Fanfiction | TIW IX
Title: Treading Icy Waters
Fandom: Bleach
Main Character: Hitsugaya Toushirou
Rating: PG13-ish
Pairings: I'm trying to keep distinct couples to a minimum in this story, so there won't be any specific pairings.
Warnings: Some language, a bit of angst, a taste of violence, plenty of spoilers, and lots of unnecessary pain
Timeline: This story follows the manga's timeline, disregarding the Bounto Arc completely. It takes place during and after the current manga arc.
A/N: This is where things start to get hectic. A lot of the chapters up until now were focused solely on character development and setting up the plot. I guess you could call this chapter the first real step toward the climax. I hope it lives up to the hype.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hitsugaya or Bleach or anything else that I do not own.
Summary: Not all games are for kids. Not all puzzles are childish. At least, not when you're betting your life on the outcome.
~*~
“Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
~*~
Chapter Nine
New Rhythm Blues
~*~
“Look, it’s really not that big of a deal. Just a coincidence. It’s not like you have to talk to them or anything. So chill already.”
“Was that supposed to be a joke, Abarai? It wasn’t funny.”
Abarai Renji tried to hold back a snicker as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared up at the ceiling. Hitsugaya had actually done some pretty scary things in his quest to hunt down and annihilate Urahara the night before. But Urahara had still won in the end, when he used Nell as a shield to protect himself.
He had wanted to laugh and punch the guy in the balls at the same time for doing it, but it had certainly gotten the job done. Hitsugaya had calmed down and had consented to returning to school on the grounds that he didn’t have to baby sit the little arrancar anymore. Nell wasn’t quite as thrilled as Hitsugaya when his conditions were accepted, but they had assured her that she’d still be able to see him in the mornings and evenings. She had taken a liking to Yoruichi as well, and upon hearing that the Goddess of Flash would be her new daytime friend, she too said it was okay “for Toushirou to go play with Ichigo” during the day.
Currently, the two of them were stuck out in the hall next to classroom 1-3, waiting for their new teacher to invite them in and introduce them to a room full of high school students they had already met several months ago but who didn’t remember ever meeting them. It was an interesting situation. And Hitsugaya did not seem to be enjoying it.
Especially when it came to the fact that this particular room would also be shared by Kurosaki and Co.
“It’s that damn Urahara,” the pint-sized taichou grumbled under his breath, arms crossed tightly in front of his chest. His shirt was untucked as it had often been before, something that had always struck Renji as contradictory to his usual work-a-holic image. And seeing as the shirt was about two sizes too big, it only made him look even shorter than he already was. Because of this amusing spectacle, it took a moment for Renji to process what his superior was saying. “He’s trying to leash me, keep me under watch. He honestly doesn't think I can handle myself. That bastard…”
The red head frowned, getting a good look at his companion. He pushed his hands deeper into his pockets before turning the other way. “Yo, Hitsugaya-taichou,” he began hesitantly. “What … What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for those ridiculously slow students to shut up so we can go inside already,” Hitsugaya huffed.
“No, I mean … why’d they send you back here … to the living world?”
Hitsugaya’s grimace became noticeably more aggravated. “Not to chase after you morons, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“If that’s not the reason, then why?” Renji pressed.
“Abarai, everyone has something that he absolutely must do, whether he wants to or not. I have already let you do yours; now let me do mine in peace.”
Renji wasn’t sure whether he should ask his next question. After an answer like that, he almost felt guilty. Almost. But his curiosity combined with stubbornness won him over in the end. Eyes narrowing, he looked down at Hitsugaya in order to gouge his reaction.
“Where’s Ran?”
He watched as Hitsugaya stiffened, then spat out, “She’s not here. I do not need to take her with me wherever I go. I am more than capable on my own.”
“Of course… I’m sorry … Hitsugaya-taichou.”
Hitsugaya looked as if he was about to say something more, but the classroom door opened and a woman with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail poked her head out and beckoned them inside. “Alrighty class! As Rukia explained, she has returned from her trip to America and brought with her two very, very distant relatives who’ll be staying with us for a while. Hitsugaya Toushirou and Abarai Renji, class. Class, Hitsugaya Toushirou and Abarai Renji.”
Silence reigned as the students stared at the two shinigami in awe. And suddenly, Renji couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Hitsugaya. At least last time he had been surrounded by people so bizarre and wild that no one had paid quite as much attention to him. But this time, the taichou had only Renji, his exact opposite in both personality and appearance. Their contrasts only added to the students’ wonder. Many were openly gaping.
Rukia offered them a thumbs up as Ichigo hid his head against his desk in a futile attempt to obscure his laughter.
“Well, now that that’s over, you two can go sit down in any empty seat you find,” she concluded simply, waving them away from the front of the room.
Renji chuckled sheepishly as Hitsugaya cradled his forehead in his hand.
Something told him it was going to be an interesting day.
~*~
“Well…” a voice trailed off, its owner overlooking Karakura High School in amusement. A large smirk was the only thing visible upon the figure’s face as he pulled his hat down over his eyes and retreated further into the recesses of the sky.
“Ain’ this just my lucky day.”
~*~
Hitsugaya had to admit that Kurosaki may have had a point when he said that school would help him avoid thinking too much. He would have to follow up that admittance however, with the phrase “in the worst possible way.” He had found it rather hard to focus on his stress-inducing worries with the various students in class 1-3 consistently interrupting his contemplations in one way or another with much more annoying and shallow stress-inducing worries.
First had been Tatsuki, making fun of him for a cover story that Kuchiki had come up with. Then Asano, nearly tackling him between third and fourth period as he cried and wailed about how nobody had told him that Hitsugaya was transferring and about how he was being kicked out of the loop. Then Kurosaki’s and Abarai’s attempts to stifle laughing fits as they whispered to each other, making it very clear who they were whispering about.
And that was just the people he knew.
His mood was uplifted far more than it had been for weeks just knowing that it was finally over. This effect was soon hampered however, when Abarai mentioned they’d be returning the next day.
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Kuchiki asked as the large group began filing out of the school building. “You didn’t seem to mind as much last time. To be honest, I find that I rather enjoy it.”
“Yeah, but then you didn’t get a confession of love on your first day, did you?” Kurosaki snickered as Hitsugaya felt the veins in his forehead threatening to pop for the umpteenth time that day.
Kojima Mizuiro had seen to it that he introduce Hitsugaya to everything on campus with legs and a skirt. Upon sight, one of the girls had confessed undying love to him. Needless to say, he dismissed her for an overemotional fool, and his image of Kojima had been permanently skewed when he then proceeded to ask the rejected girl if she would mind going out with him instead. She had agreed wholeheartedly.
Hitsugaya did not, nor would he ever, understand hormones.
“It’s not fair!” wailed a dejected Asano, only inches from Hitsugaya’s shoulder. The boy yanked himself away as Asano went into spastic hysterics. “How do you do it?! You’re just like that traitor, Mizuiro! You-You don’t even have to try!”
“Can it, moron,” Tatsuki grumbled, ramming her school bag into the back of his head.
As casual violence and much laughter ensued, Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and turned away to see Kurosaki staring off into the sky. His eyes were wide, brows furrowed, and one of his hands was inching steadily toward the single gikongon in his back pocket. He frowned.
“What’s wrong, Kurosaki?”
The red head hastily shook his head and smiled weakly. “Nothing,” he muttered before waving his hand in the air at the others. “Hey, guys, I gotta go! I forgot about something I promised my old man! I’ll meet up with you all later, okay?” he called to everyone before running off. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes, and with a sigh, took off after him.
Kurosaki was a terrible liar.
“Ichigo! Hitsugaya-taichou!” Rukia bellowed before attempting to chase after them, but Abarai held her back.
“Let them be,” he breathed. “If it was a hollow or anything dangerous, we’d know, right?”
“Yeah,” she sighed reluctantly before getting an evil glint in her eye that made Renji flinch from past experience. “Last one to Urahara’s gets to be the dummy for training!” she shouted before taking off at lightning fast speeds. Orihime, Tatsuki, Asano, and Kojima followed, leaving him and Sado in the dust.
“You wouldn’t dare … would you? Rukia? Rukia! Oi! Wait up!”
~*~
“Why are you following me?” Ichigo grumbled as the white crowned taichou caught up to him.
Toushirou gave him an “isn’t it obvious?” sort of glare before spouting off a list of reasons. “You ran off without any believable explanation. Your feeble attempts to control your reiatsu are even more lacking than usual. You’re sweating. You’re reaching for your gikongon every five seconds. I’m sure Rukia noticed. Actually, I’m surprised she didn’t follow as well.”
Ichigo wanted to hit him. Hard. Little kid or not, he could be really annoying sometimes. “I don’t care. I’m glad she’s not here. And I don’t want you around either!”
“Ah, but we do.”
Ichigo froze. Toushirou stopped a few inches behind him, and both stared to the left at the man who had just lowered himself out of the sky and into the vacant alleyway before them. “Long time no see, ne, Ichigo?”
“Shinji,” he growled, hand twitching for his back pocket. “What do you want now?”
“Aw, don’ worry, Ichigo. It’s not like I’m coming after ya ‘cause I wanna drag ya back or anythin’,” Hirako Shinji grinned, tipping his outlandish hat to the two boys. “To be honest, I didn’ think ya’d ever be comin' back at all. Yer way too weak to be runnin’ off like that. But I guess ya realized that already, ne?”
Fists clenching, the red head tried not to appear fazed by the vaizard’s words. He noticed Toushirou looking more curious than anything else, watching the other two converse. If you could call it that. He remembered the shrimp telling him something very similar when he had come back from Hueco Mundo, and his fists relaxed slightly.
Shinji didn’t seem to notice. He only stepped out of the air and onto the ground before continuing. “Now, imagine my surprise when I find out that another prospective new member o’ our li’l group’s been discovered at Karakura High. An’ then, to find out that he’s not only in the same class as Ichigo, but he’s even walkin’ home with him.”
“The hell are you talking about, Shinji?! ‘Another prospective new member’? What kind of bull is that?!”
Before he could say anything more however, Toushirou held up his hand in front of his waste and stepped forward. The glare he wore now was a far cry from the curiosity his expression had housed a minute ago. It was almost frightening. Or maybe that was because of the reiatsu Ichigo felt spilling out of him. “Get to the point,” he hissed.
Shinji’s grin widened. “You, my fine, white-headed brat, have peaked the interest o’ the infamous vaizard.”
Ichigo’s eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell was going on? Toushirou? The vaizard? Why?! He couldn’t hold back any longer. “Whaddya mean ‘peaked your interest’?! He’s a shinigami! And he was here before, but you never said anything then!” he shouted, pushing Toushirou’s arm aside.
“Well, this time’s different,” Shinji countered brusquely. He advanced, depleting the few feet between them until he was directly in front of the two high school students. Then he leaned down in Toushirou’s face, eye to eye, nose to nose. Ichigo could feel the sparks flying as both refused to back down the slightest inch. And he had to admit, he was rather impressed when the kid won out and Shinji was the first to blink. The feeling didn’t last long.
“Because this time…” the vaizard grinned devilishly, “…I smell hollow.”
The substitute shinigami watched as nearly every hair on the back of Toushirou’s neck stood on end and he tensed to the point where he doubted the shrimp was even breathing.
That was the last straw. He grabbed the back of Toushirou’s collar and yanked him backward so that he was once again in front, ignoring the shrimp’s mortified protests. “Are you insane?!” he began, but then corrected himself. “Even more insane?! I just said he was a shinigami! Of course, he smells like hollow! He beats the crap out of them every day!”
“No,” Shinji clarified, pouting as he stood up straight again after being deprived of his staring contest partner. “Smells like that fade away as fast as the hollow. But he reeks o’ hollow, all over his insides.”
Ichigo tried to understand what that meant. He really did. But it just wasn’t registering. “Are you saying … he’s … like…?” he attempted to ask, pointing from the scowling shinigami taichou to the once more grinning vaizard. He couldn’t even say it.
“Nope,” Shinji sighed anticlimactically, shrugging his shoulders at the look of disbelief on Ichigo’s face. “We thought he was, but when I got close it was obvious he wasn’. With vaizard, the hollow’s all in the head. But he’s got it everywhere. Kinda disgustin’ really.”
The vaizard sighed again, milking the moment for all it was worth. “Aw well. Too high expectations, I guess. After you came along an’ all. Guess I’ll be goin’ then.”
It wasn’t until Toushirou hollered “Wait!” that Ichigo realized he had stopped spitting death threats at him. Shinji turned around, a single blond brow rising in expectation. This time it was Toushirou who advanced, seeing as Ichigo had by now lost the will to hold him back. What could the shrimp want to say to him?
“You said you sense … hollow in me,” he began slowly, looking up at the vaizard with an expression Ichigo could no longer read. Shinji nodded, his smirk making a magnificent comeback. “Know any … specifics?”
“An’ why do ya think I’d tell ‘em to ya if I did?” Shinji asked, bowing slightly in anticipation.
“A hunch,” he replied, his tone betraying no emotion whatsoever.
“Oh? What sorta hunch?”
“That you’re just as curious as I am.”
Ichigo continued to stare as Shinji leaned back, grin wavering. The glint in his golden-brown eyes was unmistakable. He wasn’t joking around anymore. He meant business. “I can’ tell much, but I know some people who might be able to. But, then again, they’re not all that fond o’ shinigami. They might jus’ decide to kill ya as soon as ya walk in the door. So ya can follow me if ya really wanna know, but I won’ be held responsible for whatever happens.”
The be-hatted vaizard began to walk away and Toushirou took a step forward to pursue him, but Ichigo grabbed him by the collar again, Shinji’s words having finally convinced him to stop ogling and start taking action. He jerked the boy next to him, crouching down to whisper frantically in his ear. “What the hell is going on?! Hollow?! Specifics?! You really wanna follow him?! Him?! If you don’t start talking right now, I’m gonna-!”
“Tsk, tsk, Ichigo.” The red headed teen nearly jumped ten feet into the air when Shinji suddenly appeared right beside him again. “If ya haven’ been able to tell the difference when yer the one who actually knew him before, then perhaps ya really are jus’ a hopeless idiot after all.”
Ichigo’s eyes widened in realization as Toushirou pulled himself away and undid the top button of his shirt just in case Ichigo decided to yank on the collar again.
“There’s something … weird about you,” Kurosaki frowned as if looking for the right words to explain his point and not finding them. Hitsugaya’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t explain it. It’s just … not right.”
“What makes you say that?” he questioned softly.
“I don’t know. I just … feel it, you know?”
“I’m coming too,” he huffed, slinging his book bag back over his shoulder and standing up straight.
Toushirou didn’t look very happy, turning around to glare at the shinigami substitute as if he wanted to break his neck, but he’d just have to live with it. Ichigo was going to get his answers. Whether it was from Toushirou or the vaizard. He was going to get them.
“Well, then. Now that that’s all settled, let’s get goin’,” Shinji grinned. “Preferably before the world ends, ne?”
~*~
Kuchiki Rukia looked out the window. Again. Just like she had every five minutes for the past two hours.
This was getting out of hand. Ichigo should have come back home by now. He had said he would be right back, hadn’t he? He just had to run some errand for his dad. Yet they had waited for him at Urahara’s all afternoon, and he had never shown up. Neither had Hitsugaya-taichou.
Everyone kept assuring her that he’d run off before, disappeared for days on end, and had wound up just fine. Better and stronger, in fact. Besides, he had only been gone for a few hours. Teenagers needed their space, right? It wasn’t that big of a deal. Even if anything happened, Ichigo could take care of himself. And with Hitsugaya around as well, no force on earth or anywhere else would be able to harm them.
She knew all of it was true. They were right; there was nothing to worry about. So why was she still worried?
“Rukia-nee-san! Dinner’s ready!”
“Alright! I’ll be there in a minute, Yuzu!” she called back to the young homemaker in the kitchen. Grumbling inaudibly to herself, she shoved her make-up work back into her backpack and replaced the pillows and the empty Kon stuffed animal she had tossed on the floor so that she could do aforementioned make-up work. She paused as she stared at the lifeless plushy.
Ichigo had gotten into the habit of taking Kon with him to school in candy form. He had waved the subject away with a grumpy, “He’s always jumping out of your backpack and nearly getting himself caught! It’s easier this way. Besides, he’s due for some punishment for something or other, right?”
Rukia couldn’t help wondering though, whether there was some deeper reason for it.
With a sigh, she pushed the thought aside and trudged out of the room she now shared with Karin and Yuzu.
“Rukia-chaaan! It’s terrible! Terrible!” The shinigami stepped aside as Kurosaki Isshin ran at her in an attempt to hug her, causing him to bulldoze into the side of the doorframe. He crumpled to the floor, now crying openly. Karin rolled her eyes, and Yuzu cringed in sympathy. “Rukia-chan! How could you be so cruel?! First Ichigo, and now you! Nobody loves Daddy anymore!”
“Shut up, moron! You’re ruining my appetite!” the more violent of the twins scolded. “He’ll come home when he wants to. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he never came back as long as you’re around.”
Rukia frowned, turning to face the dejected heap that was Kurosaki senior. “You mean … you didn’t ask him to do anything for you today?” she asked.
“Huh? Of course not! He was supposed to help with the clinic today!” the man pouted, then appeared suddenly shocked. “Is that what it is? Does Daddy make him do too much when what he should really be doing is nurturing the child's heart still beating within his oldest son?!”
Rukia wasn’t listening anymore. She grabbed the first jacket she could find and began running out the door. “I’m going out! Save me some dinner, please!”
“Rukia-nee-san!” Yuzu waved her ladle in the air in protest but to no avail. Rukia was already gone.
Kurosaki Isshin trudged over to the wall and flattened himself against the large memorial poster of his late wife. “I’m a failure as a father…” Yuzu tried to comfort him, but Karin could only stare at the now closed door, chopsticks still hanging from her lips.
“I should’ve known that idiot was lying!” Rukia huffed, turning a corner. “He was so flustered, I could’ve knocked him over with a flick to the forehead! Hitsugaya-taichou could tell! I should’ve noticed too! I should’ve realized something was wrong!
“Darn it, Ichigo! You had better be there!”
Finally, she rounded on Urahara Shoten. Disregarding the ‘Closed’ sign on the door, she kicked it open and charged in.
“Where’s Ichigo!?”
“Where’s Hitsugaya-taichou!?”
Rukia nearly tripped over her own two feet at what she saw before her. Renji was cowering as he tried his best to keep the situation under control. Urahara was spouting all the reason and logic he could muster as he rubbed at a gruesome looking bump on the top of his head. Yoruichi sat in the corner playing with Nell, taking great pleasure in watching the spectacle unfold. Ururu was fretting, torn between Urahara’s obvious need for assistance and Nell’s death grip on her wrist. Jinta was cheering in hopes for more bloodshed.
And in the middle of all the chaos…
“Matsumoto-san!”
~*~
Fandom: Bleach
Main Character: Hitsugaya Toushirou
Rating: PG13-ish
Pairings: I'm trying to keep distinct couples to a minimum in this story, so there won't be any specific pairings.
Warnings: Some language, a bit of angst, a taste of violence, plenty of spoilers, and lots of unnecessary pain
Timeline: This story follows the manga's timeline, disregarding the Bounto Arc completely. It takes place during and after the current manga arc.
A/N: This is where things start to get hectic. A lot of the chapters up until now were focused solely on character development and setting up the plot. I guess you could call this chapter the first real step toward the climax. I hope it lives up to the hype.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hitsugaya or Bleach or anything else that I do not own.
Summary: Not all games are for kids. Not all puzzles are childish. At least, not when you're betting your life on the outcome.
~*~
“Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
~*~
Chapter Nine
New Rhythm Blues
~*~
“Look, it’s really not that big of a deal. Just a coincidence. It’s not like you have to talk to them or anything. So chill already.”
“Was that supposed to be a joke, Abarai? It wasn’t funny.”
Abarai Renji tried to hold back a snicker as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared up at the ceiling. Hitsugaya had actually done some pretty scary things in his quest to hunt down and annihilate Urahara the night before. But Urahara had still won in the end, when he used Nell as a shield to protect himself.
He had wanted to laugh and punch the guy in the balls at the same time for doing it, but it had certainly gotten the job done. Hitsugaya had calmed down and had consented to returning to school on the grounds that he didn’t have to baby sit the little arrancar anymore. Nell wasn’t quite as thrilled as Hitsugaya when his conditions were accepted, but they had assured her that she’d still be able to see him in the mornings and evenings. She had taken a liking to Yoruichi as well, and upon hearing that the Goddess of Flash would be her new daytime friend, she too said it was okay “for Toushirou to go play with Ichigo” during the day.
Currently, the two of them were stuck out in the hall next to classroom 1-3, waiting for their new teacher to invite them in and introduce them to a room full of high school students they had already met several months ago but who didn’t remember ever meeting them. It was an interesting situation. And Hitsugaya did not seem to be enjoying it.
Especially when it came to the fact that this particular room would also be shared by Kurosaki and Co.
“It’s that damn Urahara,” the pint-sized taichou grumbled under his breath, arms crossed tightly in front of his chest. His shirt was untucked as it had often been before, something that had always struck Renji as contradictory to his usual work-a-holic image. And seeing as the shirt was about two sizes too big, it only made him look even shorter than he already was. Because of this amusing spectacle, it took a moment for Renji to process what his superior was saying. “He’s trying to leash me, keep me under watch. He honestly doesn't think I can handle myself. That bastard…”
The red head frowned, getting a good look at his companion. He pushed his hands deeper into his pockets before turning the other way. “Yo, Hitsugaya-taichou,” he began hesitantly. “What … What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for those ridiculously slow students to shut up so we can go inside already,” Hitsugaya huffed.
“No, I mean … why’d they send you back here … to the living world?”
Hitsugaya’s grimace became noticeably more aggravated. “Not to chase after you morons, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“If that’s not the reason, then why?” Renji pressed.
“Abarai, everyone has something that he absolutely must do, whether he wants to or not. I have already let you do yours; now let me do mine in peace.”
Renji wasn’t sure whether he should ask his next question. After an answer like that, he almost felt guilty. Almost. But his curiosity combined with stubbornness won him over in the end. Eyes narrowing, he looked down at Hitsugaya in order to gouge his reaction.
“Where’s Ran?”
He watched as Hitsugaya stiffened, then spat out, “She’s not here. I do not need to take her with me wherever I go. I am more than capable on my own.”
“Of course… I’m sorry … Hitsugaya-taichou.”
Hitsugaya looked as if he was about to say something more, but the classroom door opened and a woman with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail poked her head out and beckoned them inside. “Alrighty class! As Rukia explained, she has returned from her trip to America and brought with her two very, very distant relatives who’ll be staying with us for a while. Hitsugaya Toushirou and Abarai Renji, class. Class, Hitsugaya Toushirou and Abarai Renji.”
Silence reigned as the students stared at the two shinigami in awe. And suddenly, Renji couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Hitsugaya. At least last time he had been surrounded by people so bizarre and wild that no one had paid quite as much attention to him. But this time, the taichou had only Renji, his exact opposite in both personality and appearance. Their contrasts only added to the students’ wonder. Many were openly gaping.
Rukia offered them a thumbs up as Ichigo hid his head against his desk in a futile attempt to obscure his laughter.
“Well, now that that’s over, you two can go sit down in any empty seat you find,” she concluded simply, waving them away from the front of the room.
Renji chuckled sheepishly as Hitsugaya cradled his forehead in his hand.
Something told him it was going to be an interesting day.
~*~
“Well…” a voice trailed off, its owner overlooking Karakura High School in amusement. A large smirk was the only thing visible upon the figure’s face as he pulled his hat down over his eyes and retreated further into the recesses of the sky.
“Ain’ this just my lucky day.”
~*~
Hitsugaya had to admit that Kurosaki may have had a point when he said that school would help him avoid thinking too much. He would have to follow up that admittance however, with the phrase “in the worst possible way.” He had found it rather hard to focus on his stress-inducing worries with the various students in class 1-3 consistently interrupting his contemplations in one way or another with much more annoying and shallow stress-inducing worries.
First had been Tatsuki, making fun of him for a cover story that Kuchiki had come up with. Then Asano, nearly tackling him between third and fourth period as he cried and wailed about how nobody had told him that Hitsugaya was transferring and about how he was being kicked out of the loop. Then Kurosaki’s and Abarai’s attempts to stifle laughing fits as they whispered to each other, making it very clear who they were whispering about.
And that was just the people he knew.
His mood was uplifted far more than it had been for weeks just knowing that it was finally over. This effect was soon hampered however, when Abarai mentioned they’d be returning the next day.
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Kuchiki asked as the large group began filing out of the school building. “You didn’t seem to mind as much last time. To be honest, I find that I rather enjoy it.”
“Yeah, but then you didn’t get a confession of love on your first day, did you?” Kurosaki snickered as Hitsugaya felt the veins in his forehead threatening to pop for the umpteenth time that day.
Kojima Mizuiro had seen to it that he introduce Hitsugaya to everything on campus with legs and a skirt. Upon sight, one of the girls had confessed undying love to him. Needless to say, he dismissed her for an overemotional fool, and his image of Kojima had been permanently skewed when he then proceeded to ask the rejected girl if she would mind going out with him instead. She had agreed wholeheartedly.
Hitsugaya did not, nor would he ever, understand hormones.
“It’s not fair!” wailed a dejected Asano, only inches from Hitsugaya’s shoulder. The boy yanked himself away as Asano went into spastic hysterics. “How do you do it?! You’re just like that traitor, Mizuiro! You-You don’t even have to try!”
“Can it, moron,” Tatsuki grumbled, ramming her school bag into the back of his head.
As casual violence and much laughter ensued, Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and turned away to see Kurosaki staring off into the sky. His eyes were wide, brows furrowed, and one of his hands was inching steadily toward the single gikongon in his back pocket. He frowned.
“What’s wrong, Kurosaki?”
The red head hastily shook his head and smiled weakly. “Nothing,” he muttered before waving his hand in the air at the others. “Hey, guys, I gotta go! I forgot about something I promised my old man! I’ll meet up with you all later, okay?” he called to everyone before running off. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes, and with a sigh, took off after him.
Kurosaki was a terrible liar.
“Ichigo! Hitsugaya-taichou!” Rukia bellowed before attempting to chase after them, but Abarai held her back.
“Let them be,” he breathed. “If it was a hollow or anything dangerous, we’d know, right?”
“Yeah,” she sighed reluctantly before getting an evil glint in her eye that made Renji flinch from past experience. “Last one to Urahara’s gets to be the dummy for training!” she shouted before taking off at lightning fast speeds. Orihime, Tatsuki, Asano, and Kojima followed, leaving him and Sado in the dust.
“You wouldn’t dare … would you? Rukia? Rukia! Oi! Wait up!”
~*~
“Why are you following me?” Ichigo grumbled as the white crowned taichou caught up to him.
Toushirou gave him an “isn’t it obvious?” sort of glare before spouting off a list of reasons. “You ran off without any believable explanation. Your feeble attempts to control your reiatsu are even more lacking than usual. You’re sweating. You’re reaching for your gikongon every five seconds. I’m sure Rukia noticed. Actually, I’m surprised she didn’t follow as well.”
Ichigo wanted to hit him. Hard. Little kid or not, he could be really annoying sometimes. “I don’t care. I’m glad she’s not here. And I don’t want you around either!”
“Ah, but we do.”
Ichigo froze. Toushirou stopped a few inches behind him, and both stared to the left at the man who had just lowered himself out of the sky and into the vacant alleyway before them. “Long time no see, ne, Ichigo?”
“Shinji,” he growled, hand twitching for his back pocket. “What do you want now?”
“Aw, don’ worry, Ichigo. It’s not like I’m coming after ya ‘cause I wanna drag ya back or anythin’,” Hirako Shinji grinned, tipping his outlandish hat to the two boys. “To be honest, I didn’ think ya’d ever be comin' back at all. Yer way too weak to be runnin’ off like that. But I guess ya realized that already, ne?”
Fists clenching, the red head tried not to appear fazed by the vaizard’s words. He noticed Toushirou looking more curious than anything else, watching the other two converse. If you could call it that. He remembered the shrimp telling him something very similar when he had come back from Hueco Mundo, and his fists relaxed slightly.
Shinji didn’t seem to notice. He only stepped out of the air and onto the ground before continuing. “Now, imagine my surprise when I find out that another prospective new member o’ our li’l group’s been discovered at Karakura High. An’ then, to find out that he’s not only in the same class as Ichigo, but he’s even walkin’ home with him.”
“The hell are you talking about, Shinji?! ‘Another prospective new member’? What kind of bull is that?!”
Before he could say anything more however, Toushirou held up his hand in front of his waste and stepped forward. The glare he wore now was a far cry from the curiosity his expression had housed a minute ago. It was almost frightening. Or maybe that was because of the reiatsu Ichigo felt spilling out of him. “Get to the point,” he hissed.
Shinji’s grin widened. “You, my fine, white-headed brat, have peaked the interest o’ the infamous vaizard.”
Ichigo’s eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell was going on? Toushirou? The vaizard? Why?! He couldn’t hold back any longer. “Whaddya mean ‘peaked your interest’?! He’s a shinigami! And he was here before, but you never said anything then!” he shouted, pushing Toushirou’s arm aside.
“Well, this time’s different,” Shinji countered brusquely. He advanced, depleting the few feet between them until he was directly in front of the two high school students. Then he leaned down in Toushirou’s face, eye to eye, nose to nose. Ichigo could feel the sparks flying as both refused to back down the slightest inch. And he had to admit, he was rather impressed when the kid won out and Shinji was the first to blink. The feeling didn’t last long.
“Because this time…” the vaizard grinned devilishly, “…I smell hollow.”
The substitute shinigami watched as nearly every hair on the back of Toushirou’s neck stood on end and he tensed to the point where he doubted the shrimp was even breathing.
That was the last straw. He grabbed the back of Toushirou’s collar and yanked him backward so that he was once again in front, ignoring the shrimp’s mortified protests. “Are you insane?!” he began, but then corrected himself. “Even more insane?! I just said he was a shinigami! Of course, he smells like hollow! He beats the crap out of them every day!”
“No,” Shinji clarified, pouting as he stood up straight again after being deprived of his staring contest partner. “Smells like that fade away as fast as the hollow. But he reeks o’ hollow, all over his insides.”
Ichigo tried to understand what that meant. He really did. But it just wasn’t registering. “Are you saying … he’s … like…?” he attempted to ask, pointing from the scowling shinigami taichou to the once more grinning vaizard. He couldn’t even say it.
“Nope,” Shinji sighed anticlimactically, shrugging his shoulders at the look of disbelief on Ichigo’s face. “We thought he was, but when I got close it was obvious he wasn’. With vaizard, the hollow’s all in the head. But he’s got it everywhere. Kinda disgustin’ really.”
The vaizard sighed again, milking the moment for all it was worth. “Aw well. Too high expectations, I guess. After you came along an’ all. Guess I’ll be goin’ then.”
It wasn’t until Toushirou hollered “Wait!” that Ichigo realized he had stopped spitting death threats at him. Shinji turned around, a single blond brow rising in expectation. This time it was Toushirou who advanced, seeing as Ichigo had by now lost the will to hold him back. What could the shrimp want to say to him?
“You said you sense … hollow in me,” he began slowly, looking up at the vaizard with an expression Ichigo could no longer read. Shinji nodded, his smirk making a magnificent comeback. “Know any … specifics?”
“An’ why do ya think I’d tell ‘em to ya if I did?” Shinji asked, bowing slightly in anticipation.
“A hunch,” he replied, his tone betraying no emotion whatsoever.
“Oh? What sorta hunch?”
“That you’re just as curious as I am.”
Ichigo continued to stare as Shinji leaned back, grin wavering. The glint in his golden-brown eyes was unmistakable. He wasn’t joking around anymore. He meant business. “I can’ tell much, but I know some people who might be able to. But, then again, they’re not all that fond o’ shinigami. They might jus’ decide to kill ya as soon as ya walk in the door. So ya can follow me if ya really wanna know, but I won’ be held responsible for whatever happens.”
The be-hatted vaizard began to walk away and Toushirou took a step forward to pursue him, but Ichigo grabbed him by the collar again, Shinji’s words having finally convinced him to stop ogling and start taking action. He jerked the boy next to him, crouching down to whisper frantically in his ear. “What the hell is going on?! Hollow?! Specifics?! You really wanna follow him?! Him?! If you don’t start talking right now, I’m gonna-!”
“Tsk, tsk, Ichigo.” The red headed teen nearly jumped ten feet into the air when Shinji suddenly appeared right beside him again. “If ya haven’ been able to tell the difference when yer the one who actually knew him before, then perhaps ya really are jus’ a hopeless idiot after all.”
Ichigo’s eyes widened in realization as Toushirou pulled himself away and undid the top button of his shirt just in case Ichigo decided to yank on the collar again.
“There’s something … weird about you,” Kurosaki frowned as if looking for the right words to explain his point and not finding them. Hitsugaya’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t explain it. It’s just … not right.”
“What makes you say that?” he questioned softly.
“I don’t know. I just … feel it, you know?”
“I’m coming too,” he huffed, slinging his book bag back over his shoulder and standing up straight.
Toushirou didn’t look very happy, turning around to glare at the shinigami substitute as if he wanted to break his neck, but he’d just have to live with it. Ichigo was going to get his answers. Whether it was from Toushirou or the vaizard. He was going to get them.
“Well, then. Now that that’s all settled, let’s get goin’,” Shinji grinned. “Preferably before the world ends, ne?”
~*~
Kuchiki Rukia looked out the window. Again. Just like she had every five minutes for the past two hours.
This was getting out of hand. Ichigo should have come back home by now. He had said he would be right back, hadn’t he? He just had to run some errand for his dad. Yet they had waited for him at Urahara’s all afternoon, and he had never shown up. Neither had Hitsugaya-taichou.
Everyone kept assuring her that he’d run off before, disappeared for days on end, and had wound up just fine. Better and stronger, in fact. Besides, he had only been gone for a few hours. Teenagers needed their space, right? It wasn’t that big of a deal. Even if anything happened, Ichigo could take care of himself. And with Hitsugaya around as well, no force on earth or anywhere else would be able to harm them.
She knew all of it was true. They were right; there was nothing to worry about. So why was she still worried?
“Rukia-nee-san! Dinner’s ready!”
“Alright! I’ll be there in a minute, Yuzu!” she called back to the young homemaker in the kitchen. Grumbling inaudibly to herself, she shoved her make-up work back into her backpack and replaced the pillows and the empty Kon stuffed animal she had tossed on the floor so that she could do aforementioned make-up work. She paused as she stared at the lifeless plushy.
Ichigo had gotten into the habit of taking Kon with him to school in candy form. He had waved the subject away with a grumpy, “He’s always jumping out of your backpack and nearly getting himself caught! It’s easier this way. Besides, he’s due for some punishment for something or other, right?”
Rukia couldn’t help wondering though, whether there was some deeper reason for it.
With a sigh, she pushed the thought aside and trudged out of the room she now shared with Karin and Yuzu.
“Rukia-chaaan! It’s terrible! Terrible!” The shinigami stepped aside as Kurosaki Isshin ran at her in an attempt to hug her, causing him to bulldoze into the side of the doorframe. He crumpled to the floor, now crying openly. Karin rolled her eyes, and Yuzu cringed in sympathy. “Rukia-chan! How could you be so cruel?! First Ichigo, and now you! Nobody loves Daddy anymore!”
“Shut up, moron! You’re ruining my appetite!” the more violent of the twins scolded. “He’ll come home when he wants to. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he never came back as long as you’re around.”
Rukia frowned, turning to face the dejected heap that was Kurosaki senior. “You mean … you didn’t ask him to do anything for you today?” she asked.
“Huh? Of course not! He was supposed to help with the clinic today!” the man pouted, then appeared suddenly shocked. “Is that what it is? Does Daddy make him do too much when what he should really be doing is nurturing the child's heart still beating within his oldest son?!”
Rukia wasn’t listening anymore. She grabbed the first jacket she could find and began running out the door. “I’m going out! Save me some dinner, please!”
“Rukia-nee-san!” Yuzu waved her ladle in the air in protest but to no avail. Rukia was already gone.
Kurosaki Isshin trudged over to the wall and flattened himself against the large memorial poster of his late wife. “I’m a failure as a father…” Yuzu tried to comfort him, but Karin could only stare at the now closed door, chopsticks still hanging from her lips.
“I should’ve known that idiot was lying!” Rukia huffed, turning a corner. “He was so flustered, I could’ve knocked him over with a flick to the forehead! Hitsugaya-taichou could tell! I should’ve noticed too! I should’ve realized something was wrong!
“Darn it, Ichigo! You had better be there!”
Finally, she rounded on Urahara Shoten. Disregarding the ‘Closed’ sign on the door, she kicked it open and charged in.
“Where’s Ichigo!?”
“Where’s Hitsugaya-taichou!?”
Rukia nearly tripped over her own two feet at what she saw before her. Renji was cowering as he tried his best to keep the situation under control. Urahara was spouting all the reason and logic he could muster as he rubbed at a gruesome looking bump on the top of his head. Yoruichi sat in the corner playing with Nell, taking great pleasure in watching the spectacle unfold. Ururu was fretting, torn between Urahara’s obvious need for assistance and Nell’s death grip on her wrist. Jinta was cheering in hopes for more bloodshed.
And in the middle of all the chaos…
“Matsumoto-san!”
~*~