Subject: Bleach
Pairing: Gin Ichimaru x Toshiro Hitsugaya
Warnings: No warnings for this chapter. Other's however will eventually include detailed sexual situations and possibly character death. This is a yaoi fanfic and I promise there will be GinxToshiro love at some point and it will probably be reoccurring after that point.
Disclaimer: If I owned them, the series would have turned out like this. However I don't own them and instead of listening to Gin say "Bye Bye" in that cute voice and watch Toshiro all the time you get to listen to Kon talk about Orihime's boobs.
Notes: Thank you for coming! I hope you read and enjoy my story. I'm going to restate the summary for you so you know what's going on, below. I'm thinking there will be over 20 chapters to this story however I can't promise anything yet. I welcome support and reviews, please keep criticism helpful. Toshiro dislikes flames, don't melt Shiro! Anyways. I really hope you enjoy. I've been wanting to write this for a little bit now since I wondered what it would be like if Toshiro got stuck with Gin on a long mission. Plus I really, really like Gin and this story will portray Gin as both a sadist but also the personality I think he actually has under his mask. Also for all you haters out there, remember, Toshiro is not a kid! Due to the slowing of aging in the soul society he's probably well into his thirties if not older, so I don't want any of that 'he's just a little kid' crap. I'm sure he'd be pissed too! Anyways! On with the chapter I guess? Enjoy!! Oh and um, I will attempt to use Gin's accent as best I can, however i'll try not to make it so thick it becomes a puzzle to understand what he's talking about.
Summary: (This story will take place before Byakuya and Renji remove Rukia from the world of the living to have her executed. This is ToshiroxGin.)
Toshiro hated that sly fox and tried to have very little to do with him. So it was a very un-welcomed idea when he was suddenly told he and Captain Ichimaru were being sent to the world of the living, together, on a mission to bring Rukia back to the Soul Society to pay for her crimes. However, the two Captain's end up lost a few towns over and can't communicate with Soul Society!
/*.* 10 *.*\
Being Lost, Is a Point of You
Chapter 1: Request with a Fox
The Soul Society was very quiet today. The shadows crept up the sides of the white walls as the sun moved steadily across the blue sky. The bugs and the birds went about their life as if death had never touched them. And on this beautiful day, who could have guessed, it was the calm before a storm. The silence before the wind disrupted the lines of the web in the net of the Soul Society.
In one of the few gardens of the Soul Society lay one of the lines, his cyan eyes staring up at that vast canvas of blue and white above him. It was a reflection of his own appearance. He and the sky shared the same reflection.
He lay on a stone bench, that rivaled other stones in the garden, all holding a powerful sense of presence. The sand was raked in spiraling circles and only the stone steps, placed in harmony with the swirling mounds of sand allowed him to pass in and out of this peaceful place without angering the one who had made it.
His eyes slide closed, it was peaceful today, there was a lack of noise coming from the district, a lack of life. It was the perfect time to take a nap, amongst these lovely shady stones and over a sea of rippling sand that reminded him so much of water. Yes, a peaceful sleep would help him relax. A nice peaceful sle-
"Captain! Oh Captain! ~~" That voice. His brows knitted together as the boy tried not to show any signs of being awake. If he could look asleep, that voice might go away. A false hope for the Captain of Squad 10.
"I know your not asleep Captain~~! Why just a few seconds ago I saw you staring up into the sky like you were expecting something to fall from it!" With his peace broken, the young shinigami moved to sit up, swinging his legs carefully to rest on the stone step by his feet, settling firmly on it, careful not to disturb the sandy ripples. He couldn't help but stare with a ghastly expression into his Lieutenant's... endowments. Why did she constantly ruffle his feathers the wrong way by leaning over him like that? It was bad enough he happened to be at just the right height to have to see them at eye level, he didn't need a better look by having her bend over him like that.
"Rangiku. This better be important." It was no use getting too upset with her, at least not until she'd told him just why she had come to get him during his spare time, not a super rare thing for him, as his motivation to finish paperwork was usually the idea of taking a nap, but still, she was interrupting his reward for having finished all his work for the day. "Children who sleep well, grow well" after all. She blinked at him, in that innocent little way of hers that really made him wonder sometimes.
"Well. since it's an order from Captain Yamamoto himself, I thought it was just important enough to come and bother you during your nap. Sorry Captain Hitsugaya!" She said and Toshiro couldn't help but note the lack of sorry in her voice as she pretty much sang her answer to him. But with that aside, he was a bit shocked, a direct order from Head Captain Yamamoto? Had someone died? He stared at her blankly, unable to gather up a reason why the Head Captain would send him a direct order. He held out a hand waiting to accept a letter from him addressing the issue currently being pondered.
The puzzled, innocent look from his Lieutenant suggested there was no letter and also that she was very unworthy of her position as vice-captain. When she continued to stare at him he sighed, irritated slightly.
"The letter, Rangiku?" He could almost count down to the moment when it dawned on her.
"Oooh! Well, there was no letter Captain! He just said to have me find you immediately and inform you that you are to go and meet with him at once!" She said, radiating the pleasure she felt for having remembered the order so entirely.
He sighed at her, giving her a smile, though his mind was still wondering about the issue to be discuss and despite being side tracked he thanked his Lieutenant and followed her step by step along the stones out of the garden. With his mind clouded he made his way off towards the 1st division's Captain's office, fretting the whole way about the reason for the summoning.
/*.* 3 *.*\
Captain Hitsugaya stood outside the door to the office and announced himself, asking permission to enter. It was granted by a old and familiar voice that was just as strong as the person who owned it. Carefully and with calculated grace he slide aside the wooden canvas of the door and stepped into the room, not taking note of the situation until the door was slide shut once again, tightly clinging to it's frame.
When he turned to face the Head Captain he was greeted with a second familiar face. This one un-welcomed and un-expected. A man with eyes narrowed to slits in a gleeful expression completed with a constant grin was also there to greet him. As was the discomfort that settled in around him from being so close to the man. Ichimaru, Gin.
"Captain Hitsugaya." That voice drew him from his frozen stance. It was the fact that Captain Ichimaru was here, that bothered him the most, for it appeared very obviouse, that they were the only two Captain's coming. But as that commanding voice brought him back from his plunge in thought, he managed to gather himself and walk up towards the Head Captain, Taking a position near the much taller Captain of Squad 3, and as he moved, he felt those slitted eyes follow his every step.
Now though, he focused upon the man in front of him and only him. Not the smell of tea that was in the room, or the cherry red color of the wood. Not the soft blue sky that looked in at him, wondering why he'd left his spot in the garden, and most definitely not that the feeling of fear creeping through him.
"Welcome both of you. " said the elder shinigami before them, pausing to check they were both listening. When he was satisfied he continued speaking. "I have some grave news. Kuchiki, Rukia, has committed a crime amongst the Soul Society. She has given her shinigami spiritual power's to a human, Kurosaki, Ichigo. She must be brought to justice and pay for this crime." There was a temper in the old man's voice, it flared slightly, in the name of justice. The news itself though, shook Toshiro more than the powerful Captain's spiritual energy. Rukia... had committed this crime? He could hardly believe it, but then another thought crossed his mind, though he shamed himself for being a bit insensitive, but the question still bothered him, what did this have to do with Captain Ichimaru and himself?
He was also disturbed by the way that grin widened just a little bit on the face next to him and a soft "Mah mah." managed to slip from that devilish smile. It frustrated Toshiro, how anyone could smile after finding out this shocking news. But the head Captain was reading more into Toshiro than Gin at the moment and began to speak once again, pulling at the young Captain's attention once more.
"Currently, there a very few Captain's available and even less lieutenants. Therefore, I am assigning this mission to the both of you, Captain Hitsugaya of Squad 10 and Captain Ichimaru of Squad 3." There was a passing of shocking visible in Toshiro's eyes. Could Captain Yamamoto not have picked someone better suited to travel with Gin? What about Lieutenant Kira? His mind answered that swiftly, He was with Squad 4 recovering from a hollow attack. He pondered over everyone else, but as the head captain had said, with the varying problems they were having in the Soul Society lately, the captains were all stretched thin and for most, leaving for the world of the living was out of the question. Still. to be stuck with Gin on a mission like this... It was a nightmare come true. He disliked the sly fox and tried to keep away from him and be as uninvolved with him as possible, so to have this sprung all of a sudden... while his face became a map of puzzlement and distress, Gin's grin only seemed to spread wider.
"You will both depart tomorrow. You will be provided with Gigai and Yen, incase a problem should arise and you need these materials. You're mission is to find Kuchiki, Rukia and bring her back to the Soul Society. You will be given two weeks at the most. If you fail to complete the mission before then, you will both be brought back here. Captain Kuchiki has already agreed to go and get her himself if you too prove unable."
If he didn't know better, Toshiro would have thought the head Captain was expecting them to fail. He decided right then and there that, even if his company was Ichimaru, he was going to complete this mission, just to prove he was capable of the task and the situation he was put in.
"Captain Kyouraku will be waiting to see you off at noon in front of the Senkaimon. That is all. You are dismissed," and with a cast of his hand, it was settled. Toshiro was going to the world of the living, for the first time in a long time, with a sly fox.
Dismissed, he took no time following Ichimaru from the room, bony, skeleton fingers roughly, but quietly pushed open the frame of the door, leaving it to Toshiro to close behind them. When the sound of sliding wood died, nothing was left but an unnerving silence and click of sandals on wood as they made their way out of the building. The fox seemed very content on just smiling gleefully to himself as they walked and Toshiro felt no need to break the silence. They parted without a word and Toshiro walked quietly back to his office, holding his chin with his index and thumb in a thoughtful way, staring at the ground in front of him, contemplating this mission and analyzing it.
/*.* 10 *.*\
He had composed himself by the time he returned to the office, sliding the door aside, in the same manner he did his distaste for Gin Ichimaru. He would be a master of holding his temper by the time he returned to the Soul Society, if he returned that was. When the door completed it's movement of sliding open, the warm glow of his office made him relax, and loosen his shoulder's a bit, smiling slightly when he saw Matsumoto laying on the corn colored couch that he himself so often slept in.
Despite his settled calm mood, he did take note of the fact that there was a white mountain of papers on the table next to her and she was supposed to be dealing with it. A look of soft irritation crept onto his young face before he sucked in a breath, eyes opening in a violent portray of cyan.
"MATSUMOTO!!!!!!!" he yelled loudly as her own eyes shot open and she managed to fall off the couch onto the wooden floor, sitting up immediately and staring at her small, but loud Captain, still ruffled by the yell.
"Ahaa... I was just-! Um, I was." she sighed and smiled at him gleefully. "Welcome back Captain!" she sat back onto the couch, collecting a few paper that had fallen with her and placing them back into the white mountain of work. He smiled, sighing a bit, it was no use scolding her, so he shut the door behind himself and stood next to the low table, taking some of the paperwork to his own desk to help her finish. As he began the paperwork he'd selected he couldn't help but notice the curious look his lieutenant was persistently giving him over the back of the couch. When he realized she still wasn't doing work, but instead staring into him like he was a very questionable person, he placed an elbow on the dark desk and leaned his cheek into his hand, giving her a slightly irritated look.
"Yes Matsumoto?" irritation dripped from his tongue as he spoke but his mind was somewhat else where. He'd been to the world of the living on training runs while in the academy, but never had he gone and been in a situation where he actually had to truly deal with humans. Souls were fine, he had no problems tracking them down, but the head Captain was giving them gigai and money, which meant that he was probably going to have to deal with the human world on a more personal bases. It dawned on him with a grudge that he knew nothing about the human world through the body of a gigai. He slumped into his hand and it seemed like a little rain storm was surrounding his head as he felt totally defeated. He glanced at the clock with a new intensity. He had only 6 hours, not including helping Rangiku with the paper work, to go to the library and start studying the human world and customs before needing to get some rest. He would not fail this mission!
He hadn't realized he'd been staring so intently at the clock, let alone did he realize he'd held the stare for a good while now and Matsumoto was calling for him.
"Captain? Captain!" she yelled, her own voice now full of irritation, still looking over the back of the couch at him, when he finally came out of his day dream state.
"Sorry Rangiku, were you saying something?"
"Yes I was! I wanted to know what Captain Yamamoto wanted to speak to you about?" she asked, staring at him intently, not giving him any way of refusing to answer her, not with those intent eyes burrowing into him. He sighed and placed his brush down, leaning back in his chair and letting his eyes slide shut.
"He's sending me and Captain Ichirmaru to the world of the living tomorrow in order to retain Rukia Kuchiki and bring her back to the Soul Society for having committed a crime while gone." He opened his eyes again, feeling pleased with his summary of the situation.
"Gin, huh?" she seemed lost for a moment, like she had stopped to chase after something and was no longer talking with Hitsugaya. She woke up sometimes looking like this, Toshiro noted, like she was being abandoned by some unknown person, with a look that didn't understand why or if that person would ever return. He waited patiently to see if she had any further comments. He watched her give up and slowly come back to her conversation with him, changed like she hadn't experienced that feeling that made her look so lonely. "The world of the living Captain!?! How exciting!! I will most defiantly go to see you off tomorrow! You must bring me back a souvenir so that I can show it off at the next Shinigami Women's Association meeting!"
"Your supposed to work extra hard while I'm away not run around with that cult!" he tsked at her, a white brow twitching. She smiled back at him the same though, already settling that he would bring her back something and that she was also going to see him off tomorrow.
With that settled, She finally started her work and he did as well. He finished fairly quickly, bidding her a good evening and warning her not to leave until she was finished, before he headed off the central library, hoping to hit the books hard and learn all he could about the way humans lived.
/*.* 3 *.*\
He had, to his dismay fallen asleep on a book about human transportation and then proceeded to wake up late in the morning, with only 2 hours till he was required to be at Senkaimon and showing up late would start off the 'mission he would not fail' badly. Not to mention give Gin another reason to grin at him. He filed the books away as fast as possible, a gruesomely slow choir since it had been dark the night before and he didn't remember where some of the books went. After grueling over where to put a book on regular places to visit he finally left the library and headed back to his house, hoping to get in a quick bath and something to eat before needing to leave.
He accomplished his tasks with time to spare but had a hard time finding Matsumoto to say good bye to, but with her arms folded across her gut she refused to say goodbye to him, claiming to only say bye once they were at the gate, which resulted in a note of the time and a frantic run.
As the gate drew closer he slowed to a walk, in order to compose himself and not look so flustered in front of Captain Kyouraku and Captain Ichimaru. Rangiku took up his left side and walked with him towards the tall gate that appeared to lead no where, but indeed did lead somewhere. As they got closer to the two Captain's, Hitsugaya noted that Gin's usual grin was very wide today indeed and a few teeth showed through, which reminded him more of a dog baring it's fangs than a man smiling politely. He was greeted pleasantly however by both, though he trusted one more than the other. Captain Kyouraku gave them the location their Gigai had been hidden, a block from where they would enter the human world, along with Shinigami phones and a quick debrief of the mission. With everything filed away and organized in his brain, which was also reviewing information from the night before, it was time to go. He turned and said fair well to Matsumoto and Captain Kyouraku while Gin stayed quiet and smiling. As the gate opened they both stepped through, but waited to see it close and Toshiro blinked as Gin waved at his lieutenant and the captain.
"Bye bye!" he called cheerfully as the doors closed on his image. Now alone they began moving towards the exit slowly, following the hell butterflies they'd been given. "I am looking forward to this little, adventure, Snowey-kun." he said with slight glee in his voice as they stepped through the exit, a very tormented Toshiro glaring up at Gin for having already begun making fun of him. But before he could comment, they were enveloped in the white light of the piercing sun on the other side of the exit.
Why was it, that this moment felt like the calm before the storm? The silence before the wind disrupted the lines of the web in the net of the Soul Society.
What was the reason, for this fear, that something was about to change?
/*.* 3 *.*\ /*.* 10 *.*\