if she was going to be honest with herself. This was her chance. She took the soccer ball back with a nod of acknowledgment. So he really was dead, after all, if he was saying something like that. “Uh … yeah. Clear as day.”
His reaction to this was not what she’d been expecting. As soon as she’d finished, the kid’s shoulders slumped and any sort of depressing thoughts he’d had instantly made way for annoyance. “That idiotic, reckless, ignorant dolt!” he grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose in his frustration. “When will he ever learn how to control that monster reiatsu? That moron’s going to make this whole city spiritually aware if he doesn’t get his act together!”
For just a second, Karin was didn’t know what to think. Then it hit her.
“That idiotic, reckless, ignorant dolt!”
She dropped the soccer ball without another thought and grabbed his shoulders, all hesitation vanishing instantly. “You know Ichi-nii!”
~*~
Hitsugaya was dumbfounded. Who the hell was this brat?! He didn’t have time to deal with this right now. But… “I-Ichi-nii…?”
He pulled himself out of her grip, brushing off his uniform as she watched him with that half-worried, half-angry scowl. It matched Kurosaki’s to the letter. So this was Kurosaki Ichigo’s sister, another relative of the substitute shinigami. Oh, yeah. This was just what he needed. Another Kurosaki Isshin.
“I wish I didn’t know him,” he grumbled under his breath.
“Then you definitely know him.”
Hitsugaya frowned at this answer. What was she trying to get at? Well, none of that mattered, he reminded himself. He wasn’t going to waste any time on some girl ditching school, even if she was Kurosaki’s sister. But just as he turned around to leave, she ran in front of him again, arms spread out as if she actually thought that she could stop him.
“Wait! If you know him, then you know what he’s up to, right?”
“What makes you think that?” he snorted. He didn’t want anything to do with that orange haired idiot right now, thank you very much.
“You just beat that monster, right?” she continued, pleading for answers while somehow still managing to give out orders at the same time. “That’s what Ichi-nii does all the time, I know it! Rukia too! If you’re here, then you must know what’s going on! That sorry excuse for a brother won’t tell me anything, so if you know something, then spit it out already! I’m sick and tired of everyone pretending everything’s normal around here!”
“Of course no one would tell you anything if that’s how you ask,” he countered frustratedly. “And how could you have possibly come to the conclusion that a complete stranger would tell you anything no matter how you ask? Especially after you tried to knock me off of a billboard!”
“Well, how else was I supposed to get your attention?! What, was I supposed to shout at you until you ran away?” she instantly retorted. “I had to ask you! You’re the same as him! I can feel it! So whatever he’s all worked up about, you’re a part of it too, aren’t you?!”
“I have more important things to think about than how that idiot chooses to spend his free time.” He was more than ready to leave for good this time. He leapt up from the ground to land on a brick wall lining the sidewalk, out of the girl’s reach.
“Fine then! Go ahead and run off! I’m sorry I kept you from your pathetic brooding, you damn brat!”
Twitch.
“What was that?”
The girl immediately seized her chance. “I said you should just go back to your stupid, sucky afterlife, you little punk!”
“You really want to know what Kurosaki is up to?” he growled through clenched teeth as he finally turned back around to face her. If looks could kill, she would have been struck down in an instant. But unfortunately for Hitsugaya, looks couldn’t kill. So his deadly glare was met only with an equally frustrated expression of her own.
“Of course!” she huffed, hands placed defiantly on her hips as she glared up at him. “And don’t you dare try saying that I wouldn’t be able to handle it!”
That was the last thing he was thinking of telling her. Anyone who could argue with him could handle most anything. But what he was thinking of telling her was quite possibly worse. He didn’t care. He was in no mood to deal with this crap. He hadn’t left Urahara’s so that he could run into even more irritating people. He’d left so that he could get away from all of this nonsense. These people, these places… He couldn’t take it anymore. He wouldn’t take it anymore.
He jumped down from the wall to land squarely in front of her, eyes locked onto hers one last time. “That pathetic defect is training every spare second he has so that he can do everything in his power to save everyone everywhere again because he’s too stubborn to face the fact that not everyone can be saved! Not now. And not in the coming war.”
“Is he trying to save you?”
Hitsugaya’s eyes widened. That was it. That was the final straw. Insults didn’t matter; honor didn’t matter. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around for more of this. Without another word, he left. He didn’t care where to. He just had to leave.
“Oi, oi! Where are you going?! Hey!” He didn’t stop, and she must have realized that he wasn’t going to. “Thursday!” she shouted. “Thursday at four o’clock by the big sign at Karakura Park! You had better be there, you asshole!”
Her words hardly registered as he leapt out of sight and headed back toward his gigai across town. He didn’t dare stop again on the way in case someone else happened to see him. But not two seconds after he had returned to his solid body did he feel those two familiar, bulbous monstrosities settle themselves much too comfortably on top of his head. He tried to look up. Bad idea.
“Taichou! It really is you! You’re awake!” squealed none other than Matsumoto Rangiku’s voice from somewhere above the mounds of flesh. “I thought for sure you’d be out for another couple of hours or I would have gone back sooner! But isn’t this great? You found me instead! While we’re here, why don’t I treat you to some ice cream, hm? And don’t try to wriggle your way out of it either! Adults can eat ice cream too, you know.”
It took a while for her to realize that her taichou wasn’t talking back. “Hmmm? Taichou? Is everything alright down there?”
Hitsugaya hastily pulled away, only just overcoming the shock. “I-I’m fine,” he stammered.
She reached out her hand to feel his forehead, but he dodged out of the way. “Really? Are you sure? You-”
“Of course not,” he grunted, folding his arms across his chest. Oh, please don’t make things worse. Please don’t make things worse. He couldn’t let her know. Not yet. It was more of a shock then he was willing to admit, seeing her here like this, acting just like she always did, trying to get him to be as lazy as her so that he couldn’t yell at her for it. But to pretend that nothing had happened... It was much harder than he had thought it would be. “Honestly. What’s fine about this situation? I’m stuck on Earth and surrounded by idiots.”
That was right. Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Isshin, Kurosaki Ichigo, Matsumoto Rangiku. They were all idiots. He was surrounded by idiots trying to save him. How could he tell idiots like that that there was nothing left to save?
“But … some ice cream … might help a little.”
Matsumoto beamed all the way to the ice cream parlor.
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.
~*~
“Every mile is two in winter.”
-George Herbert
~*~
Chapter Seventeen
Free Fall
~*~
Hitsugaya didn’t even bother trying to verify his surroundings this time. He didn’t have to feel, he didn’t have to smell, he didn’t have to taste the nothingness around him to know that it was there. Even Hyourinmaru’s absence felt almost like a simple formality. He was back. And, naturally, it wouldn’t be long before he heard that voice again.
Perhaps his new apathy sprung from what he had learned from Kurosaki and Ishida. His arriving here just clarified what he already knew, what he’d known from the moment he’d heard those words come out of Ishida Ryuuken’s mouth. Any reiatsu, no matter the owner, would inflame his symptoms. That could only mean one thing.
Finally, the familiar energy signature he’d been waiting for began to creep up from the edges of his consciousness. He watched the nonexistent horizon for some time before the white robes came into view, and that deranged grin was aimed at him once more. Hitsugaya didn’t say anything. He only stood and waited until the lanky former taichou was nearly on top of him. Ichimaru Gin said nothing either. Not at first. The two stared at each other in knowing silence, Ichimaru’s grin glinting with the reflected light of a nonexistent sun. This whole place was nonexistent; Hyourinmaru was nonexistent. And he had finally received the message that Ichimaru had been trying to give him all along.
The man slowly, ever so slowly, leaned down before grasping the younger shinigami’s chin and forcing his head to the side. There was no resistance, and the grin only widened as Ichimaru whispered wickedly into an exposed ear.
“I win, little taichou.”
Hitsugaya Toushirou was nonexistent.
~*~
It was hot. Hot and humid. And sticky.
Hitsugaya Toushirou slowly, cautiously, opened his eyes and stared right up into someone’s uvula. A moment of tense, dreading silence before heated sushi breath coursed into his face. That did not just happen.
“If you don’t get off of me this instant, I will kill you.”
“Ah!” chirped a familiar, disturbingly happy voice. “So the little dragon wakes up from his beauty sleep.”
“Urahara,” he snarled as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Now?” The salesman cocked his head innocently, though the fan he had opened up to hide his smile only made him look more suspicious. “Why, I’m thawing you out, of course. You don’t release all your reiatsu like that and get out of it scotch free. I thought I’d die of frostbite for sure. You really must learn better control. This sort of behavior … and from a taichou, no less… Honestly, now.”
Hitsugaya glared, his reiatsu spiking dangerously. Urahara knew better than anyone that he no longer had control. He was the bastard who’d been keeping track all of this time. That had been the deal. And it was then that he actually comprehended what the blonde shopkeeper had said. He had released his reiatsu … in his sleep? He could hear the dragon roaring in the back of his mind, was suddenly aware of the cold sweat drenching his body and the small icicles lining the ceiling that had yet to melt. Urahara was looking rather wet himself.
Had he honestly…? Then, what about the others? No. Not yet. He didn’t want-
He didn’t get any farther before he felt the burning bile rising from his throat, and Urahara, always prepared, produced a bucket from the floor beside the couch. As Hitsugaya was heaving whatever meal he had happened to eat last, the elder man continued to watch as casually as ever. The younger shinigami responded by mentally cursing the blonde’s ancestors for the next couple of millenniums.
“Done yet?” Urahara questioned when the convulsions began to quiet down again. Hitsugaya didn’t respond. He wiped his mouth on his sleeves (how’d he get back in his gigai?), and stared down at his arm with a vacant expression. There was blood mixed in with the vomit. Only Urahara could succeed in making things this much worse in such a short amount of time. “Ah,” the sly shopkeeper answered himself. “Don’t be angry now. You have no rights to complain, remember?”
Hitsugaya still refused to respond. “Look,” the former shinigami amended, “everybody’s out, alright? Ichigo and pals are at school, and Rangiku’s out on a job. She’s got plenty of cash with her, so we won’t be seeing her again until late. Yoruichi even took the kids out to some park or other. No one felt you going crazy thanks to a couple of barriers I’ve been putting up lately. And the only evidence that anything happened is already melting away. So.” He leaned in, and Hitsugaya very nearly flinched at the close proximity. “What did he say this time?”
Carefully, Hitsugaya stumbled off of the couch. His shoulder still ached, though it was tolerable. His head, however, was a different story. Urahara watched him as he grabbed the first jacket he found, disregarding its rather large size completely. It didn’t seem like the kid was going to be saying much. Oh, well. It wasn’t his problem anymore, was it?
“Oi, Hitsugaya. Catch.”
Hitsugaya barely saw something soaring through the air right at his face before he reached up and caught it. It looked like … a dog collar. He glared at it for a moment before slowly turning his head back to Urahara. It was a very, very scary expression. Urahara found it absolutely adorable.
“No, it’s not for a dog, Hitsugaya-kun,” the other man wagged his finger playfully at him. “It’s for you. It should work in a similar way as Zaraki’s eye patch, but it’s slightly more complicated. It will eat away most of your reiatsu before it can affect your symptoms, but it won’t negate all of it, especially not if it isn’t your own. A dog collar is the best shape because it wraps around your neck and accumulates your energy in the tag, ne?” he proudly pointed out the genius of his own design. But the boasting was short lived.
“You know what the outcome of that last, little test means, don’t you? If any reiatsu you come in contact with can affect you and the symptoms continue to progress in the way that they have, then you have a zero per cent chance of surviving past next week. If you can avoid too much close contact with others’ reiatsu, then that collar should be able to carry you over for another two weeks or so, three at best. This is as close to a cure as I can give you with the situation the way that it is. If anyone tried to heal you, their reiatsu would only make things worse.”
“I know.” Oh. So he was talking now, was he? “Please. Don’t tell them. Matsumoto … and Kurosaki. I don’t want them to know yet.”
“They’ll find out eventually,” the older man sighed.
Hitsugaya dutifully clasped the collar around his neck. Urahara had to admit, he was able to pull off the look surprisingly well. “Eventually, yes. But not now. Please.”
Urahara Kisuke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The Hitsugaya Toushirou, infamously cold taichou of the Tenth Division of the Gotei Thirteen and child genius, had just used the word ‘please’ twice. And both were addressed to him, of all people. He tapped his fan against his chin as if he was thinking about it. But really, he would have just been bullying the kid if he didn’t. Urahara was usually fine with bullying; it was quite thrilling actually, but not this kind. Hitsugaya, even after all of his effort, had just been informed that his death sentence had been signed the moment that scorpion arrancar had made her move. “Alright then. This officially ends our first deal. I’ve done all I can for you. You’ve got two weeks to say your good-byes. And now we can focus on that other little deal we made.”
Hitsugaya finally turned back to face the man. “Matsumoto’s bankai training…”
“…will begin tomorrow night. Isn’t that swell?”
The self-satisfying grin encompassing Urahara’s features made the young shinigami want to gag, but he only nodded before turning back around. “I’m going on a walk.”
“That isn’t the smartest thing to be doing, is it? Going out alone in your condition?”
“No, it isn’t.”
And the young taichou slammed the door behind him.
Urahara didn’t move for some time, watching several of the smaller icicles crash harmlessly to the floor around the doorway. It didn’t really matter; the room was already soaking wet. He was just glad he didn’t keep anything valuable in here. It was a guest room, after all. Why waste the good stuff on the guests?
“Hnn,” he sighed lightly. It seemed even he couldn’t distract himself with selfish nonsense much longer. Hitsugaya’s predicament meant a lot more for the rest of the world than anyone seemed to realize. Aizen was delaying, that was a fact. And that meant that he was up to something.
When Aizen was up to something, bad things started happening.
Suddenly, he was feeling rather anxious for Matsumoto to return with that package.
~*~
Kurosaki Karin was not happy.
It had been a while since Ichi-nii had run off without her and disappeared, and it had been a while since he returned, safe and sound save for a couple of cuts and bruises. So why was she not happy? Because no one was willing to tell her what had happened, that was why. Or what was happening right now, by the looks of things. Even that Gankooyaji of hers was acting weird. He’d sneak out, just like Ichi-nii, and he actually stayed out longer sometimes. She didn’t really mind the privacy; it only meant more of Yuzu’s cooking all to herself. It was just that … it wasn’t like him. It wasn’t like him at all.
And it wasn’t like Ichi-nii either. Ever since he’d started running around with those weird black clothes on, fighting those creepy hollow monsters, he hadn’t been quite the same. He was a whole lot more responsible at least. And he was away all of the time. He didn’t come home until late, he brought home weird girls (not that Rukia was a bad person), and he ran off whenever the hell he felt like it! And, most aggravating of all, he never did tell her why. What? Did he think she wouldn’t understand? Or worse, did he think she couldn’t handle it?
Anything would have been better than seeing those two morons pretend that everything was normal. They were both terrible actors. Especially Ichi-nii.
She wanted to throw every single sharp object in the house right at him just to see which ones hit and which ones didn’t. The more that hit, the better she’d feel. But she couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t stay still long enough. So she had to content herself with ditching school for now. It was just for one day anyway. She had a near perfect attendance record otherwise. Well, except for that one day with the parakeet kid. Ichi-nii had been involved in this weirdness even back then, she could tell. And his friends too. That big guy … who was really strong.
So maybe Ichi-nii wasn’t the only one on her hit list then. She’d have to actually write out a list at this rate. Like she was going to do that. She didn’t have a pencil with her, or paper for that matter. All she wanted to do was walk around, maybe practice some soccer for a bit, and forget all about Ichi-nii’s stupidity. He sooo caught it from dad, like one of those hereditary diseases.
And it was with this lovely thought that she turned the corner and saw the very last thing she needed to see right now. A giant, winged, bat-looking monstrosity with a white mask the size of her whole body flapped its wings twice as it soared before perching atop a nearby billboard. It wasn’t of the sort that she usually messed around with. She could tell by its feel … and by the pounding headache she was getting. And now it was looking right at her. She balled her fists together, the soccer ball she had brought now only centimeters from the tip of her sneaker. Would she be able to strike it down on her own? She never got to find out.
As soon as she was ready to fire, she heard a bloodcurdling scream, and the hollow’s head separated from its body, disintegrating even as it fell to the ground. As the body slowly began to dissipate into its crystalline spirit particles, a figure came into view behind it. Karin balked.
The figure couldn’t have been much older than her, despite that white hair. She could tell that much even from watching him up on the billboard. Not only that, but he was wearing the same weird clothes as Ichi-nii. And that weapon! Sirens went off in the back of her mind. This was her chance! If she could catch that shrimp, maybe he could tell her what was going on! He had to know Ichi-nii, right? And he had to have an idea of what he was involved in, especially since he was up there jumping around the same way that Ichi-nii did too.
She clenched her fists, staring up at the billboard as if a single blink would mean the end of the world. A bead of sweat glided down the side of her face as she aimed. She pulled back her foot, sticking out her tongue in concentration, and let it fly. Her foot contacted the soccer ball with incredible force. The ball soared into the air at breakneck speeds, headed directly toward her target. She was going to hit him! She was really going to-
He caught it.
Karin’s eyes widened in awe. The ball was still spinning against the flesh of his hand, the friction causing smoke to rise. Finally, it settled in his palm, and he grasped it properly so that he could get a better look at it. His expression was clearly one of contempt as he turned his head right toward her, sharp teal eyes locking on to her own.
“Gah!” She had to get out of here. That kid, whoever he was, was even angrier than her. But could she really run at a time like this? This was the first real link she’d found to her idiot brother’s escapades. Could she afford to lose it over something so trivial as instant death? Once again, she was left with no say in the matter.
“This is yours, I take it.”
Karin jumped back. When had he come down from the billboard? And she hadn’t heard a thing either! But now that he was close, she could feel that icy aura about him. It was definitely the same as her brother’s. That neutral feeling of a normal spirit but with the headache inducing power of those hollows. She smiled awkwardly, certain that she looked more like a twitchy murderer than a girl out for a walk. “Er … sorry about that.”
“No you’re not.”
“Ah…” she trailed off, pulling her arm up to rub the back of her neck. “You saw that?”
The kid frowned at the ball for a moment more before he handed it over. “You can see me.”
Well, he was certainly talkative, she mused dryly, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He wasn’t raging around trying to kill her; in fact, he looked almost sulky if she was going to be honest with herself. This was her chance. She took the soccer ball back with a nod of acknowledgment. So he really was dead, after all, if he was saying something like that. “Uh … yeah. Clear as day.”
His reaction to this was not what she’d been expecting. As soon as she’d finished, the kid’s shoulders slumped and any sort of depressing thoughts he’d had instantly made way for annoyance. “That idiotic, reckless, ignorant dolt!” he grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose in his frustration. “When will he ever learn how to control that monster reiatsu? That moron’s going to make this whole city spiritually aware if he doesn’t get his act together!”
For just a second, Karin was didn’t know what to think. Then it hit her.
“That idiotic, reckless, ignorant dolt!”
She dropped the soccer ball without another thought and grabbed his shoulders, all hesitation vanishing instantly. “You know Ichi-nii!”
~*~
Hitsugaya was dumbfounded. Who the hell was this brat?! He didn’t have time to deal with this right now. But… “I-Ichi-nii…?”
He pulled himself out of her grip, brushing off his uniform as she watched him with that half-worried, half-angry scowl. It matched Kurosaki’s to the letter. So this was Kurosaki Ichigo’s sister, another relative of the substitute shinigami. Oh, yeah. This was just what he needed. Another Kurosaki Isshin.
“I wish I didn’t know him,” he grumbled under his breath.
“Then you definitely know him.”
Hitsugaya frowned at this answer. What was she trying to get at? Well, none of that mattered, he reminded himself. He wasn’t going to waste any time on some girl ditching school, even if she was Kurosaki’s sister. But just as he turned around to leave, she ran in front of him again, arms spread out as if she actually thought that she could stop him.
“Wait! If you know him, then you know what he’s up to, right?”
“What makes you think that?” he snorted. He didn’t want anything to do with that orange haired idiot right now, thank you very much.
“You just beat that monster, right?” she continued, pleading for answers while somehow still managing to give out orders at the same time. “That’s what Ichi-nii does all the time, I know it! Rukia too! If you’re here, then you must know what’s going on! That sorry excuse for a brother won’t tell me anything, so if you know something, then spit it out already! I’m sick and tired of everyone pretending everything’s normal around here!”
“Of course no one would tell you anything if that’s how you ask,” he countered frustratedly. “And how could you have possibly come to the conclusion that a complete stranger would tell you anything no matter how you ask? Especially after you tried to knock me off of a billboard!”
“Well, how else was I supposed to get your attention?! What, was I supposed to shout at you until you ran away?” she instantly retorted. “I had to ask you! You’re the same as him! I can feel it! So whatever he’s all worked up about, you’re a part of it too, aren’t you?!”
“I have more important things to think about than how that idiot chooses to spend his free time.” He was more than ready to leave for good this time. He leapt up from the ground to land on a brick wall lining the sidewalk, out of the girl’s reach.
“Fine then! Go ahead and run off! I’m sorry I kept you from your pathetic brooding, you damn brat!”
Twitch.
“What was that?”
The girl immediately seized her chance. “I said you should just go back to your stupid, sucky afterlife, you little punk!”
“You really want to know what Kurosaki is up to?” he growled through clenched teeth as he finally turned back around to face her. If looks could kill, she would have been struck down in an instant. But unfortunately for Hitsugaya, looks couldn’t kill. So his deadly glare was met only with an equally frustrated expression of her own.
“Of course!” she huffed, hands placed defiantly on her hips as she glared up at him. “And don’t you dare try saying that I wouldn’t be able to handle it!”
That was the last thing he was thinking of telling her. Anyone who could argue with him could handle most anything. But what he was thinking of telling her was quite possibly worse. He didn’t care. He was in no mood to deal with this crap. He hadn’t left Urahara’s so that he could run into even more irritating people. He’d left so that he could get away from all of this nonsense. These people, these places… He couldn’t take it anymore. He wouldn’t take it anymore.
He jumped down from the wall to land squarely in front of her, eyes locked onto hers one last time. “That pathetic defect is training every spare second he has so that he can do everything in his power to save everyone everywhere again because he’s too stubborn to face the fact that not everyone can be saved! Not now. And not in the coming war.”
“Is he trying to save you?”
Hitsugaya’s eyes widened. That was it. That was the final straw. Insults didn’t matter; honor didn’t matter. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around for more of this. Without another word, he left. He didn’t care where to. He just had to leave.
“Oi, oi! Where are you going?! Hey!” He didn’t stop, and she must have realized that he wasn’t going to. “Thursday!” she shouted. “Thursday at four o’clock by the big sign at Karakura Park! You had better be there, you asshole!”
Her words hardly registered as he leapt out of sight and headed back toward his gigai across town. He didn’t dare stop again on the way in case someone else happened to see him. But not two seconds after he had returned to his solid body did he feel those two familiar, bulbous monstrosities settle themselves much too comfortably on top of his head. He tried to look up. Bad idea.
“Taichou! It really is you! You’re awake!” squealed none other than Matsumoto Rangiku’s voice from somewhere above the mounds of flesh. “I thought for sure you’d be out for another couple of hours or I would have gone back sooner! But isn’t this great? You found me instead! While we’re here, why don’t I treat you to some ice cream, hm? And don’t try to wriggle your way out of it either! Adults can eat ice cream too, you know.”
It took a while for her to realize that her taichou wasn’t talking back. “Hmmm? Taichou? Is everything alright down there?”
Hitsugaya hastily pulled away, only just overcoming the shock. “I-I’m fine,” he stammered.
She reached out her hand to feel his forehead, but he dodged out of the way. “Really? Are you sure? You-”
“Of course not,” he grunted, folding his arms across his chest. Oh, please don’t make things worse. Please don’t make things worse. He couldn’t let her know. Not yet. It was more of a shock then he was willing to admit, seeing her here like this, acting just like she always did, trying to get him to be as lazy as her so that he couldn’t yell at her for it. But to pretend that nothing had happened... It was much harder than he had thought it would be. “Honestly. What’s fine about this situation? I’m stuck on Earth and surrounded by idiots.”
That was right. Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Isshin, Kurosaki Ichigo, Matsumoto Rangiku. They were all idiots. He was surrounded by idiots trying to save him. How could he tell idiots like that that there was nothing left to save?
“But … some ice cream … might help a little.”
Matsumoto beamed all the way to the ice cream parlor.