Author's Note: Right, here's a little thing about the title, Toshiro Hitsugaya controls water and ice, and the OC you meet in this chapter controls fire. What do you get when you heat water? Steam. That's where the title came from, nothing suggestive about it at all, so if you're looking for a fic with any sexual situations, then you've come to the wrong place as you won't find any here at all. Got that? Good. Anyway, this wasn't the Bleach fic I was originally going to post, but I haven't had any insperation to write the first chapter of Hell Butterfly yet. This will probably take a long time for me to write, but there you go. I'll update as often as I can.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, the characters or any of the places associated with the manga or anime. That belongs to Tite Kubo. I own this plot line, Hikari Kunisaki and her zanpakutou, Mitsuko. My friend Candy owns Tomoko and her zanpakutou, who's name has temporarily slipped my mind.

USE MY IDEAS WITHOUT ASKING AND DIE! Got it? Good. Now, on with the story.

The duties of a shinigami (or Soul Reaper for those of you who don't know Japanese) were never going to be easy, although in some of the 13 squad guards the work would be harder than in others. Staring in awe at the 200 feet high wall in front of me, I nervously stepped forwards, taking a deep breath as I went. The gate in the wall, which had a width of 50 feet and a height of 150 feet, was slowly pulled open. Before me was the confusing maze of buildings which made up the seireitei, home to all shinigamis. People in the characterised black white-rimmed tops, white belts, black loose-fitting trousers, white toe socks and straw sandals bustled past. Some were wearing armbands, signifying their lieutenant's status and others were wearing the white coats with the number of their squad in a black outlined diamond on the back of the coat signalled that they were the captains; the most powerful people in Soul Society. Gingerly, I took a step forward into this new world. No one stopped me. Slowly, I made my way through the gate and towards the 11th squad's quarters to see my captain, the most feared person in Soul Society, Kenpachi Zaraki. I'd only just mastered the shikai of my zanpakutou and was able to fluently control it. From what I'd heard, my capabilities were very similar to that of Toshiro Hitsugaya's, captain of squad 10. The name of my zapakutou was Mitsuko, meaning 'child of light' which was sort of appropriate, as my shikai could control fire and light.

I'd been so wrapped up in my thoughts, I'd totally forgotten that, thanks to my sister, Tomoko, I was an hour late. I immediately started running, my thoughts now on how NOT to be killed by my Taichou. I took each corner with surprising speed, (I hate running), and saw no-one for about ten minutes. The next thing I knew, there was a dull pain in my right shoulder and I was pinned on the ground by none other than my sister's Taichou, Toshiro Hitsugaya.

I blushed furiously as, somehow, we'd managed to flip whilst falling so that he was now the one on top. His right hand had found its way into my top and slipped under the black lace of my bra, his left hand was resting near my waist. His lips were inches from mine and I could feel his breath on my face. His large, teal eyes bore into mine with an intensity I'd never known before. He blinked and then seemed to realise that it was I who broke his fall, not cushions or concrete. He blushed, quickly got up and offered a hand to me in order to help me up. Shyly, still blushing, but smiling gratefully, I took his hand gently and got up with his help. I looked down at the ground, avoiding his gaze, which seemed to penetrate straight into my soul.

"I apologise for crashing into you, Hitsugaya–Taichou"

He waved off my apology. "I should've been watching where I was going anyway"

I looked up at him again, and he tilted his head, narrowing his eyes as if he was thinking about something.

"Do I know you?" He asked

"No... but my sister is third seat of your squad" I replied truthfully

"Not that bloody woman... she's almost worse than Matsumoto" he groaned. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he really had drawn the short straw with subordinates.

"I could do my sister's paperwork, if you'd like" I offered. I, unlike Tomoko, was not lazy or afraid to work.

"No, it's okay, I'll figure out a way to make her work someday" He smiled at me, making me feel that we were the only two people in the world who mattered.

"What's your name?" He asked after a slight pause.

"Hikari Kunisaki, fourth seat of squad 11" I replied, bowing to him. "I'm sorry, but I must go... If I don't, my Taichou will kill me for being an hour and a half late on my first day..." I explained.

"Tell you what, Kunisaki, I'll take you to Zaraki–Taichou and say I asked you to help me, which is why you're so late."

That's when I realised, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship... maybe, in time, we could even become more than friends.

Author's Note: Well, I hope you liked it. Please leave reviews as they boost confidence and give pointers to help me better my writing. Thank you!